The Unresolved Problems of Police Brutality

This is an excerpt from an article in the Dateline: Georgia. The article discusses two white male cops who shot and killed a 17 year-old black kid in the back as he was fleeing a scene for he was in fear for his life. As one might guess, with an all-white male jury, the two officers were acquitted, and all of the charges were dropped. Even though there were multiple testimonies against the two and there was talk of one of the officers planting a gun at the scene, the two were able to walk as free men at the end of the day. Instances like this have led to officers like Jason Stockley, an ex-officer in St. Louis. After shooting and killing a 24-year-old black man, Stockley tried to plant a gun on the victim to say it was self-defense. Because the officers have no respect for African Americans, they will go to great lengths to protect their innocence and tarnish the image of the victim, lying and creating fake evidence on their names. Fortunately, in this case, Stockley was sentenced. However, part of the African American experience is understanding and realizing that the police are not as helpful and as trustworthy as they are supposed to be. For over 60 years we have not been able to trust the people who have sworn to protect us from danger. There are already criminals and evil people in the world. Given the racist acts of the police, it is quite difficult to distinguish who the criminals are and where the evil is coming from. It really makes one consider what it means to be a criminal. There needs to be a change so that we do not have to think about who is an enemy and criminal, and who is here to help and support.

In this excerpt, the author discusses and responds to a police shooting in Macon, Georgia. As expected, the officer shot and killed someone innocent for no reason, and instead of being held accountable and justice being served, he was set free and allowed to walk without any punishment or consequences for his actions. The author writes “All he has to do is shoot the negro and say he was resisting arrest…The all-white, all-male jury will set the cop(or any other white offender) free”. The journalist has already sensed some sort of pattern in which the police can easily get away with murder by claiming “self-defense.” This incident is important because in today’s world we have seen things that are very similar to this case. In 2012, Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black kid, was walking from the corner store after buying a pack of Skittles. A man named George Zimmerman saw the candy, claimed it looked like a gun, and said he was in fear of his life being taken. So, George felt like it was the right thing to do and shoot and kill Mr. Martin. In this world now and in the world 60 years ago, a white person could kill an African American for any reason that they felt like it. They would not be punished or incarcerated as long as they claimed that they feared for their life before killing. This means that any racist or bigoted person can shoot and kill a person of color and not face any consequences. This has also led to the issue that black kids are not able to play with toy guns or even eat candy because we are viewed as a threat and can lose our lives on the spot. Black people are not viewed or treated as equal human beings through the lens of society and have not been for a long time now. And through the lens of the police force, it is even worse. The self-defense card is an easy way for officers and other white offenders to get away with murder and has been an easy way for over 60 years. There is a major flaw in our justice system because police are essentially using blackness to justify their crimes and there has been nothing done about it. To them, black is synonymous with crime and therefore is a valid reason to kill. There needs to be a change so that the police will think twice before murdering.

This article discusses how it takes more than the local courts and people to bring the police to justice. In response to an officer killing an African American, the local justice system was taking a long time to bring this officer to justice. The plan was for the officer to lay low for a while and eventually, everyone would forget about what he did. The locals were extremely determined and persistent in bringing him to justice that they even got the NAACP involved in the case. This is very similar to what we do now, but instead of the NAACP, it is the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. By using the hashtag, an assertion of blackness, and sharing local stories, it is a tool used to shed light on these smaller stories so that eventually none of them get swept under the rug and everyone is getting the justice that they deserve. It is reversing the narrative that black is synonymous with crime and death. Throughout history, black people have always been oppressed and separated from one another, but this is a testimony to what can happen if we all work together to achieve a common goal. This is a step in the right direction for black people as a whole. It will put fear into the hearts of these officers so that they will not feel so reluctant to murder knowing that something will happen to them if they do.

This article is based in Columbus Georgia, and is discussing the “struggles” that one officer had when he was trying to recruit African Americans to join his force. Struggles is an interesting word because there is a lot of doubt that he wanted or thoroughly looked for black people to join his squad. Officer Ed Jenkins claimed that he had “searched every avenue” in Columbus, and that “there are no qualified negroes” who will apply for the police force. The word “qualified” is crucial because of who made the qualifications. White people made the qualifications unattainable for black people or did not disclose the requirements so that it was virtually impossible for black people to ever be qualified, just like they did with voter rights. It is important to note that the article did not specify what the qualifications were and do not specify the terms in order to keep blacks unemployed. At the same time, it was not a job that black people may have wanted at the time knowing how they treat African Americans in the streets. Police will always be a part of the world, they are here to protect and serve us. If they believe that black people are not qualified to protect and serve on the force, that means we are inferior and not worth protecting and serving us when we need aid and assistance. This article speaks to not only how the police have viewed us and still view us, but how white people, in general, see us. There needs to be a change and a point where we say enough is enough and something changes so that we can live in harmony and thrive together.