I chose to create an eye-opening infographic enriched with facts about Police Brutality in America today. For years cops have been seen abusing their power and seeking to an agenda of their own opinions and stereotypes. As you see in the chart, that nine in ten police officers say and believe that the country has made the needed changes to achieve racial equality. However, we are nowhere near equality. Many people think that after the Rodney King trials with LAPD back in 1992 and Martin Luther King Jr. peaceful riots that the inequality has gotten and remained better. However, that is most certainly not the case. People who already have hate and prejudice in their values and agenda who then become cops are the problem. They then believe that the ‘power’ they entail as an officer of the law is almost superhero-like. Some police genuinely believe they shot that person dead, whom of which had their back to them while running away, to protect themselves! The ego some officers can develop along with the badge can be very dangerous and detrimental to society. With ego comes self-glory which can potentially lead to a personal feeling of extreme self-importance. They feel that their life is more important than others, that they are on a higher pedestal and that’s why they can’t relate to the families who are losing their son(s)/father(s)/nephew(s)/cousin(s)/uncle(s).
For example, according to an article published by CNN and written by Amir Vera, on October twelfth of 2019 in Forth Worth, Texas a concerned neighbor of, Atatiana Jefferson, called to police because he noticed Jefferson’s front door open at 2:23 a.m. When police arrived at 2:28 a.m. they began to walk around the house towards the back yard, Officer Aaron Dean then approached a back window to get himself a better view of what was going on inside. All while doing so, police also tell CNN that officer Dean, according to his body cam, did not call out and identify himself as an officer. The only thing that was called out was “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” as Atatiana Jefferson became in view through the window of her own home. Immediately after calling this out, Officer Dean began to shoot through the window at Jefferson. She was pronounced dead at her home at 2:30 a.m. The pre-Med graduate was actually entertaining and playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew who was also in the room when shots were fired and witnessed his aunt die with his own eyes. Officers like this, who do not follow the laws that are put in place (for good reason) need to leave whatever planet they are on and come right back down to Earth. Officers who think they do not have to follow these laws and make decisions and actions according to their own personal agenda is inhumane and unconstitutional .
That being said, I do not think that all officers of the law are like this. Many actually are upset with their colleagues and the decisions made by them. However, this handful of bad cops are ruining for the rest. Many officers are trying to change the status quo of police and their department and work really hard to do so. This frustrates me, even more, when an officer like Aaron Dean comes in and wipes away all credibility from good officers along with everything they have done and worked for in order to do and be better. After such a drastic and cruel occurrence like this case in Texas, all police now look like racist scum who believe their power overrides actual laws put in place. When we consider this, we realize that not all cops are harmful and unacceptable, but the ones who are- are ruining the hard work other officers are trying to implement; equality. We need to stop these “bad cops” who are racist and/or sexist in their tracks. By doing this, we will be helping these officers who are here to help us, in the correct way, get the recognition they deserve.
Works Cited:
“Fatal Force: 2019 Police Shootings Database.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 2 Jan. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/police-shootings-2019/.
“Getting Killed by Police Is a Leading Cause of Death for Young Black Men in America.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2019, http://www.latimes.com/science/story/2019-08-15/police-shootings-are-a-leading-cause-of-death-for-black-men.
Morin, Rich, et al. “Comparing Police Views and Public Views.” Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project, 31 Dec. 2019, http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/01/11/police-views-public-views/.
Vera, Amir. “Here’s What We Know About the Fort Worth Police Shooting.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Oct. 2019, http://www.cnn.com/2019/10/13/us/fort-worth-shooting-what-we-know/index.html.
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