Police Brutality
Racism is an issue that has been around for hundreds of years. Throughout the twentieth century movements have taken place in order to change the ways of our past. Although there have been significant strides in the world today I don't think that anyone can truly say that racism is gone for good. There are still organizations out there that thrive off the hate of another culture. Even outside these organizations racism seems to be evident in many aspects. Recently issues have come up to point the finger at the men and women of law enforcement. There have been a number of cases that may depict acts of racism, or have there? Is it just an act put on by another organization in itself to make us think this way? Has the media played a major role in what we believe is to be happening in the world? Also have we really looked at the big picture and put ourselves in the shoes of law enforcement officials? Have we attempted to look further into the cases involving so called racism and cases like them, or looked at how we train officers to react in certain situations? I think that we need to look into the big picture a little harder before we make any judgments or statements regarding racism.
nological society, we have a new type of legal system, a system that makes a judgment without the use of a judge and jury. This is a type of legal system that travels through the atmosphere, across the radio waves and into our homes. A legal system in which the judge (the media) delivers a verdict without the complete evidence of the case presented. This is the role of today's media. An act that is commonly only seen through the eyes of the media is one that has recently been labeled as police brutality. Acts of racism by the police officials on innocent victims do to their ethic background. In most cases it is the white police officers abusing black citizens who by the image of the media have done nothing wrong to deserve the level of force tat is being used in their apprehending. Throughout the years, media has played a major part through keeping the public advised on events that are taking place around the world. Late breaking news and special reports tend to keep the publics attention longer than other broadcasts shown on television. For the most part, the media is our front line of information. Despite the incomplete evidence, viewers tend to pass judgment on the situation before all of the facts have been confirmed. I don't think people realize that over all, the story comes first, and you will only see what the media wants you to see, and have you believing what it is that they want you to believe. How juicy can the media possible make it, and what is it that makes the media want to talk about it or show it on the air; Is it ratings; Is it exposure; or is it just something to talk about, and make judgments about? The main point that I am trying to get across is the fact that in covering stories involving police officers taking extreme measures in apprehending suspects, the media is focusing on racism as the central issue at hand rather than simply reporting on the abuse of law enforcement. In every case discussed, the suspects have resisted arrest, and in some way were viewed as a threat to officers yet that part of the tape never seems to make it on to the television. Police are trained to act in such situations and even if they sometimes go a little overboard, people must understand and put themselves in the shoes of the officer. They face danger every day and a lot of the times in a compromising situation get a little scared and maybe over react. I think that if you just respect the authority given to the police and try and see where they are coming from, as long as you haven't done anything wrong, you should have nothing to be afraid of. I'm not saying that all police act in a manner that we see acceptable by law, but I'm trying to show how it is that through false or insufficient information that the media has turned our communities into people who hate and despise our law enforcement officials. It is evident in all of the cases that I examined. In the cases of police shooting suspects and killing them, it was clearly evident that it was for self defense. When resisting arrest the officer has no choice but to act and think in certain ways. When they ask you to do something, they are asking you for a reason, and the reason is for both the officers as well as the suspect's safety. When you refuse to put your hands on your head and would rather reach for your wallet, what choice have you given the officer? If it is dark and the officer just sees you reaching for something after you have already disobeyed them once how are they to know that you are not reaching for a gun. When an officer asks you to lye down face first and put your hands on your head or behind your back it is for their safety to make sure you don't have anything that could potentially harm the officer. This is why you see officers get aggressive with suspects when they do not obey orders. The only choice they have is to fire at you before you fire at them. Yes there are always going to be cases in which someone believes excessi
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3751
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)
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