There Is Not One Solution

We live in a society, where those people who protect us and put their lives on the line for us everyday are perceived as enemies to a vast majority of our nations people. These people go out to work and their loved ones wonder wether or not they will come home from their shift, alive. There are so many good officers out there yet, the sad part is rarely do we hear about them or see them on the news. In my opinion if the United States wants to stop police brutality, it must consider fixing the way it trains cops, giving body cameras to every department throughout our nation and consider looking into alternatives besides guns.

Throughout my second blog post I explained the way in which cops are trained. In short, they are trained to shoot and kill. Truthfully, I believe that the training they receive is the most important part. This is the foundation that cops base their decisions on. If in training they are taught to shoot to kill, then they are going to do so. Cops need to spend less time on learning to shoot guns and more time on how to defuse the situation with words.

The gun situation in our nation is a little more complex. It saddens me to think that on our soil alone, we have more guns than any other nation. The reality is that the gun laws in our nation need to be stricter. It baffles my mind that an eighteen year old can go into any gun shop throughout the United States and purchase a gun. Of course depending on the state, there are different requirements, but just think about that for a second, eighteen years old. However, for the gun laws to change in our nation, this must be done by the federal government. Though there have been numerous attempts by the Obama administration, these attempts haven't been clearly all that successful. With congress and the President both pushing for stricter gun laws, we can only hope that this will prevent the the worst criminal from having guns.

Mentioned in my second blog was the idea of having officers not weapons. This has been done in a variety of nations around our world such as, Britain, Iceland and Ireland. Research has found that the citizens in these nations feel more comfortable with officers, and officers feel that they have never really needed to use a weapon/ felt unsafe. In our nation, I believe that officers not having guns would be difficult. I say this because, as mentioned before we have more guns on our soil than any other nation out there.  If we put cops out on the streets in our most dangerous cities with out protection, we would be putting them in a danger. This would also create an advantage for the criminals. If the cop said to the criminal, wait don't shoot me I don't have a gun, do you think he/ she would listen, I think not? There are taser guns out there, however very few police departments use them. Yet we must also take into consideration, that these taser guns could be putting cops at a disadvantage because the criminals will have real bullets.

Our government has also invested a ton of money into body cameras. Hopefully, in a few years every cop in the United States will be equipped with one. Though this would be a very large investment, I do believe that its one that will help to solve a lot of unanswered questions. After all, if the officer in the Michael Brown incident was wearing a body camera, the outcome of the case could of been completely different. A police officer can not just turn off his camera in the middle of a dispute. Remember body camera don't lie.

The American people, need to put faith into its Police forces. These people risk their lives everyday for us, yet they don't get the respect they deserve. We need to look at the way we train officers, our gun laws, and keep investing in body camera until every police department in our nation is equipped with them. Once all these things are done, I believe that no longer will police be seen our enemies but our protector.

Are Cameras The Key?

We live in a world driven by technology.  Every where we look, someone is either on their cell phone, typing on their computer or using a camera of some sort. The Police forces throughout America also use this technology, especially cameras. There has been a significant increase in body cameras throughout the United States police forces due to the incidents like Michael Brown. However,  the question becomes, "Are these cameras really worth the cost, better yet, do they help to make a difference?"

To start, our government plans to put ample amounts of money into body cameras.  Many believe that these cameras will help law enforcement re-establish trust with the American people. According to  USA Today, the Obama administration will spend 20 million dollars, in order to implement body cameras throughout our country.  David Jackson from USA today, stated that, "of the $20 million grant announced Friday, the Justice Department said 17 million dollars will be devoted to "the purchase of body-worn cameras, $2 million for training and technical assistance and $1 million for the development of evaluation tools to study best practices"."  With all this money being put into this part of America's police forces it shouldn't be surprising that according to Katie Delong from Fox6news, out of the 18,000 police forces throughout our nation, one third of those are using body cameras.  However, we can imagine that with the millions of dollars being put into this technology more and more police forces across the country will have this technology.

With all this money being put into this new techonlogy we must ask, do these cameras really work? We first must look at the events that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri with Michael Brown.  Think about if the officer was wearing a body camera, a lot of unanswered questions would be answered as to what really took place between the white officer and young Michael Brown.  There was a case in Arizona however, where an officer was wearing a body camera while answering a domestic abuse call. As reported by Katie Delong from Fox6news, the man eventually pulled out a gun and shot the officer, and thanks to the body camera that he was wearing, all of the events were caught on tape.  In this case we really don't have any unanswered questions about the crime that took place due to the body camera.

We now understand that body cameras help us answer questions. But do they actually help decrease violence is the real question? There was a study done by the University of South Florida , according to the Huffington Post's, Nick Wing found that body cameras do decrease violence.  Throughout their study, which took place over the course of a year, the university studied 89 police officers.  Of those officers only 46 wore body cameras while the other 43 did not.  As the Huffington Post's, Nick Wing reported, the university found that "use-of-force incidents, dropped 53 percent among officers with cameras". The, University of South Florida  study also found a decrease in civilian injuries when officers wore body cameras.  There was also a study done in California by Barak Ariel, William Farrar and Alex Sutherland  according to the Huffington Post's, Nick Wing that did a similar experiment and they found that found a "59 percent drop in incidents when officers wore body cameras and 87% drop in complaints by citizens".  Clearly we see that the cameras do help, I mean after all the camera doesn't lie.

While body cameras do help to answer a lot of our questions and decrease violence, there are some out there that feel that they shouldn't be used.  Privacy is a major concern with these cameras; this idea that everything that officers are saying is being captured on tape concerns many.  Another major concern is the cost of these cameras, however if this device will help to develop trust back from the American people when it comes to America's police officers, then it's worth it.

As millions and millions of dollars are being put into this technology, we can only hope that these cameras will yet again help the American people to trust those that are there to protect them.  Time and time again studies have found that these cameras do help to decrease violence which can only help in combating police brutality.  Some may see this technology as pricey, but we must remember that cameras don't lie and these cameras may bring the American people and police officers together.



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Forget the Guns?

It shouldn't be a surprise to many that the United States has more guns on its soil than any other country in the world. CNN claims that "civilians in the United States own about 270 million guns". Two hundred and seventy million is higher than the population of some countries around the world. Throughout President Obama's Presidency, fifteen different times he was called to the podium to give a speech about gun violence after a major shooting CNN reports. The saddest part is, it doesn't seem that the gun laws in our country have made any progress and it doesn't look like they are going to change anytime soon.

With the amount of guns that are in the United States, one would think that the amount of deaths by fire arm would increase as well and that it has. The Washington Post stated that "for the first time in more than 60 years, firearms and automobiles are killing Americans at an identical rate, according to the new mortality data revealed this month by the center for Disease Control and Prevention". In addition, there are twenty one states in the United States where the number of those shot and killed by guns has out numbered those who die in car crash, as reported by the Washington Post. Among those states are Washington, Oregon and Hawaii. Eventually, gun violence will be the leading cause of death in the United States and in order to combat this issue we must look at how other countries and their police forces did with lethal force.


The United States needs to look to others around the world in order to combat police brutality. There are more than five countries throughout the world whose police officer do not carry guns when on duty. According to the Washington Post,  Britain, Ireland, Iceland and New Zealand are countries where officers do not carry guns. Some may argue that officers in the United States need to carry guns due to the fact that millions of people have guns in the United States. However, the Washington Post claims that "in Iceland, one-third of all citizens are armed but police officers are not most of the time". We also need to look at Ireland and see that in this country, when officers go to training they aren't even taught how to use a gun.  In addition, there was a survey done in Great Britian where about 82 percent of cops as reported by the Washington Post, stated that they didn't want to carry guns. One can imagine that if this survey was done in the United States the outcome would be vastly different due to the lack of trust we see between society and the American Police force.

So the question arises if cops don't carry guns how will they protect themselves? If the recent incidents that have been occurring all over the country with police brutality, some are proposing stun guns. The conflict with these stun guns is that they are just as deadly and the LA time claims that, " this type of gun would give off an electric shock, and officials have discovered that the use of this stun gone can lead to serious physical harm as well as causes some serious health issues".  In addition, a professor from Rutger University Police Institutes Wayne Fisher claims that, there is many technical problems with these stun guns. He explained to the  LA Times that, "there has to be time to deploy the stun gun and it's not always readily available". Also we must take into consideration that as Professor Wayne stated, " if an armed offender is closing in on the officer, it's necessary at that point to use the level of fore which is the highest opportunity for stopping the armed aggressor, and that would be a firearm".  These stun guns do not provide the highest means of force and leave police at a disadvantages when they are faced with criminal who have actually guns.

All and all, reforms for gun laws need to be made by the government first if we want to limit the amount of deaths we have by guns. It scary to think that car crashes and guns are killing people at the same rate. Other controls have led the way when it comes to using a gun, the bottom line is they don't use them. Many may argue that these countries in Europe that don't have officer carry guns are significantly smaller than the United States which is true, however, look at Iceland,  the Washington Post claims that, over 25 percent of its population carries guns, making it the 15 most armed country in the world and they have little to no gun violence. We must find an alternative beside stun guns, that when used do not cause serious harm and prevent health issues  and wouldn't put the cops at a disadvantage. If we are able to do all these things than we will be one step closer to combating police brutality here in the United States.

The Use Of Guns And Not Words

Police brutality throughout the United States is a very complex, ongoing and hot issue.  In order to truly combat this issue, we must look at our Justice System.  If we adjusted the way in which we train officers, then we would be one step closer to combating this issue. The United States Constitution states that, "an officer must reasonably believe it is necessary to shoot to kill to defend him or herself or someone else from imminent death".  This clearly is a high-pressure situation, in which officers must make decisions in a split second, but "How many shots is too many?" is the question that seems to be a controversial one today.  The core root of police brutality comes from our justice system itself and in order to change a few of America's police forces, we must change the system itself.

 Let's take the city of San Diego and its police force for example.  The police officers at the academy are put into a room where a video game like computer system projects live scenarios on the screen. They are faced with suspects with guns and knifes.  They themselves have a gun in hand in order to simulate a real life situation.  Through this training they are taught to shoot, but the question becomes "Where do they ever learn to communicate with the suspect?"  The problem is, they don't.  According to Ken Kris an instructor at the police academy in San Diego, "Police are taught from day one the hands are what's going to kill you, the hands are what's going to hurt you".  They are then taught to defuse the situation as quickly as possible.

Many ask why can't officers shoot at the feet or places on the body that wouldn't cause the suspects to be killed?  The problem with this as John Firman,  director of research programs at the International Association of Chiefs of Police said is that, "shooting at a limb is impractical, aiming at an arm or leg which moves fast, could result in a misfire that fails to neutralize the treat and may even hit the wrong person, the likelihood of success is low".  So officers shot for the biggest targets such a the torso, this way they have a higher chance of extinguishing the threat.  We have to take into consideration that officers live with the guilt of killing someone for the rest of their lives and that isn't an easy thing to handle.

Our system focuses so much on physical stuff like the use of lethal force, but what about verbal interaction with suspects. Andrew Prelate, President of the National Latino Peace Officers Association said stated that, "When you're training's all about shooting, handcuffing, the psychical part and not about the verbal part, it can create an imbalance".  The conflict arises with communication.  Officers aren't really taught how to defuse the situation with words, they are just taught to shoot. That is exactly the problem with our system and just one of the many reasons why so many Americans have lost trust in America's police forces.

Many influential figures in our society such as the mayors in major cities like New York and Chicago believe that it's time for reform.  The sad part is that incidents in their cities such as Eric Gardner, the man who was put in a choke hold in New York City and ended up dying had to happen in order for the mayors to see that reforms were needed. The Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel was quoted saying, "we must also make real changes within our police departments today and it is clear changes are needed to how officers respond".  We must realize that cops are the good guys and yet there may be a few out there that are trigger happy.  There are hundreds of thousands out there protecting us. Our country and various states are making progress when it comes to police brutality.  As a matter of fact, Washington claims that its state has a new style of police training, its motto is to "produce "guardians of democracy", who serve and protect instead of "warriors" who conquer and control".  Hopefully other states will be soon to follow its lead.

After all, we are headed in the right direction.  If influential members of major cities are calling this issue into the limelight and states are reforming the way in which they train their officers, then there is hope.  Cops need to learn to communicate first and then learn how to shoot.  After we teach them how to communicate, then maybe the next step in combating this issue is asking ourselves, "Are guns really necessary for cops to carry and if so why?"




Image URL:
 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/FBI_Badge_%26_gun.jpg

Who Do You Call When Police Commit Murder?

In kindergarten, my teacher asked everyone to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up.  The thing was I always wanted to be a lawyer, but I couldn't draw that.  Instead I drew a police officer driving down the road with his flashing lights on.  I remember explaining to the class that I wanted this occupation so that I could protect people, drive in a police car and have people call upon me when they needed help.  Of course, I said this in terms that weren't as complex. The bottom line was that I admired police then and I still do now. Yet the sad part is today many Americans do not.

Over the past few decades the perception of America's law enforcement has changed.  This is due to stories such as Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice; all of whom were shot and killed by law enforcement.  Other factors that help to create a bad rep for law enforcement are live video recordings and the ever-present media.  Due to technology, the American people are now able to see first hand how men like Eric Garner and so many others are murdered by those who are supposed to "protect them".  Police brutality is at an all time high.  As a matter of fact, the Huffington Post claims that 2015 might have been the most violent year on record when it came to police violence.  Fatal Encounters database found that, "police violence directly caused or played a role in 1,126 deaths in 2015" (US).

The irony of this whole issue is that the police are supposed to be there to help protect us.  Yet according to Gallup.com, recent polls have found that confidence in police is the lowest that it has been in twenty-two years.  Only fifty-five percent of the American people have confidence in law enforcement.  This means that the rest of the American people, nearly 45% which is almost half, are unsure as to how they feel about these men and women (Poll).

It shouldn't be a surprise to many that there is an overwhelming statistic that proves that race is a prevalent factor in those who fear law enforcement.  A poll conducted by CNN and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that one out of every five African Americans believe that they have been mistreated by police (Poll).  On the other hand, only three percent of whites feel this way ( Poll). Clearly, there is a major discrepancy in the way different races feel about their treatment by law enforcement.  We must stop and ask ourselves, why do we fear those that are there to protect us?  This is a major problem in itself.

There are good cops out there.  Some make it their duty to serve and put their lives on the line for the safety of those in their community.  While others manipulate their power and feel that they are above the law.  So the question becomes how do we stop those officers who feel that they are above the law?

Police are trained to kill and get rid of the threat as quickly as possible.  President of the Police Foundation, Hubert Williams, a 30 year veteran said it best, "if there's a threat to his life, he has to take counter measures against that threat.  So he's going to shoot not to stop him- he's going to shoot for the kill zone"(Ryllie).  Yet, we must take into consideration the high stress situation they are put in.  After all, it really comes down to perception.  Another conflict that adds to this ongoing problem of police brutality is that the laws in the United States favor law enforcement when in trial.  There was a Supreme Court case in 1970, known as Tennessee vs. Gardner that stated that cops can use deadly force on a suspect only if they feel that the suspect is a threat to not only them, but society as well (Scholarship).  So, when an officer feels threatened and uses their gun to shoot at a suspect, technically under U.S. law they didn't do anything wrong.  The question becomes how many shots is too many?

Combating police brutality in the United States is a complex issue; one that will clearly take a significant amount of time to change.  In order to address this issue, we need to change the way that law enforcement officers are trained, the weapons they use and maybe even follow the lead of other countries around the world whose officers do not carry guns.  Lastly, we must look into putting more cameras in patrol cars as well as examining the criminal justice system itself and creating a system that doesn't just favor law enforcement.  Once we change all these things, then just maybe we would be able have confidence in law enforcement in our country once again.


                                                             Works Cited

Us, The Conversation. " U.S Laws Protect Police But Endanger Civilians." The Huffington Post. 
     
     TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d Web 28 Jan. 2016


"Poll: 1 in 5 Blacks Have "unfair" dealings with Police-CNN.com." CNN. Cable New Network n.d 
    
      Web. 28 Jan 2016.


Ryllie Danylko, Northeast Ohio Media Group. " Shooting to Kill: Why Police Are Trained To Fire 


     Fatal Shots." N.p., Web 28 Jan. 2016.

"Scholarships@Cornell Law: A Digital Respository" Site N.p., n.d Web. 29 Jan. 2016

                                                        Images 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_enforcement