Our Protector or Our Savior? | Teen Ink

Our Protector or Our Savior?

December 22, 2016
By AshtonLively BRONZE, South Orange, New Jersey
AshtonLively BRONZE, South Orange, New Jersey
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Are police officers our protectors or our enemies? Police brutality has been a big problem lately. I’m here to tell you why police brutality is bad and many of the killings are for no apparent reason. Does this have to do with police officers own negative views on race or ethnicity? The Washington Post posted Veronica Nelson’s police brutality story on their website. “I am outraged that the police would shoot my son and say that it was his fault,” Veronica Nelson said.  Veronica’s story was about her son, named Noble, killed innocently by police officers while holding both of his hands in the air. Cameras at a gas station where this shooting occurred, captured live video of Noble being shot and killed by police officers with both of  his hands in the air. This is a clear example of police brutality. A lot of police have different opinions about different races. Therefor, they will find the littlest reason to put you in jail if you’re black, white, spanish, etc. because they know they have the privilege and power to do so. Police officers can easily get away with murder because of their titles. As a result, thousands of people across the U.S.A. have protested against police brutality to make a difference in our world. Police officers are exploiting the system for their ruthlessness and wrongful charges.

Furthermore, police are sworn into their law enforcement profession by stating the Oath of Honor. As stated by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Oath of Honor states “On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character, or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the constitution my community and the agency I serve.” The Oath of Honor is not honored by all police officers because there are many individuals that value their own personal beliefs and opinions. This leads to police corruption and crime. According to Google definitions , corruption is “a form of police misconduct in which law enforcement officers break their social contract and abuse their power for personal or departmental gain. This type of corruption can involve only one officer, or it can involve a group of officers in a coordinated effort.” When a police officer breaks their social contract or abuse their power they can get in trouble. As stated in Wikipedia, ”internal police corruption is a challenge to public trust, cohesion of departmental policies, human rights and legal violations involving serious consequences.” If police corruption never existed than cases involving police killing innocent people would never exist as well. The Oath of Honor was created to protect our world against hate and crime. If police officers do not honor the Oath of Honor, then we will continue to see a rise in police brutality.
Meanwhile, in the youtube video titled “5 Worst Cases of Police Brutality Caught on Tape”, you will see that some police officers do not care if they are on camera or not. In the beginning of the video, a police officer allowed a helpless women to bleed for a long period of time before he called for emergency help. You can clearly see him checking on her every couple of minutes without staying next to her and providing comfort. In the next clip, a hispanic man was restrained in handcuffs lying on his stomach. After a few seconds, you can see two police officers shooting the innocent hispanic male while he was lying on the ground in handcuffs. Both of the police officers blamed the shooting murder on the victim and did not receive any jail time. Police officers are supposed to protect and serve justice, but now police officers are the ones serving injustice. They use their titles to their advantage because the justice system automatically assumes police officers are right. This allows them to easily exploit the justice system.
On the other hand, people can state that the police are trying to protect themselves, but in most situations they are caught on camera doing the opposite of protecting themselves. As shown in another case on the youtube video “5 Worst Cases of Police Brutality Caught on Tape” , the police went too far with police brutality. A man was beaten to death after he was involved in a car chase with the police. The police officers instructed him to get out of his car with his hands raised. After he complied with their commands, he was beaten with a bouton over 40 times. Yes, he was wrong for not stopping his car but the police did not have to hit him over 40 times. All they had to do was arrest him. As a result, only one police officer was arrested behind this tragic event. The rest of the police officers were not charged at all. Another example of police brutality was when a man was walking down the mall strip and was rammed by police officer because he was mistaken for a robber. Both of these tragic events could have been handled differently if police officers used a better approach to both situations. Again, you can clearly see how they use their titles to their advantage to exploit the justice system and avoid severe charges. 


In conclusion, police brutality exists in our world. Police officers use their titles and their powers to their advantage to manipulate and exploit the justice system. As a result, police brutality continues to increase in our world and cause people to grow hate against our judicial system. Many times, people are afraid to be involved in situations involving the police because of the simple fact that police officers have so much power and authority. Some possible solutions to help stop police brutality include more public interactions and public awareness events between the community and local police stations. Other solutions to help stop police brutality is to have President Donald Trump pass laws that severely punish police officers if there is clear evidence of them murdering an innocent victim. This will send a clear message to all corrupt police to think twice before they automatically use their power and title to their advantage. As the United States of America (U.S.A.), we must all come together as one in order to become a united nation.

 

 


The author's comments:

I am thirteen, and I play sports. I want to be published because I think that Police Brutality should be noticed a lot more. Innocent people are dying and it's out of control.


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