Order Number |
636738393092 |
Type of Project |
ESSAY |
Writer Level |
PHD VERIFIED |
Format |
APA |
Academic Sources |
10 |
Page Count |
3-12 PAGES |
Across the country cops have shot and killed colored individuals without just reasoning behind the death of a person that could be alive today. The law states that cops have the right to shoot if their life is threatened but in some cases these people have been unarmed and or in a position where no harm could have come to these cops.
Cops are supposed to be the protectors of the cities people call home but how can someone feel safe if the protectors are killing recklessly. The discrimination that some cops have toward African Americans isn’t acceptable and shouldn’t be swept under the rug like it’s no big deal.
African Americans have been put through slavery, segregation, and discrimination throughout history and it should be getting better over time but every hump they get over, another appears that held their growth. In a case that happened a little over 5 years ago a young 15-year-old boy was shot and killed inside of a parked vehicle because the cop felt like the kid was threatening the lives of the people in the car.
In the article of Jordan Edwards by German Lopez it was stated that “to protect their life or the life of another innocent party” this was one of the circumstances where a cop has the ability to shoot an individual. Although in this story the teenager was stated to be unarmed and seemingly just leaving the party to head home with his friends.
Jordan, a child that isn’t even above the age of 16 yet and was not confronted or approached by the cop at any time could have threatened him in a way for him to shoot him. Law enforcement is meant to save lives but in this situation this kid was violently murder by a cop that hadn’t even confronted the victim in any way prior.
How can the killing of a child be justified by a man that supposedly felt like lives were endangered because of Jordan? Across the country blood has been spilt because of race and the stereotype put onto African Americans. Killers, gangsters, and criminals do not stop at blacks or Hispanics but for some it’s looked as if criminals are the colored and non-white Americans.
Even though cases such as the Gabriel Ross Parker shooting in Kentucky where a 15 year old kid shot and killed two students. The same age but the difference is one’s an innocent victim and the other is a murderer but one got to walk away with his life spared instead of 6 feet underground.
Gabriel was a Caucasian male with a loaded weapon that had already killed two students but after catching Gabriel cops didn’t shoot to kill even though he threatened the lives of innocents. Jordan on the other hand was leaving a party and trying to go home but never made it back to his own bed because one cop felt like an unarmed child threatened the safety of others.
It’s not that cops need to use their guns but it’s the fact that some type of training needs to be done to stop the police brutality and shootings that have transpired. Having the gun and using it when needed isn’t the issue it’s the problem that guns are being fired when the situation doesn’t call for it to even be brought out. Cops who cannot or will not cooperate with a plan that decreases the number of innocents shouldn’t wear the bag in the first place.
Blacks have carried this stereotype of thugs, gangsters, hood, criminals, etc. for years because of the reputation built by sadly their own race. Many African Americans that live in a bad or “hood” area have been normal citizens that had nothing to do with any type of violence.
Even though they take no part in gang activity people still judge them all the same negative way as if the personality behind the race or environment does not matter. Blacks put the stereotype upon themselves because of the actions of the past and the actions of some in the present that live their lives in that so called “thug lifestyle”.
Does not give the excuse for cops or any other person to judge someone based on the color of their skin or the rumored persona that person may have. The saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” completely can be toward people and the ability people have to get to know a person before assuming.
Cops could not let the stereotypes and what they may have seen other colored people do against them but handle each individual as their own person. Everyone was born as their own human being with their own personalities to go with it but the world revolves around appearance.
It’s understandable that cops don’t get that chance to always talk to an individual but they do have the ability to grasp the concept that they should analyze the person’s behavior before taking fire. There is no chance for change if the first instinct when some cops see a colored individual is that they’re a threat or going to cause a problem.
When the fact is no one is the same and there is no way to predict how someone will act but all people can do is see the situation and based on that make a judgement call. Each time a person is killed or even physically abused by a cop it breeds more room for mistrust in the law enforcement that people are supposed to be able to come to.