It seems that anymore all we hear on the evening news is something about a shooting. Whether it be about an officer himself being shot or firing his gun, the unnecessary violence needs to stop. Officers in large cities, and sometimes even small ones, are getting to be a little too power hungry. They do not care about who they fire at anymore simply because they themselves are officers and, in the words of several people, they are above the law. Too many people are being killed for unlawful reasons by officers and not getting the justification they deserve. December 9, 2013 a police officer in San Antonio shot a student on campus after a sarcastic remark in a traffic stop. “Oh, you’re gonna shoot me?” Which is exactly what the officer did.
A video from a dash cam showed what seemed to prove the officer had liable reason to shoot the man but when audio was released with the video the perspective really came into view. In the video the man is seen stepping out of his car as the officer told him to do, but when the officer tells the man to get his license and he reaches in the car to grab it he is shot. The officer is heard telling the man to “put his hands up and get out of the car.” When the man was shot he had his hands in the air, with his wallet in hand. While the officer had the right to defend himself against a potential threat it was extremely unnecessary to shoot at the man. Thankfully the man was not killed in the shooting but the man’s lawyer stated that his client was not unhandcuffed until an officer remembered that he did not have his handcuffs and went to the hospital to retrieve them. In Texas an officer with a body camera was on call where there were potentially dangerous dogs. According to the police department the dog became aggressive while the officer was trying to secure the dog, the dog was shot when it charged at the officer. This does seem reasonable, yes, but according to the family the dog was not aggressive at all and when it approached the officer it was wagging it’s tail and generally happy. On the camera from the officer he is heard whistling at the dog and is seen approaching it before shooting
Every year in the United States, an average more than 100,000 people are shot. In just the last three years, a total of 325,609 people have been killed from gun violence; if one were to think about it, that’s more fatalities than the population of Pittsburgh (307,484.) There have been shootings in schools/universities, shopping centers, and even a gym that have gone to show that no one is safe, no matter their surroundings. Gun violence just doesn’t effect one, it affects many. There are so many questions as to why things like this are happening, but many just want all of the violence to refrain. There are many issues with gun violence that has taken a huge toll on families and communities throughout the United States. Just in this year alone,
Facts: On October 3, 1974, Memphis Police Officers Hymon and Wright were dispatched to answer a “prowler inside call.” When the police arrived at the scene, a neighbor gestured to the house where she had heard glass breaking and that someone was breaking into the house. While one of the officer radioed that they were on the scene, the other officer went to the rear of the house hearing a door slam and saw someone run across the backyard. The suspect, Edward Garner stopped at a 6-feet-high fence at the edge of the yard and proceeded to climb the fence as the police officer called out “police, halt.” The police officer figured that if Garner made it over the fence he would get away and also “figured” that Garner was unarmed. Officer Hymon then shot him, hitting him in the back of the head. In using deadly force to prevent the escape of Garner, Hymon used the argument that actions were made under the authority of the Tennessee statute and pursuant to Police Department policy. Although the department’s policy was slightly more restrictive than the statute it still allowed the use of deadly force in cases of burglary. Garner’s fathers’ argument was made that his son was shot unconstitutionally because he was captured and shot possessing ten dollars that he had stolen and being unarmed showing no threat of danger to the officer. The incident was then reviewed by the Memphis Police Firearm’s Revie...
Imagine, a person is sitting in their classroom in college. He or she is focused on listening to the teacher, because he or she needs to pass the final exam in order to graduate. All of a sudden, an intruder charges through the door. The intruder pulls out a gun and starts blasting bullets throughout the classroom. There is nowhere to run and there is no way to fight back. Everyone is hit and on the floor, bleeding. This person is so close to graduating and starting a new life. Now his life has been cut short, because there was someone who illegally brought a gun to a school. Because the school had a symbol of “no guns allowed”. Because the intruder knew there was no one else could shoot back. Now imagine if that student, dying on the floor,
Over the years, this country has witnessed many cases of police brutality. It has become a controversial topic among communities that have seen police brutality take place in front of their homes. Officers are faced with many threatening situations everyday forcing them to make split second decisions and to expect the worst and hope for the best. Police officers are given the power to take any citizens rights away and even their lives. With that kind of power comes responsibility, that’s one major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is when to use force or when to use lethal force. The use of excessive force may or not be a large predicament but should be viewed by both the police and the community.
Mckay, Dan, and Jeff Proctor. “APD Shootings: No Easy Answers - Data Show Assaults on Officers, Incidents Don’t Always Track.” Albuquerque Journal (NM) 19 Apr. 2011 : A1. Print.
A father purchased a toy gun as a birthday gift for his young son. His son went outside to play and and encountered a police officer who shot him seven times. This incident occurred in Sonoma County in October 2013. A similar incident occurred in November 2014 when Cleveland police killed a 12-year-old boy carrying a toy gun. Use of excessive force by police is common in impoverished "black" or "brown" communities.
Over the years, this country has witnessed many cases of police brutality. It has become a controversial topic among communities that have seen police brutality take place in front of their homes. Officers are faced with many threatening situations everyday forcing them to make split second decisions and to expect the worst and hope for the best. Police officers are given the power to take any citizens rights away and even their lives. With that kind of power comes responsibility, that’s one major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is when to use force or when to use lethal force. The use of excessive force may or not be a large predicament but should be viewed by both the police and the community.
There are at least 6 to 8 complaints of every 100 officers made each year. At least 30 percent of the complaints are for excessive use of force and that doesn 't include all the undocumented complaints civilians make that are failed to be reported. In the past year, police officers have killed more than 776 people. This information has only recently been brought to light. For once the media is not exaggerating on the crimes police are committing; this is happening right here, right now in our own country. What can people do to stop these unlawful police officers from hurting innocent civilians? Having the officers wear body cameras can be a start. Even though there is not enough research to prove their effectiveness, body cameras should be
Why would you choose a simple stick bow over today's shiny, technologically advanced compound monsters? While it is true that modern advances have made archery more beginner friendly, the traditional longbow remains potent, lighting fast, and great fun.
As a result, “Nearly all agree that when an officer is facing a deadly threat, the proper response is to use deadly force”(Lind). Yes there are many people out there that can be a deadly threat to police officers because the way they are acting but, there are many innocent people that do not affect anyone and still have to be a part of the problem for no given reason. Although a police officer’s proper response is to use deadly force upon someone, there should be other alternatives or ways they can use before going into deadly force and possibly cause someone to lose their live. I certainly do understand that there are certain situations where a cop is coming across someone that is pointing a gun or knife at them and approaching towards them. So therefore them using deadly force would possibly be the right thing to do if they have too, but before using deadly force they should at least try deploying tasers or using bean bag guns to attempt in taking them
Violence in the United States is a major problem, but our politicians only want to focus on gun violence, and some of them believe the solution to ending gun violence is by preventing law abiding citizens from exercising their second amendment rights. Guns are easier to commit a crime with than other weapons, or without a weapon at all, but with an estimated 270 million guns the hands of citizens (11 facts), if they were the problem we would know it by now. It is undeniable that guns are responsible for a high amount of crime, but we already have tens of thousands of gun laws in the United States (How many gun laws are there?), that haven’t been able to curb gun violence. If the current laws were working, then maybe there would be a reasonable
Recently in the United States there has been in increase in deaths that have come from police officers using deadly force. The use of force is inevitable as a police officer, many times their own lives or the life’s civilians are at risk when it comes to determine what type of force a officer should use. There are many incidents where police officer have to react in a matter of seconds and has to choose between his own life or that of the individual causing the disturbance. When a Police Officer uses deadly force has caused outraged with the public, stirring up protests and creating a scandal for the police officer and the Police Department. Many do not know when it is right for an officer to use deadly force and what constitutes it, or what happens when the officer does not use the appropriate amount of force that is required to control the situation. There has been many changes in Police Departments around the country to try to reduce the use of deadly force in response to the issues that have occurred because of it.
Bart Palosz’s parents were on their way home one evening to the joy of their son, but instead, what they found was a tragic scene. Entering his sophomore year, on the first day of school, Bart was immediately targeted for a seemingly harmless joke organized by the other students; but little do they know it would be the last time they would see Bart Palosz. Bart has been a victim of bullying for over two years due to his body releasing hormones faster than the average teen at the age of 15 making him 6 feet and 3 inches tall. That evening, right after school, his heart and mind were so clouded by the pain of humiliation, Bart decided to end his life. Bart was aware of the shotgun in his parent’s room and he knew how to acquire it. With his parent’s
The reason police officers react slow to their situation is because they often pick the wrong amount of force. In Wolf’s study (2009), he talks about how most police officers have to analyze the situation and the offender, when the situation comes up. It is critical for a police officer to make the right decision, when taking action against a suspect. We see this in the case of Tennessee vs Garner. In the case the police officer used the wrong judgement and faced the consequences. Should deadly force be used by police departments? Deadly force is used when the officer thinks their life is endangered. That was the case with the police officer that shot Gardner. Society thinks that police officers just shoot suspects for anything they do. Police officer’s shoot suspects because they feel like there is no other option and have to reduce the threat in the immediate area. Police officers, often do not make the right decisions, when their suspect acts out of the norm of the officers (Wolf, 2009). Law enforcement officers have difficultly, when going to a crime scene because of what they do not expect. In the Graham vs Conner case, law enforcement officers did not know Graham was a diabetic. The officers
Gun safety is a subject that has been a main topic in the past few years among many, especially within politics. It is something that has become a substantial topic in the past few years due to many shootings and accidents that have occurred with today’s youth. It is a topic that needs to be addressed.