My Opinion on Politics, Race, and Gender Discrimination

Police Brutality

Police brutality is something that has been in the news this past year. We all know that police brutality exists in the United States, but politicians are unsure of what to do next. We know that we need reforms, but what reforms? What is the content of those reforms? And will those reforms end police brutality? Statistically, 1,000 civilians a year are killed by law enforcement. Black people are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police than white people. Black people who are shot by police are twice as likely to be unarmed, than white people. White police officers called into predominantly black areas fired their guns five times more than black officers called into those same areas, as seen in the chart below.

I think that policemen need to have their body-cams on at all times. It doesn't solve problems, but what will happen the day we don't have eyewitnesses and something like this happens. It's hard enough to find incriminating evidence against corrupt police officers, so if this same footage is found on a police's body-cam, it might be easier to get justice for the families of victims. I do believe that until reforms get passed,

there will be more Eric Garners, George Floyds, and Breonna Taylors. Which is why we need reforms. Evidence shows that if police officers listen to civilians or try to engage with the community, instead of pulling out their guns and shooting, they can form trust between the police and civilians. I think because of the horrible things that policemen like Derek Chauvin have done, people don't feel like they can trust the police. I know this because I'm afraid of the police, and I'm not even black. I can't even think of the fear black people have of police. As a child, you are told that the police are there to make you feel safe, but I don't feel safe when I think of the police. I feel threatened because the police are not doing their job. Most police brutality occurs in small towns, as seen in this chart below.

By curtailing police encounters, we could make more changes. Black and Latino boys regularly stopped by police, are more likely to commit real crimes later on. I believe there is racial bias in the country, and it is reflected in this policing system.
The concept of police brutality is not a new one. It's been going on for years. The most similar situation to our current situation was from the late 40s to the early

60s. The civil rights movement. We've all see the image of the young protester being attacked by a police dog.

disturbing, but it's something that happened, and still happens. Now, all people have been subjected to violence by police. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, working-class white people had been discriminated against by police. Around the same time, Jewish immigrants had been harassed by police. In the 1920s, police were violent against Italian-American people. In 1943, Latinos were targeted by police. In 1969 the Stonewall riots occurred in response to a police raid in a gay bar. After 9/11, Muslim Americans

were being oppressed. All of this is horrible, but it is close to nothing, compared to what the African American community faces every day. All races are victims of racism, but African Americans have been systematically targeted since day one. The system put in place many years ago was designed to punish Black Americans exclusively.
From 1916 to 1970, police brutality against black people was shaped by the Great Migration. Which many people migrated from the North, South, and West of Africa. White communities and white police departments were not used to seeing so many African Americans so they were treated unequally. African Americans were viewed as a threat. Police departments decided that African Americans were a threat. By the 1950s, that "threat", had to be distanced and separated from white America. That is where segregation was implemented, a racist tactic did not only in America but in South Africa too, where it was called Apartheid. Police didn't just hit black people. This abuse and harassment varied. It was years of unlawful arrests, verbal abuse, excessive force, sexually abusing black women, threatening people, and so many more dehumanizing things. Police were also regularly involved with a crime like drug and gun smuggling.

Many white communities were unaware of this until 1960, because the news, whose readership was primarily white, never wrote about that.
Because of a phenomenon known as white flight, in which in formerly white areas that had integrated, white people left to go to the suburbs, black people roamed freely around these old white areas. Police saw this as more of a threat, and police brutality increased in those areas. This also made it easier for the KKK and other groups to attack black people.
In the 70s and 80s, police precincts became more diverse, but brutality was still there. The Central Park Five was a case of police brutality, in which 5 black and Latino boys were hurt by police and forced to lie about a crime they did not commit. They were sent to jail for 13 years until a man confessed. This man confessed he wasn't caught, meaning he had more compassion than the police who arrested children. Donald Trump at the time said 'bring back the death penalty'. He wanted to kill children, and he wanted society to hate them because of a rape they didn't commit, which is a display of his hypocrisy when you think about how many women have claimed to have been raped by him around the same time. Nowadays, black Americans are

facing an attack on their freedom caused by police, and this needs to stop happening.
This year has been so crazy with the George Floyd protests alone, that I'm going to step back and walk you through what has happened.
● On May 25th, George Floyd was killed by a policeman who put his knee on his neck. Floyd said 'I can't breathe', before dying. Everyone was horrified.
● On May 26th, people started protesting. This protest was huge, and the first of many protests around the world. The four officers involved in the death of George Floyd were fired.
● On May 27th, protests spread mourning the loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other African Americans who died at the hands of police. This is where looting and fires appear.
● On May 28th, a Cheeto in the White House decides to deploy the National Guard to Minneapolis and refers to peaceful protesters as thugs.
● On May 29th, Derek Chauvin is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

● On May 31st, the mayor imposes curfews because of the protests.
● On June 1st, protesters are undeterred by the curfew.
● On June 2nd, people fear protests could spread COVID-19.
● On June 3rd, the other officers involved in the killing of George Floyd are charged.
● On June 4th, Minneapolis holds a memorial for George Floyd.
● On June 5th, vigils are held on Breonna Taylor's birthday.
● On June 7th, confederate statues fell. I do not think there should be confederate statues. People say it's about remembering history, but that's not true. Books, movies, newspapers, sources, facts are how we remember history. We learn about history at school and know about history because we were taught it. Statues are for glorification. You can not glorify a confederate soldier, therefore confederate statues shouldn't exist.
● On June 9, George Floyd's funeral is held.
● On June 10th, his brother calls for reforms.
Many more things have happened since this time. I don't say these things to hate policemen. I want us to

get to a point where I and others feel safe calling 911 or being stopped for speeding because the police will handle it by helping us or giving us a ticket, instead of shooting us, and as long as these corrupt, abusive policemen remain, that won't happen.