Philip Kumi,
12/4/2019
police brutality and shooting started in 1872. I want to educate my audience about this incident and how they can protect themselves. The audience are black people. I specifically chose this audience because they are the people who are affected by it the most and research shows that as well. According to the police violence mapping website, “one thousand one hundred and forty-seven people were killed by the police and within those numbers, black people were twenty-five percent of the people who have been killed by the police and they are only thirteen percent of the population.” There is a huge gap between black, white and Hispanics when it comes to police brutality and shooting. I want to educate my audience about police brutality and what they can do when they are stopped by the police. My message to black people is, police brutality and shooting cannot be stopped but there are different things we can do to not fall victim of police brutality and shooting. We can all come together, educate ourselves on how we can reduce police brutality and shootings in our communities. We can organized campaign and workshops to educate our fellow black youth about police brutality and how they can conduct themselves when stopped by the police. We also need to be enlightened about the law and our rights and ways we can fight back legally when oppressed or abused by the police. There are firms and attorneys who are willing to participate in these campaigns about police brutality and ways we can hold the police responsible for their actions. An example is the Julian Castro campaign. This campaign is organized to end police brutality and they are dedicated to helping minorities and people affected by this situation to fight for their rights. My goal is to change both side’s opinions about each other and to let them act differently towards each other. Sometimes I feel like black people are at fault. They act aggressively towards the police and that makes the police reply in a form of violence. I also feel that the police act abusively towards black people because of the criminal stigma associated with black people and overall both sides need some education and should use a different approach towards each other. There are steps that we can follow when stopped by the police according to the NYCLU “we can protect ourselves by not interfering with the police in case of random search. Remaining silent and listening to the police attentively. Showing the police your identification card, insurance or driver’s license. Controlling your words, body language, and emotions. Not running or getting into an argument with the police. Keeping your hands where the police can see. Not touching the police officer, and lastly asking for a lawyer immediately after your arrest.” These are easy steps that we can follow and educate others in order to not become victims of police brutality and shooting. We need to know our rights when stopped by the police. We have rights everywhere we go, according to the criminal justice degree hub, we have certain rights such as the right to arm bears on ourselves, in our houses and when traveling. The fourth amendment the right to protection, the right to explain yourself calmly during searches by the police, your Miranda right which is the right to remain silent anything you say will be used against you in court and the right to an attorney and if you cannot afford one. An attorney will be provided for you, the right to peacefully protest in public, the right to have an attorney present at the airport when questioned by the police and lastly the right to stop the police from entering your house without a warrant.” There are certain things that the police cannot do as well. They can only use their guns when they see objects. According to the American Bar Association, In 2017 a white police officer who was video-recorded killing an unarmed black motorist in north charleston was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison”. This shows that the police can only be convicted and sentenced based on evidence. What we can all do is to turn our cell phone recording button on when interacting with the police besides that we can also videotape these kinds of police interactions and brutality from far distance then later confronting the person or family member about what you have to be used as evidence in court for justice to be served. We can help ourselves and others who are victims of police brutality and shooting. Another tip is not holding objects when stopped by the police. According to the same article which is the Amerian Bar Association, “A police officer from Arizona shot a woman who was holding a large kitchen knife.” Holding objects when stopped by the police can seem as a threat to the police. They are human and in terms of situations like that, they will use what they have to protect themselves when they get terrified or frustrated. So we need to know these types of information to be safe from their negative actions. We are in a society that governed against us based on our skin color or our past criminal records so we need to act a certain type of way to not fall into their traps. When we come across incidents like this first we need to get a lawyer or an attorney who will understand our situation. Secondly we need to present any evidence we have in court to persuade the judge to rule in favor of us and lastly, regardless of our pain we should try and remain calm, treat the police with respect and use the appropriate language when stopped by the police. We need to know this basic information in order to take legal procedures when they abuse their power or act illegally towards us.
Message to the police department.
The majority of us black people might have criminal records but that does not give you the right to criminalize the whole community. In every community, there are good people and bad people you can’t characterize the whole people as criminals because people who have similar skin color as those who are committing crimes. Our society needs a social change, your role is to protect people not to abuse and killed people. Based on the New York Times article, “a 28 years old woman named Jefferson was shot by the police through her window because the police received a phone call from the neighbor saying that he had noticed the light was on in the middle of the night and is not normal for them. meanwhile, Ms Jefferson was playing video games with her cousin. The officer later resigned and was arrested.” This shows that shooting can affect both sides. We the people can be affected the most but the police can end up losing their job or being sentenced. In this case, the police were supposed to present him or herself as a police and ask the person’s permission to go for a random search. Everything should be done calmly if there is no illegal possessions. The police should never take action or use their weapons without any investigation or confrontation.
Citation
Eligon, J. (2019, November 24). A White Officer Shoots a Black Colleague, Deepening a Racial Divide. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/24/us/st-louis-race-police.html.
Ohm, B. w. (2015, November 25). Some Modern Day Musings on the Police Power. Retrieved fromhttps://www.americanbar.org/groups/state_local_government/publications/urban_lawyer/2015/47-4/police-power/.
NYCLU: Immediate Investigation and Reforms Needed After Allegations of Police Brutality in School. (2008, November25).Retrievedfromhttps://www.nyclu.org/en/press-releases/nyclu-immediate-investigation-and-reforms-needed-after-allegations-police-brutality.
Gregory, K. (2019, February 13). How Videos of Police Brutality Traumatize African Americans andUnderminetheSearchforJustice.Retrievedfromhttps://newrepublic.com/article/153103/videos-police-brutality-traumatize-african-americans-undermine-search-justice.
