...questions later. In the past few years that have gone by we seen a lot of unarmed black males killed by white police officers and how the police officers got a “pat on the back” and let go. This caused an uproar among the black community and it caused them to come together and protest that justice be served. It all started back in 2012 when George Zimmerman was acquitted for the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. But before Trayvon there was Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old who got shot by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009. Oscar and his friends were involved in an altercation on the train which needed the police to get involved. He was then...
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...When I saw we would be watching Fruitvale Station, I was overcome by memories. I am from the city Pleasant Hill which is no more than half an hour away from Hayward. In 2009 when Oscar Grant was shot, everyone had heard about it. For the entire week you couldn’t talk to someone without the shooting being mentioned. At the time I was only in 6th grade starting high school. I did not know anyone directly related to Oscar Grant, however during this tragedy everyone felt connected to him personally. His case is what sparked many protests in the Bay Area and moved the topic of police brutality into discussion. I thought I had known the entire story based on news reports but seeing this movie really made him seem as more than just a struggling black...
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...influences viral crime by perpetuating police brutality. It’s all over the news, newspaper, social media, and anything anyone can think of. The media mostly talks about police officers beating or shooting a man. It’s one story after the next and the media is always on top of it. One thing they aren’t on top of is telling the people what led to the incident or why it happened. There are many police shootings that have happen all over the United States these past few years. I believe that police officers do stereotype people, such as black men to be a threat. Incidents like police shootings happen because of stereotype threats. For example, if a police officer came across a black male in a stop they would be more aware of him and ask...
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...Tennessee v. Garner, (1985) is a landmark Supreme Court case that required the court to determine the constitutionality of the use of deadly force to prevent the escape of an apparently unarmed suspect. During this time the officer in question was acting under the authority of a Tennessee statue and Police Department policy. The statue stated, “[i]f, after notice of the intention to arrest the defendant, he either flee or forcibly resist, the officer may use all the necessary means to effect the arrest.” The department policy allows the use of deadly force in the case of burglary, but is more restrictive than the statue. This case never saw action after the incident until the suspect’s father brought the issue to the Federal District Court...
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...29-year-old Mark Duggan was shot by the police in Tottenham on August 4, 2011. He was shot in the chest because the police had suspicion that he had a weapon and was planning an attack. This event wouldn't have turned to much if Mark was not dark skinned. No one would have given it a second thought, but he was. There was always tension between black people and the police since 1985 the Broadwater Farm riot. Since 1985 there was progress in the relationship but the shooting raised the tension once again. According to David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, Duggan's death was part of "a history in Tottenham that involves deaths in the police custody". Claudia Webbe the chairperson of Operation Trident, asserted that many black people saw Dugan's shooting as "yet another unjust death in custody" and that young people in Tottenham are "still six, seven eight times more likely to be stopped and searched than their white counterparts". One of the reasons I think the riots occurred and turned to more than just a protest was because of what Claudia Webbe said. Black people were getting stopped and searched more than white people. I think the black youth got tired of it. Of having to get searched and judged just because of their skin color. The riot at first wasn't meant to be a riot it was just a protest march organized by Duggan's family demanding justice. Rioting occurred after about 120 people marched from Broadwater Farm to Tottenham Police Station...
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...Feis, Aaron. Bain, Jennifer. Short, Aaron. Italiano, Laura. “Shooting victim’s family begs de Blasio: ‘We need stop-and-frisk’. New York Post. 31 May. 2015. Web. 31 October. 2015. Based on the article, “Shooting victim’s family begs de Blasio: ‘We need stop-and-frisk’, by Aaron Feis, Jennifer Bain, Aaron Short and Laura Italiano. They talk about the increase of murders in New York City during this year. Furthermore, Feis, Bain, Short and Italiano illustrate the opinion of many residents who have lost their loved-ones during this rise of gun violence. These people have raise their voices asking to Mayor De Blasio to bring back the NYPD’s right to search for guns. On the other hand, the authors reveal that every week the number of murder victims in NYC rise, leaving a negative...
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...practice by law enforcement officials of targets of targeted individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, and religion or nation origin. I am against racial profiling, it is typical practiced by police upon reliance on a group of characteristics deemed to be associated with crime. In 2000, 20 state legislatures considered legislation which would require compiling records on police stops according to the journal article Racial Profiling by Baltimore: Prejudice Institute. Some proposals include fining police officers who engage in profiling and withholding state funds from offending police departments. According to the article Trayvon Martin case highlighted as radical profiling by Senate panel, “4.3 million street stops done by the New York Police Department from 2002 to 2011 disproportionately targeted black and Latino residents and that just 12 percent of total stops resulted in an arrest or summons.” This demonstrates the concept of racial profiling being abused, in these stops along with the Trayvon case “stereotypes played a role,” said Anthony Romero. Countless accounts have been made by activists regarding to this sensitive and controversial topic of racial profiling. “There is a real tension between black boys and the police. Not perceived but real. If you walk into any inner city school in the African American community and ask students, Have any of you ever been racially profiled everyone will raise their hands” said U.S Rep. Frederica Wilson...
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...take an oath before they take the stand, if a person does not want to take the oath, or does not understand the oath, said witness would be disallowed to take the stand. Another traditional safeguard for credibility on the stand is the opportunity for cross-examination. This ensures that one side of the case does not persuade a witness to answer a certain set of question in order to favour the accused or otherwise. Lastly the opportunity for the jury to observe the demeanour of the witness. The jury are important in making the decision for the court and they are chosen specifically because they are (in most cases) equals to the accused and witnesses, and it is for good reason that the jury are present at the whole trial in order to see the actions and reactions of the witnesses so that they can make a justified decision. It should also be noted that all witnesses, just as all accused are innocence until proven guilty, are credible until proven otherwise. A court room can be a very stressful place and it can be nerve-racking to have to sit in front a judge and tell them the story of what happened coherently. This does not change that the court will watch the movements and even facial expressions of a witness to determine if they are telling the truth. The demeanour of a witness can sway the judge and even the jury from thinking a testimony is believable without the witness even thinking that they are doing anything wrong. Stuttering and moving around in the seat a lot are things that...
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...Jett, April Hope The Significance of the Columbine High School Events CRJU 2110 Assignment #2 Introduction: The Columbine High School Shooting Event occurred at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado on April 20, 1999. At the time of the shooting, I was in the seventh grade of junior high school. I can remember thinking for months after this that it could occur anywhere and I was afraid to go to school. This shooting was the most significant shooting in a school in the history of the United States of America. During this incident, two high school seniors planned and carried out a massacre. These two students were Eric Harris (eighteen years old) and Dylan Klebold (seventeen years old). After all was said and done, thirteen people plus Harris and Klebold were dead and twenty-three people were injured. These events showed this nation that schools are no longer safe and that incidents that occur in schools should be dealt with swiftly and harshly. Schools now focus on security, bullying, and response to these type incidents. Topic I – Security A. Zero Tolerance in Schools B. Preventive Measures Topic II- Bullying A. Profiling B. Communication C. Anti-Bullying Laws Topic III- Incident Response A. School System Response B. Emergency Responder Response C. Post Response I. Security A. Zero Tolerance in Schools Schools in this country have adopted a zero tolerance policy. This means that the school deals with any infraction basically...
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...Argument Essay By Joseph Peterson Ivy Tech Community College Argument Essay Guns or no guns? That seems to be a big question these days. A lot of the reason behind the discussion is mass shootings that occur so often now days. Other forms of violence with guns happen, but the most controversy over guns usually occurs after a mass shooting. The reason for that is that mass shootings tend to be more mindless and more innocent people are hurt or killed in mass shootings. The thought of what if I or one of my families was in one of these mass shootings always hit home afterwards, and so we think of ways to prevent them from happening again. I have a question though is guns really the issue or is it really another issue? I think that the anti-gun activists use every shooting as just another door to support their views against guns. I can see why they do since guns are used to the shootings, but taking away a normal citizens right to own a gun and defend themselves against crimes is not smart. These shootings are not done by normal citizens and could still occur even if they took away guns from the normal citizens who just want protection. Police are not always there when you need them and sometimes you need to protect yourself first as we can see from different crimes that take place today. What would stop a mass shooter from buying guns illegally? Do they not think that they could? Drugs are illegal but still sold and used everywhere every minute. One argument...
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...Police Brutality Police brutality is a very heard about public feud that some citizens feel very strongly about. The bottom line is that police brutality has been portrayed by the media in numerous ways. People are constantly hearing and watching police officers engage in hostile situations with sometimes innocent people. Communities are trying to band together and protest police brutality, but this sometimes adds more police violence. Like the situation in Greensboro,NC when a group of peacefully protesting girls were pepper sprayed for asking an officer a question. Now that specific protest was held because of the shooting of a black male that could have more than likely been fueled by racism. One of the most vital factors to fuel a conflict...
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...focuses on presenting current news to the public and is one of the largest forms of media we have in Britain. The press and media in general insist that it is only fact and truth that is reported to the public, however, there are times when the media either permits itself to be manipulated or to act as the agent of manipulation; seemingly, we as the public, receive the opinions of the few, select people that are running the mass media who use the power of mediation to position audience response through encoded values with the media acting as an opinion leader (2-step flow). Mark Duggan was shot by armed police in Tottenham, August 2011, after officers stopped the cab he was in to make an arrest. Duggan was unarmed at the time yet just hours later stories were circulating the media about a dramatic ‘shootout’ with Duggan represented as a ‘violent gangster’. Within just two days of his death, riots had erupted in London as well as copycat riots in other cities up and down the country and reported globally by the press. Before getting out of hand, the riots were a direct response to the actions of the police. Mark Duggan didn’t hit the front page until after the riots had begun and it is likely that, similar to the case of Stephen Lawrence, the audience will never fully know the reality of the initial event. The final inquest report (2014) ruled that the killing was lawful. Looking back on the newspaper and press coverage, how was Duggan mediated? This is the coverage of...
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...School Shootings When I think of school shootings my mind immediately goes back to the Columbine High school shooting. This was the first school shooting that I was actually old enough to remember and understand. I still remember having a moment of silence for all of those involved. The New world encyclopedia states “Columbine High School shooting was one of the deadliest mass shootings in United States history. On April 20, 1999, two teenagers killed 13 people and wounded more than 20 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The incident drew worldwide attention. It led to widespread discussion over gun control and the prevention of school violence.” (Funk & Wagnalls) According to Wikipedia from 2011 to 2015 there has been 99 school shootings including grade schools, high schools, and colleges. This is a problem that needs more national attention in my opinion in order for there to be some form of change. The killers in school shootings (mass shootings) are what we call mass murderers, they typically want to send a message. It was stated the two students in Columbine sought revenge on bullies; this shooting/bombing was meant to send the message to them. According to a few articles I read they define their personalities as, “pseudocommando” these individuals kill in public during the daytime, plan their offense well in advance, and come prepared with arsenal of weapons, very similar to that of the school shooting killers. (Knoll) According to Warnick, the children...
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...Weeks ago there was a school shooting in Parkland Florida, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Schuster 1.)That shooting brought out demands for gun reform laws and change, from students across the nation. For example, students across the country walked out of schools on Wednesday, March 14, to honor and remember the 17 dead, for 17 minutes(Schuster 1.) This is going to follow up by a walk on Washington called“, March For Our Lives” on March 24 (Schuster 2.) With all the attention that this movement is causing, it has the nation divided once again. People are wondering if guns are the issue or if mental health and bullying is the issue. On February 14, 2018, a shooting in Parkland Florida created a movement (Schuster 1.) A man named Nikolas Cruz would kill 17 high school students, and wounded 16 others (Kirby 1) From this movement the issue of school shootings arrived. Everyone has an opinion, and people are split on how to tackle and eliminate mass shootings. Some say guns are to blame while others are saying mental health and bullying issues are to be blamed....
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...Is His Best Choice?? Every reader of Orwell’s narrative “Shooting An Elephant,” will have an opinion on whether Orwell is simply a coward or just conflicted on his actions and feelings in the situation. Many readers believe he is a coward; however, he was very confused about what to do with the elephant. He knew he did not want to shoot the elephant but he also knew the natives expected him to end the animal with no hesitation because the elephant took the life of a native. Orwell seems to realize this, as he is followed by almost the entire town so they could all witness the shooting. Even though the main argument is that Orwell is a coward for not wanting to shoot the elephant, he shot it mainly because the natives expected him to; therefore, Orwell is deeply conflicted on his authority and actions in this situation. Orwell states that he is “theoretically all for the Burmese and against their oppressors” (134). (Emphasis added) He secretly roots for the natives even though he is an enemy to the people. He says “theoretically” because he really despises both parties, but if he had to choose between these factions, he would choose the natives. He is an Imperial officer and is expected to be on the British side. He also believes he is “not important enough to be hated” (George Orwell, 133). He is hated by the natives because of his role as a colonial police officer. He feels it is the only time in his life that...
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