Abuse Of Power

Abuse of Power

There are too many people dying and being abused at the hands of law enforcement now a days. The police are placed in their positions to protect us from harm and danger, not to be the ones putting us in it.

If we did not have any cops there would be no form of people to protect us. But in 2012 in Washington over 400 people were killed at the hands of police officers. 18% of the African Americans killed were under the age of 21, compared to whites with only 8.7%. They are not here to protect us; we need someone to protect us from them.

The slayings by police officers are becoming more normalized in society. The U.S is familiar with police brutality. The Rodney King beating and deaths of Oscar Grant and Michael Brown are all examples where law enforcement has abused their power and belittled people of color.

In 2009, Johannes Mehserle-- a Bart cop, shot and killed an unarmed African American man (Oscar Grant). The court ruled that Mehserle due 365 days in a Los Angeles prison with time served. Michael Vick did nearly two years in jail for cruel and inhumane dog fighting ring. Michael Vick served more time behind bars for being cruel to animals, than Mehserle did for killing a man. Was Oscar Grant’s life not worth as much as a few dogs?

Now in Ferguson Missouri, Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager was shot 6 times by a police officer. You may think that it is just a coincidence and maybe we are just blowing it out of proportion. According to a Political Science professor at San Francisco State University, in Ferguson where the police force is primarily white, 86% of stops were of black people, 92% of searches were of black people and 93% of arrests were of black people.

With statistics like that, if I was a person of color in Ferguson I would always think twice before going outside. Not of the dangers the streets bring, but the fear of being harassed by the police. These are the people that we are suppose to trust to keep us safe, how are we suppose to do that if they are constantly abusing their authority. Why is it that when we see a police car driving behind yours, you feel more paranoid or scared rather than safe?

The reason they feel that they can do these things is because they feel that they are above the law. I don’t blame them because they are treated like they are. There is an assumption in our society that police get more credibility than the citizens just because of what their badge represents.

Police officers should get the same punishment as everybody else, with no exceptions. How is it that they can break laws, the same laws as the next man, and not get punished the way he did. The unspoken power given by the law to the police is unjust. The justice system has repeatedly shown that the police are held to a different standard, but not the standard that it should be. They receive light punishments and even get off with no punishment at all. We will see if justice is unserved again in the case of Michael Brown.

           We are in need of people to protect us because the ones that are appointed to do so are just harming us. Law enforcement are abusing their power and doing the opposite of what they are assigned to do. Look at it in the perspective of all of us being dogs on a leash and one dog is off of the leash causing havoc. Us citizens are held down by the restrictions (or laws in this case) of the leash; while the police are off of the leash and harassing the other dogs with no punishment afterwards. If the dog notices that he is the only one off the leash, he is going to feel that he is superior and able to do as he pleases. He will continue to harass and pick on the other dogs, especially if there are no repercussions being done. They need to be held accountable for their acts and need to be treated the same way we citizens are; they are not above the law.