8-10 pages not including the cover page and works cited page. It must include min. of 5 sources. Must be formatted in MLA style.
White Officers Killing Unarmed Black Men
Nicole Pixley
Nic2159979
Andrea Banks
April 14, 2015
With all the controversy Americans have seen in the news media lately with white police officers killing unarmed black citizens it's hard not to wonder if there is truly racism in our police force or are there other real issues causing such a large number of deaths? There is no cut and dry answer to this question. There will always be someone proving the answer wrong or doing something that doesn't fit with the majority. For the sake of this paper the discussion will be about the majority. Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and even Trevon Martin are names that most people in America know very well. The deaths of these men were all by the hands of white police officers. Each person was very different in a very different situation and yet the media always talks about their deaths as if they were caused by the same reason, racism. The Michael Brown case is a prime example of whether there is racism in the police force or if there is something else going on that is leading to the deaths of unarmed black males. Doing research into these accounts and talking to an officer has shed some light on the issue. The killing of black males by white officers can be accounted for black communities having higher crime rates, more police contact, and more aggressive arrests.
The crime rates in black communities have always been an issue. A term has even been created to refer to the violence in these communities, "black on black crime." In a video produced by Reliable Sources "Do White People Not Get Ferguson?" the black Republican interviewee, Crystal Wright, states that she believes the so-called "black on black crime" in black communities have been the sole cause of higher fatalities of black men by officers, period. Black communities are also known to be of low income and have higher unemployment rates compared to white communities. Luiza Ch. Savage explains in "America Can't Breathe", from the EBSCO HOST, that the increase in police shootings in black neighborhoods can be accredited to the increase in jobs lost and home foreclosures among black people. During the start of the Obama administration public sector jobs were cut. As Luiza Savage points out "African-Americans are 30 percent more likely to be employed by the public sector, which accounts for more than one-fifth of black jobs." The loss of jobs has forced men and women to look for other means of making money, like selling drugs or robbing stores. With the higher rates of crime in these communities comes the higher risk of coming into contact with the police. If a person is following the law and doing what they are supposed to then there would be no room for error unless there was actual racism happening. Detroit Michigan has had the worst reputation for being the city with the highest crime rate in the United States. The majority of the population in Detroit is African American. It is not a coincidence that the shootings as of late would create public outcry and be called racist. The history of the United States is filled with racism and hate crimes towards black people. When is this no longer a forced racial issue but an actual society issue? It cannot go unseen that if the actions of a person are within the law then there is no reason to have police contact. Communities with higher crime rates need more police presence. Due to the higher crime rates in black communities black males come into contact with police officers more often than white males.
With the many different issues leading to the problems in black communities it is hard to know where to exactly place blame. Even without pointing a finger the case still is the same, black communities have higher crime rates and that leads to more police contact. One of the biggest issues when trying to find statistics on black shootings and white shootings by the police is that there have never been any statistics done. The government refuses to fund it and the police don't want to report it. They don't report any shootings for statistical findings. The media has created their own statistics to drive up ratings. Any news source on TV. is not obligated to be completely honest in their deliverance of the news. It is a fact that stories sell and the news media will eat up any story it can for coverage. The stories that are seen on the news are the stories that they know will get the attention of the public. There have not been any major reporting's on any instance where a black man, cop or person was involved in a shooting with a white person. They do not report them because it does not sell. The media has exploited the deaths of criminals like Michael Brown by showing pictures of him as an innocent teenager, years before the incident took place. One of the biggest causes for the racial outcry in this country is due to the media influence. Police contact in communities with higher crime rates are not a racial issue but an issue that needs to resolve by keeping the police in those communities working on getting those streets cleaned up.
In almost every instance that there has been mass media coverage stating a shooting took place between a black male and a white officer it was because of the citizen not following what the officer directed them to do or the citizen being violent. Steve Chapman makes a very good point in his article in the Chicago Tribune "Are Blacks to Blame for Cops' Actions":
Violent crime rates are far higher among blacks than among whites and
other groups. One reason cops have a disproportionate number of
interactions with African-American males is that these men commit
a disproportionate number of offenses. Where the argument fails is in
its assumption that blacks are complacent about these realities and
that whites are blameless. The gist of the message is that blacks created
the problem and blacks need to solve it.
How can a whole race be blamed for the actions of a few? Well the problem is that it's not just a few. According to the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) black males are incarcerated six times the rate of white males. Some of these arrests have taken place because of discrimination but not without just cause. Sometimes discrimination is useful and has to be used. An example of a necessary discrimination is dealing with theft at Walmart. When a black man walks out of Walmart with a full shopping cart, compared to a white man, the black man may be stopped to show a receipt. This is due to the higher crime rate of black males stealing from Walmart. Is that discrimination or Walmart trying to protect themselves? Black communities are not naïve to this issue. They understand fully what the issues are because they live through it every day. There was a survey done in 2013 for NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health concluding that "26 percent of black Americans rank crime as the most important issue facing the area they live" (Bouie). Even looking at the most current events on the news, the destruction of Ferguson after the verdict on the Michael Brown case. It is noticeable that there was a large amount of crime happening in these communities. There were fires, buildings completely destroyed and stores that had been looted that were owned by white and black business owners. Was this kind of retaliation necessary? Why would a large number of black people in a community believe it would make a difference to destroy the businesses of hard working people to prove a point? The only point that can be seen from these actions is that there is a large number of people in that black community that are violent. This caused for more police contact and more force being used to calm the situation. People were being arrested and charged because during the arrest they would not comply with officer.
There are major difference in the arrests of black males and white males according to police. An interview with a white officer from Buffalo, NY (who does not want any personal information on record) stated that in most cases while arresting black males they become combative, verbally abusive and often physical with the officers. He also stated that in the arrest of black males the likelihood of finding a deadly weapon was close to 90 percent stating it is not unusual for a black male to have possession of a gun when committing a crime. Also he talked about the issue that it doesn't matter if the arresting officer is black or white whether the charged black male is aggressive. When the officer has tried to make arrests of black males after the recent incidents with Michael Brown things have become worse; "There is a new sense of entitlement that I have come across. Black men will scream that they are being brutalized and that the officer in some way is in the wrong for catching a criminal. It makes my job a lot harder" (Anonymous). Michael Brown was not a small man and did not follow the directions of the officer he came in contact with. Instead he became violent and aggressive. In Missouri the law states if an officer feels threatened he has the right to protect himself in any way necessary. Michael Brown committed a crime by robbing a convenience store right before he was shot. If Michael Brown had not committed that crime and had he not been combative with the officer the situation could have been handled differently and he may still be alive today. Unfortunately he was combative and aggressive with the officer by trying to take the officer's gun and he hit him in the face. There is no excuse to take a man's life no matter what race they are but the officer had the right to protect himself in that situation. The courts sided with the officer in the case because of this. Some believe that it would have been a smarter move if the officer would have shot him in the leg or used his Taser gun first but with the incidents leading up to the actual shot that killed Michael Brown it is hard to say that any of those options would have been possible. According to Darren Wilson, the officer that shot Michael Brown, the only thing that was asked in the initial contact with Michael Brown was if he and his friend would move to the sidewalk. After, Michael Brown became violent and tried to take the officers' gun but when he wasn't able to Michael Brown punched him in the face (McCoy). Officer Wilson did not pull over, pull his gun and fire because he seen two black males walking in the street. The aggressive actions and nature of Michael Brown caused the situation to escalate to where it went. In other current news this was not the case.
The most current video that has swept America shows a white officer, Michael T. Slager, shooting at an unarmed black man, Walter L. Scott, eight times as he jogged away from him. Later it is brought to the attention of the community that Walter Scott was running from the officer because he owed past child support and didn't want to go to jail. Officer Slager tased Walter Scott and when that wouldn't keep him down he pulled his gun and shot Walter Scott five time in the back until he fell. Michael Slager then proceeded to cuff Walter Scott and left him lying on the ground, dying until other officers came to the scene. This incident has proven to be one instance that could have to do with racism but again the citizen did not follow the directions of the officer and even ran from him. The officer, Michael T. Slager, is being charged with murder and is awaiting trial because there seems to be foul play. The officer had no right to shoot Walter Scott and the police department is not standing by the officer for doing so. During the news conference held about the incident the Mayor, Keith Summey, of North Charleston South Carolina where the incident took place, stated "When you're wrong, you're wrong; and if you make a bad decision, don't care if you're behind the shield or just a citizen on the street, you have to live by that decision" (Washington Post). It is not that racism doesn't happen, it is that the majority of the time when there is a shooting of a black male by a white police officer it is because of the crimes committed and the aggressive situation. In the article "Darren Wilson Explains Why He Killed Michael Brown", Darren gives his testimony of what happened that night with Michael Brown:
I drew my gun... He is standing here. I said, 'Get back or I'm
going to shoot you. He immediately grabs my gun and says, 'you
are too much of a pussy to shoot me.'" (The men struggled for the gun
and Wilson pulled the trigger). Nothing. It just clicked. I pull it again. It just clicked. At this point, I'm like 'why isn't this working,' this guy is going to kill me if he gets ahold of this gun. It finally goes off and the car's interior explodes with shattered glass and globs of blood. (Wilson looked at the unarmed teen and the teen looked back). He looked up at me and had the most intense aggressive face. The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon, that's how angry he looked (McCoy).
Each instance is different, each time there is an arrest the situation is different. One thing to be certain is that if there is a criminal act committed then police contact will follow.
The recent killings of unarmed black men in news could all have been prevented. Following the law and listening to the officer would have changed everything for Michael Brown and even Walter Scott. The media has made every shooting that has to do with a black victim and a white officer out to be a racial issue. When dealing with these shootings the situation needs to be considered and the person that the officer is having to deal with. So many arrests of black man have caused the police to worry about guns, violence and retaliation that it has put the officers on edge. Black communities have higher crime rates then white communities which lead to more police contact and more arrests. The actions of the citizen under arrest have led to their deaths. The fact that the officers are white are not part of the issue but is being used to cover what really needs to change.
Three categories I think could strengthen my essay:
1) Better organization
2) More statistical information
3) Better citing
White Officers Killing Unarmed Black Men
Nicole Pixley
Nic2159979
Andrea Banks
April 14, 2015
With all the controversy Americans have seen in the news media lately with white police officers killing unarmed black citizens it's hard not to wonder if there is truly racism in our police force or are there other real issues causing such a large number of deaths? There is no cut and dry answer to this question. There will always be someone proving the answer wrong or doing something that doesn't fit with the majority. For the sake of this paper the discussion will be about the majority. Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and even Trevon Martin are names that most people in America know very well. The deaths of these men were all by the hands of white police officers. Each person was very different in a very different situation and yet the media always talks about their deaths as if they were caused by the same reason, racism. The Michael Brown case is a prime example of whether there is racism in the police force or if there is something else going on that is leading to the deaths of unarmed black males. Doing research into these accounts and talking to an officer has shed some light on the issue. The killing of black males by white officers can be accounted for black communities having higher crime rates, more police contact, and more aggressive arrests.
The crime rates in black communities have always been an issue. A term has even been created to refer to the violence in these communities, "black on black crime." In a video produced by Reliable Sources "Do White People Not Get Ferguson?" the black Republican interviewee, Crystal Wright, states that she believes the so-called "black on black crime" in black communities have been the sole cause of higher fatalities of black men by officers, period. Black communities are also known to be of low income and have higher unemployment rates compared to white communities. Luiza Ch. Savage explains in "America Can't Breathe", from the EBSCO HOST, that the increase in police shootings in black neighborhoods can be accredited to the increase in jobs lost and home foreclosures among black people. During the start of the Obama administration public sector jobs were cut. As Luiza Savage points out "African-Americans are 30 percent more likely to be employed by the public sector, which accounts for more than one-fifth of black jobs." The loss of jobs has forced men and women to look for other means of making money, like selling drugs or robbing stores. With the higher rates of crime in these communities comes the higher risk of coming into contact with the police. If a person is following the law and doing what they are supposed to then there would be no room for error unless there was actual racism happening. Detroit Michigan has had the worst reputation for being the city with the highest crime rate in the United States. The majority of the population in Detroit is African American. It is not a coincidence that the shootings as of late would create public outcry and be called racist. The history of the United States is filled with racism and hate crimes towards black people. When is this no longer a forced racial issue but an actual society issue? It cannot go unseen that if the actions of a person are within the law then there is no reason to have police contact. Communities with higher crime rates need more police presence. Due to the higher crime rates in black communities black males come into contact with police officers more often than white males.
With the many different issues leading to the problems in black communities it is hard to know where to exactly place blame. Even without pointing a finger the case still is the same, black communities have higher crime rates and that leads to more police contact. One of the biggest issues when trying to find statistics on black shootings and white shootings by the police is that there have never been any statistics done. The government refuses to fund it and the police don't want to report it. They don't report any shootings for statistical findings. The media has created their own statistics to drive up ratings. Any news source on TV. is not obligated to be completely honest in their deliverance of the news. It is a fact that stories sell and the news media will eat up any story it can for coverage. The stories that are seen on the news are the stories that they know will get the attention of the public. There have not been any major reporting's on any instance where a black man, cop or person was involved in a shooting with a white person. They do not report them because it does not sell. The media has exploited the deaths of criminals like Michael Brown by showing pictures of him as an innocent teenager, years before the incident took place. One of the biggest causes for the racial outcry in this country is due to the media influence. Police contact in communities with higher crime rates are not a racial issue but an issue that needs to resolve by keeping the police in those communities working on getting those streets cleaned up.
In almost every instance that there has been mass media coverage stating a shooting took place between a black male and a white officer it was because of the citizen not following what the officer directed them to do or the citizen being violent. Steve Chapman makes a very good point in his article in the Chicago Tribune "Are Blacks to Blame for Cops' Actions":
Violent crime rates are far higher among blacks than among whites and
other groups. One reason cops have a disproportionate number of
interactions with African-American males is that these men commit
a disproportionate number of offenses. Where the argument fails is in
its assumption that blacks are complacent about these realities and
that whites are blameless. The gist of the message is that blacks created
the problem and blacks need to solve it.
How can a whole race be blamed for the actions of a few? Well the problem is that it's not just a few. According to the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) black males are incarcerated six times the rate of white males. Some of these arrests have taken place because of discrimination but not without just cause. Sometimes discrimination is useful and has to be used. An example of a necessary discrimination is dealing with theft at Walmart. When a black man walks out of Walmart with a full shopping cart, compared to a white man, the black man may be stopped to show a receipt. This is due to the higher crime rate of black males stealing from Walmart. Is that discrimination or Walmart trying to protect themselves? Black communities are not naïve to this issue. They understand fully what the issues are because they live through it every day. There was a survey done in 2013 for NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health concluding that "26 percent of black Americans rank crime as the most important issue facing the area they live" (Bouie). Even looking at the most current events on the news, the destruction of Ferguson after the verdict on the Michael Brown case. It is noticeable that there was a large amount of crime happening in these communities. There were fires, buildings completely destroyed and stores that had been looted that were owned by white and black business owners. Was this kind of retaliation necessary? Why would a large number of black people in a community believe it would make a difference to destroy the businesses of hard working people to prove a point? The only point that can be seen from these actions is that there is a large number of people in that black community that are violent. This caused for more police contact and more force being used to calm the situation. People were being arrested and charged because during the arrest they would not comply with officer.
There are major difference in the arrests of black males and white males according to police. An interview with a white officer from Buffalo, NY (who does not want any personal information on record) stated that in most cases while arresting black males they become combative, verbally abusive and often physical with the officers. He also stated that in the arrest of black males the likelihood of finding a deadly weapon was close to 90 percent stating it is not unusual for a black male to have possession of a gun when committing a crime. Also he talked about the issue that it doesn't matter if the arresting officer is black or white whether the charged black male is aggressive. When the officer has tried to make arrests of black males after the recent incidents with Michael Brown things have become worse; "There is a new sense of entitlement that I have come across. Black men will scream that they are being brutalized and that the officer in some way is in the wrong for catching a criminal. It makes my job a lot harder" (Anonymous). Michael Brown was not a small man and did not follow the directions of the officer he came in contact with. Instead he became violent and aggressive. In Missouri the law states if an officer feels threatened he has the right to protect himself in any way necessary. Michael Brown committed a crime by robbing a convenience store right before he was shot. If Michael Brown had not committed that crime and had he not been combative with the officer the situation could have been handled differently and he may still be alive today. Unfortunately he was combative and aggressive with the officer by trying to take the officer's gun and he hit him in the face. There is no excuse to take a man's life no matter what race they are but the officer had the right to protect himself in that situation. The courts sided with the officer in the case because of this. Some believe that it would have been a smarter move if the officer would have shot him in the leg or used his Taser gun first but with the incidents leading up to the actual shot that killed Michael Brown it is hard to say that any of those options would have been possible. According to Darren Wilson, the officer that shot Michael Brown, the only thing that was asked in the initial contact with Michael Brown was if he and his friend would move to the sidewalk. After, Michael Brown became violent and tried to take the officers' gun but when he wasn't able to Michael Brown punched him in the face (McCoy). Officer Wilson did not pull over, pull his gun and fire because he seen two black males walking in the street. The aggressive actions and nature of Michael Brown caused the situation to escalate to where it went. In other current news this was not the case.
The most current video that has swept America shows a white officer, Michael T. Slager, shooting at an unarmed black man, Walter L. Scott, eight times as he jogged away from him. Later it is brought to the attention of the community that Walter Scott was running from the officer because he owed past child support and didn't want to go to jail. Officer Slager tased Walter Scott and when that wouldn't keep him down he pulled his gun and shot Walter Scott five time in the back until he fell. Michael Slager then proceeded to cuff Walter Scott and left him lying on the ground, dying until other officers came to the scene. This incident has proven to be one instance that could have to do with racism but again the citizen did not follow the directions of the officer and even ran from him. The officer, Michael T. Slager, is being charged with murder and is awaiting trial because there seems to be foul play. The officer had no right to shoot Walter Scott and the police department is not standing by the officer for doing so. During the news conference held about the incident the Mayor, Keith Summey, of North Charleston South Carolina where the incident took place, stated "When you're wrong, you're wrong; and if you make a bad decision, don't care if you're behind the shield or just a citizen on the street, you have to live by that decision" (Washington Post). It is not that racism doesn't happen, it is that the majority of the time when there is a shooting of a black male by a white police officer it is because of the crimes committed and the aggressive situation. In the article "Darren Wilson Explains Why He Killed Michael Brown", Darren gives his testimony of what happened that night with Michael Brown:
I drew my gun... He is standing here. I said, 'Get back or I'm
going to shoot you. He immediately grabs my gun and says, 'you
are too much of a pussy to shoot me.'" (The men struggled for the gun
and Wilson pulled the trigger). Nothing. It just clicked. I pull it again. It just clicked. At this point, I'm like 'why isn't this working,' this guy is going to kill me if he gets ahold of this gun. It finally goes off and the car's interior explodes with shattered glass and globs of blood. (Wilson looked at the unarmed teen and the teen looked back). He looked up at me and had the most intense aggressive face. The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon, that's how angry he looked (McCoy).
Each instance is different, each time there is an arrest the situation is different. One thing to be certain is that if there is a criminal act committed then police contact will follow.
The recent killings of unarmed black men in news could all have been prevented. Following the law and listening to the officer would have changed everything for Michael Brown and even Walter Scott. The media has made every shooting that has to do with a black victim and a white officer out to be a racial issue. When dealing with these shootings the situation needs to be considered and the person that the officer is having to deal with. So many arrests of black man have caused the police to worry about guns, violence and retaliation that it has put the officers on edge. Black communities have higher crime rates then white communities which lead to more police contact and more arrests. The actions of the citizen under arrest have led to their deaths. The fact that the officers are white are not part of the issue but is being used to cover what really needs to change.
Three categories I think could strengthen my essay:
1) Better organization
2) More statistical information
3) Better citing
