Police brutality and racism in 2015 by Hannah Elabassi

There is no doubt that police brutality seems to be a consistent trend in the news these past few weeks. It is astonishing to see the unfair acts of violence some officers inflict upon guilty and not guilty people before even receiving justice. A lot of us are taught from as young as we can remember to contact the police whenever we feel as if our life is in danger but what happens when the ones you call for help are the ones that might be most dangerous to you?

Well to answer the question, a lot of people in Baltimore will make it clear that riots and chaos are the outcome of losing trust and respect for your law enforcement. This oced after an African American man, Freddie Gray, was basically murdered by police after spinal cord injuries from being accused of having an illegal pocketknife on him. The public has been outraged in the way our protectors, police officers, treat people so inhumanely just accusing them of being guilty.

Police brutality, especially with it’s patterns towards racial minorities, has become a major concern to the public as well. Another case emerged in South Carolina that brought an important perspective to society after a cop shot and murdered an African American man eight times in the back over a traffic violation. The reason this is so crucial is after a witness recorded what they saw after the officer killed the victim. I’m sure you wonder what could be more concerning that the officer already feeling it was necessary to kill an unarmed man by shooting him not once, but 8 times in the back?

Video of South Carolina officer violating his rights after shooting

Well, the most shocking and sickening fact about this case was the officer then proceeded to handcuff the victim and move his taser towards him as if the officer was the one who had his life in jeopardy. The idea that this case was actually captured on video supports the argument of police brutality as an issue the public must try to fix as innocent people are losing their lives and then being framed as people that deserved to die. If it was not for this case and it’s video we would not be concerned for how many other cases are out there of cops, the people we think are there to protect us, violating their rights and being the ones that could potentially put our lives in risk more than we think.