Think before pulling the trigger: A Reaction to Walter Scott Shooting

This blog is about racial profiling and how the police officers execute African Americans without giving the law a chance to decide whether the suspects are guilty or not.

Gravel_image by PRSA-NY

Where Do We Stand Today?
The law decides if one is guilty. The judge based on the law decides whether a criminal should be executed or not; not a police officer . The Civil Rights Movement happened for a reason, yet in 2015 we are still struggling with racial profiling. We live in the United States of America, yet we don’t think of each other as Americans. Some people are racist and some others claim that they are not, yet they distinguish certain groups of people from others.  Incidents like Michael Brown’s death and the shooting at Emanuel A.M.E., which was an absolute hate crime, are good proof. The supporters of racial profiling argue that blacks commit more crimes than whites, and believe that police is not racists, and they are only doing their job.  They claim racial profiling contributes to less crimes happening in society; however, I believe that generalization is not right, and not all African Americans are criminals. The fact that black people commit more crimes does not justify the execution of possible suspects by police. 

Police is Not Innocent 

According to Ron Hosko, President at Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, the police are being blamed and the media and politicians are taking advantage of Michael Brown’s shooting for their own benefit by making a big deal out of his anniversary.  He claims that they are giving people a false picture of the shooting, “regardless of the facts.” Really! So the police are actually “doing their job” by killing innocent people. Like Michael Slager, an officer from the North Charleston Police Department who was absolutely “innocent” when he shot Walter Scotts eight times in his back and killed him when Scott wasn’t even armed. Let’s just not forget that Slager changed the crime scene so he could get away with the murder.

Two months after Scott’s murder, another African American was shot and killed by the police again. Officer Ray Tensing shot and killed Samuel DuBose after a traffic stop. The dramatic and life-threatening story that Tensing told in his report did not match what actually happened in the video, which was recorded thanks to his body camera. Joe Deters, Hamilton County Prosecutor, called Tensing’s action “asinine” and “senseless.” It is such a relief to know that there are still people like Deter in law enforcement who do not call the police “innocent” and believe that “this should not happen.”

Not Everyone is a Criminal

According to FBI statistics, more crimes are committed by black people than by white people.  Some people use these statistics to justify why police apply greater scrutiny to minorities; however, that does not mean that every single black person is a criminal. In every race, there are good people as well as bad ones. Some black people commit crimes, but so do white people. The police should not generalize and discriminate against minorities. They should not assume that all blacks are “Guilty before proven innocent,” as Keesha Beckford says.  The mentality of “Shoot them before they shoot you -- because those people can hocus-pocus that phone, can of Skittles, bottle of soda into a weapon faster than you can say ‘nigger,’” is wrong (Beckford.) 

Don't Shoot!
The job of the police is to capture suspects, not to execute them, even if they are guilty. Walter Scotts, Michael Brown, Samuel DuBose, and many others were shot when they were not even armed. The police have no right to shoot someone who is not armed and does not apply violence against them. Dealing with an African American does not mean that the police's life is in danger, especially when they are running away or their hands are up in the air.  The law decides whether or not a criminal should be judged, sentenced, and executed; not the police officer.  

This post is written by Hasti Khalili Hossein Abad who is currently majoring in Science at Northern Virginia Community College.