Onika Mayhew
Graduate Assistant
University of the District of Columbia
With the recent rise of "justifiable killings" in the
U.S, attention to racism and over excessive force by law enforcement against
unarmed African American men have caused the masses to protest and demand
justice for the victims. According to the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement police
officers, security guards or self-appointed vigilantes killed at least 313
black people in 2012. When race is involved police still kill black youth at
least 7 to 10.5 times as often as white youths.
Urban areas have been deemed as being 50% more profoundly black than the rest
of the U.S, on the other hand they are the ones re-counting justifiable police
killings.
In
the case of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, Eric Garner and 12 year
old Tamir Rice who was shot by police pulling out an air gun that resembled a
firearm, has brought the nation together in great protest and concern over police
brutality and racial injustice. According to the statistics in a recent Gallup
survey, “one fourth of black men in the 18 to 34 age range said they been
treated unfairly by police in the past month.” ProPublica emphasized that
federal statistics on 1,217 fatal shootings between 2010 and 2012, found that
black men are 21 times more likely than their white counterparts to be shot
dead by police. Overall, law enforcement misconduct is definitely a problem
that needs immediate attention. Citizens deserve the right to be served and protected
by our nation’s law enforcement.
What do you think law enforcement
officials should implement to better serve our nation’s communities?
Sources
U.S
Police Have Killed Over 5,000 Civilians Since 9/11. By Katie Ruke, Mint Press
News. 2013
The
Truth About Young Black and Police Shootings. By Dr. John R. Lott Jr. Fox
News.com. 2014
A
Black Man Is Killed In the U.S Every 28 Hours by Police. By Adam Hudson,
Occupy.com. 2013
How
Differently Do Blacks And Whites View Ferguson? Here Are The Number. By Mark
Trumbull, USAToday. 2014.
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