Do Police Really Protect and Serve?

Do police really protect and serve?

Sharmarke Said

Edina Senior High School

November 30th, 2016

 Do Police Really Protect and Serve?

The biggest problem in America right now is the systematic extermination and

incarceration of blacks in America. The people usually making these matters worse, happen to

have the title of protecting and serving all living beings in the United States of America, but most

of the time that isnt the case for blacks and other minorities. The way police forces have been

abusing their powers in the United States is just one part of a bigger plan to wipe out and get of

rid of blacks in the United States. All groups and races are affected by this, but African

Americans have to deal with this issue on a more major scale so theyll be the focus.

The economic agenda doesnt need African Americans like it did back in slavery. Most

people need to realize that African Americans are the only non-white group in America that

doesnt have any country to fall back. Therefore, African Americans are the only non-whites that

cant be deported. Slavery psychologically destroyed the connection most blacks couldve

eventually had with their mother continent. A lot of argument are made that African Americans

are the problem because they dont seen to work hard, or they disrespect authorities. These are

invalid arguments and are mostly made by European Americans who have the privilege to do as

they like and make something of themselves easier than an African American. This country

flourished on white supremacy and was built by the slaves. If anything, dont you think African

Americans deserve to be treated like a man than half a man? Police departments tend to think

otherwise and forget that everyone shall be treated equally no matter what, but at the end of the

day well all end up at the same place. People usually dont know that white supremacys face

isnt always covered up with a white hoodie, but it can be a suit and tie or even a blue or black

police uniform. Ever since slavery, blacks havent been helped out by their oppressors.

Throughout history, through reconstruction, the great depression, Jim Crow, the war on drugs
 Do Police Really Protect and Serve?

and now the escalated accounts of police violent towards blacks, no one has been their to help

them out. The majority of America needs to speak up because white silence is white violence.

Police forces have abused their power towards significant percentages of people in the

United States for decades, but the percentage of blacks have always been way above others and

those numbers are only going up. An article written in 2015 shows that Police killed at least 102

unarmed black people in 2015, nearly twice each week (M.P.V, 2015). The majority of cops

gunning down unarmed African Americans usually get away free without being charged. Only

10 of the 102 cases in 2015 where an unarmed black person was killed by police resulted in the

officer(s) being charged with a crime, and only 2 of these deaths (Matthew Ajibade and Eric

Harris) resulted in convictions of officers involved. Only 1 of 2 officers convicted for their

involvement in Matthew Ajibades death received jail time (M.P.V, 2015). Even though victims

of police brutality have been people from different races, unarmed African Americans are

usually the ones being exterminated at higher rates than their white counterparts.

Officers claim to protect and serve, but that doesnt seem the case for blacks in America.

The percentage of blacks that are killed by police are the highest in America even though more

caucasians are killed by police. In 2015, The Washington Post launched a real-time database to

track fatal police shootings, and the project continues this year. As of 2016, 1,502 people have

been shot and killed by on-duty police officers since Jan. 1, 2015. Of them, 732 were white, and

381 were black (and 382 were of another or unknown race) (Lowery, W.P, 2015). 300 more

whites have been killed by the police since Jan. 1 2o15, but whites make up 63% of the

population while blacks make up 13% (N.B.C, 2013). Even though the numbers are smaller for
 Do Police Really Protect and Serve?

blacks and non-whites, the impact is enormous compared to whites because theyre the majority

in America today.

The way police officers love to racially profile and overuse their powers against black

men in America has a lot of recoil mostly for those victims. The way police have been abusing

their powers throughout history has caused a racial inequality in prisons, large numbers of blacks

dead by police and an overwhelming amount of fear for police. Thats pretty ironic considering

theyre suppose to protect and serve. In 2010, Whites made up 64% of the US population.

Theres a good percentage of white folks in prison. 39% of the prison population is white, while

the incarceration rate for whites is 450 per 10,000. 40% of the prison population is black. This is

unfairly representing an entire race in America and is grouping and stereotyping blacks as

criminals. To make matters worse, the incarceration rate for blacks in prison is 2,306 per 10,000.

That's almost 4 times that of whites incarcerated (WIKI, 2010).

This issue obviously cant have a specific date, but white supremacy has been running

America way before its declaration of independence. From slavery to 2016, America keeps its

long history of violence towards blacks. America as a whole seems to believe that blacks need to

straighten up and by that, violence usually works. What we have here is a legacy from slavery

that the assumption was, a black person is controlled through violence, not through the

application of law or reason (Edwards, 2014). A lot of Americans tend to believe that blacks a

controlled through violence and not reason. Basically saying you cant reason with blacks and

you have to you assertive force instead of reasoning.

The war on drugs has had its consequences such as mass incarceration of black and latino

males and more law enforcement and authority in black and latino communities. The rise of of
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cops in black and latino communities has given them more power to do whatever they feel like

doing, because theyre just cops. This has also led to a major rise in incarceration rates for black

and latino men. Higher arrest and incarceration rates for African Americans and Latinos are not

reflective of increased prevalence of drug use or sales in these communities, but rather of a law

enforcement focus on urban areas, on lower-income communities and on communities of color

as well as inequitable treatment by the criminal justice system. We believe that the mass

criminalization of people of color, particularly young African American men, is as profound a

system of racial control as the Jim Crow laws were in this country until the mid-1960s (Race

and the drug war). When drugs were pushed into the black community, this meant that more

cops were needed to patrol the neighbourhoods to make sure everything was in order, but even

though suburban neighbourhoods probably have more drug activity, this gave cops a chance to

start locking up black men.

Technology and the way we use the media has shined a bright light on this issue, but who

we communicate with on social media can impact the way people think. The racial divide we

have when it comes to who we talk to on the internet can be the blame for why some people

think the way they do. There was this really fascinating study from the Public Religion Research

Institute in 2013 that asked people to identify people who they'd had important conversations

with in the last six months. And what they found was that 91 - the social networks of white

people were 91 percent white. In fact, three-quarters of all white people had entirely white friend

groups. They were not talking to people of color at all. Communicating and staying on the same

page as other people who cant relate to your life is important in society. No wonder why
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minorities cant relate to whites and vice versa, its because they dont know how to relate on

most topics which draws some heated controversy.

Nowadays it seems like everything can be a crime. It feels like people are generally

penalized for small petty offenses like never before. Cops are locking up a large number of

people for these small offenses and it seems like its always larger for blacks. Police officers

spend 90% of their time dealing with minor infractions like these and just 10% on violent crimes,

resulting in a system where people of color are disproportionately summoned to court for

low-level offenses 80% of these summonses are for blacks and Latinos, to be

specific(Cheney Rice, 2015). The effects of having a large amount of cops in urban cities is

evident. When 90% of reported crimes are minor infractions then why are large number of cops

needed in neighbourhoods? Cops are obviously needed, but they shouldnt run neighbourhoods,

thats why the community is there.A lot of people in different type of neighbourhoods deal with

drug addiction and mental illness.

Instead of guiding these people and helping them progress, law enforcement lock these

unfortunate people just ruining their lives. There has been many reports and news about cops

inappropriately handling these situations. The report suggests training law enforcement officials

to address these issues at their discretion, with the aim of guiding addicts and people who live

with mental illness into treatment programs instead of jail. Legislators should be involved only

minimally, mostly to provide funding. Also train police to better identify and confront these

problems using de-escalation tactics, and keep track of results through frequent data collection

and analysis(Cheney Rice, 2015). When police dont address these situations in the proper

manner, the troubled person who theyre dealing with can suffer from it. Some situations could
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cost a life and thats the last thing cops need. Law enforcement should treat these people with

care as they need to get back to where they need to be.

Theres a lot of work that needs to be completed in America and its going to take

everything for African Americans to finally get their freedom. Police forces are way

overpowered and they think just because theyre an officer of the law, they can do what they like

at any expense. We as a black community need to do more and make our voices be heard a bit

louder than before. I understand the anger that protesters have been expressing, some forget that

this country was found on violence and when people make you feel uncomfortable because they

want change, you should just deal with it. As a Somali teen in Minnesota, I wake up not knowing

how the day will go. By default, im hated by so many because im black, Somali and a Muslim.

Its really uncomfortable when the students I go to school with cant appreciate who I am, but at

the same time expect me to do what they want to do. Double standards have made way for a

society that has many negatives and very few positives. All we want is not just change within the

police departments, but change within how the whole system works because I can work twice as

hard as any white teen, but theyll always end up having the privileges that my people have

always been trying to achieve. One thing is true, change is due.

 Do Police Really Protect and Serve?

Reference Page

Edwards, B. (n.d.). From slavery to ferguson: Americas history of violence

toward blacks. The Root. Retrieved from SIRS database.

How social media impacts the conversation on racial violence. (2016, July 9).

Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved from SIRS database.

Rice, Z. C. (n.d.). 15 things your city can do right now to end police

brutality. Identities Mic. Retrieved from SIRS database.

Edwards, B. (n.d.). From slavery to ferguson: Americas history of violence

toward blacks. The Root. Retrieved from SIRS database.

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Lowery, W. (n.d.). Aren't whites killed by police more than black? Yes and no.

Washington Post. Retrieved from SIRS database.

Police killed more than 100 unarmed black people in 2015. (n.d.). Mapping Police

Violence. Retrieved from SIRS database.

New York Times. (2015, October 16). Retrieved from SIRS database.