The topic of police brutality has been a controversial topic, gaining momentum in recent years with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Whether you believe this is an issue in the United States or not, there is undeniable evidence showing that change in our country is necessary.

Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old man, and father of five from Louisiana became the 588th person to die at the hands of police officers in 2016 when he was killed this past Tuesday. According to CNN, “the confrontation took place in the state capitol, Baton Rouge, after reports of a man threatening people with a gun outside of a shop.” However, the owner of this shop stated that Alton didn’t appear to be armed, but he did see police remove a gun from his pocket. Minutes later, he was pinned to the ground by police officers as one pulled out a gun and aimed it at him. Sterling died at the scene of gunshot wounds to the back and chest.

After the shooting, the two police officers responsible for his death were placed on administrative leave as a part of the standard protocol and Baton Rouge’s chapter of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) have called for the resignation of the city’s police chief.

The following day, Philando Castile, a 32-year-old man from Falcon Heights, Minnesota, was also fatally shot by two police officers. Castile was pulled over by police for a broken tail light and, "let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm," said his fiancé Diamond Reynolds, who witnessed the shooting along with their 4-year-old daughter.

Philando Castile died of multiple gunshot wounds and the incident was classified as a homicide. In the midst of the chaos, Reynolds was told by the agitated officer to keep her hands visible. She and her daughter eventually left the scene in a police cruiser.

The officers who were at the scene of the crime were placed on administrative leave as a part of standard protocol, like the ones who had shot Alton Sterling.

Mark Dayton, Governor of Minnesota, spoke regarding the shooting on Thursday, stating that he believed Castile's race was a reason for the crime. "Would this have happened if those passengers, the driver were white? I don't think it would have."

Early Saturday morning, Alva Braziel was found standing in the road on the south side of Houston, Texas with a revolver in hand. Police discovered him at around 12:40 a.m., and when asked to put the gun down, he aimed it at the sky stated witness reports, despite the officers saying that the gun was aimed at them. He was fatally shot multiple times by two officers.

However, civilians haven't been the only ones to suffer from the wave of crime and violence that occurred this week. Five cops, Brent Thompson, Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Michael Smith, and Lorne Ahrens, were killed by a sniper in Dallas during a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest.

Regardless of anyone's position on this issue, these deaths were unjustified and greater action needs to be taken in order to limit the number of innocent lives lost because of hateful crimes.