Late night, you’re driving home alone and you realize the car behind you has been following you for some time. You begin to question what will be your next step. You decide to contact 9-1-1 and explain your situation in need of an officer. Your drunk spouse begins to hurt you and you immediately call the police. In such cases, officers are expected to come to the rescue. However, bring up the subject of police and the first thing that comes to mind is brutality. The coverage of police officers through the media has lacked the demonstration that these brave men and women show daily. Not one case is the same as the other, making the assumption that all victims are truly victims is nonsense.
I am proud to be a citizen who has grown friendships with many officers of different rankings. It has made me realize that the media is only there for profit. Meaning any story that can be broadcasted and attract millions of views equals revenue. In my opinion officers are just human beings trying to earn a living by risking their lives for citizens who lack respect for them. The idea presented from mainstream media outlets is that police are evil and abuse their power on the minorities because they can. Now, there is no way of determining that all cops are innocent of abusing authority. However, this can go both ways because not all cops are criminals. I love when a victim is portrayed as an angel especially when they have a criminal record and video highlighting the horror they truly are. Not saying it is right that they were killed but how about all the officers killed in the line of duty that barely get a headline on the local news station?
As a generation filled with the latest technology, situations that erupt between police and individuals are easily recorded by any bystander. Provoking the police is becoming a typical mission by people to see how far they can push the officer. It’s just sickening that one situation can enrage social media and the press to diminish the reputation of these brave men and women. My opinion on this subject— why aggravate the officer rather than complying with their requests? Why are many of the "police brutality" caught on camera, other than everyone having access to a phone, is because by recording the encounter with the police the individuals tend to try to intimidate the officer with the camera.
In this world, it is sad that we cannot say that corruption is within all of us. Since the world is a scary place, there is no telling who is a bad apple in the group of the finest men and women. Remember the importance of these officers daily task. What if the officers went on strike? What if the officers did not come to a cry for help? Just think about all the safety they reflect onto the community that outweighs the dishonesty of the few who tend to do wrong. Standing up for the police does not mean you think the brutalities in some cases are justified.
When people ask me about this subject I have no shame in standing up for them since they watch over us to make sure we are safe in our streets. Even though, people like to disagree with me most of the time the only way to express their argument is by using profanity. A note to society is to respect the police because you never know when you are in a situation that will need assistance from them.
