We all know of that hit ABC show, “How to Get Away with Murder,” right? Well, living in American society today, I can easily tell you how to get away with murder; become a police officer.
505 people have been fatally shot by police officers so far in 2016, and it is only July. Many of these people who were fatally shot were deemed to be mentally unstable, unarmed, or people of color. Data from thinkprogress.org also shows that 261 white people were killed by police in 2016, but also that blacks and Native Americans are being killed at increasing rates throughout the nation. In June, police killed 86 people, and all were fatally shot.
There have always been a high number of police killings, but now with body cameras and media outlets it has come more to the forefront of our minds. A red flag goes up with this, because police are supposedly trained in the academy how to contain a situation without having to pull the trigger. Yet, as you can see from the numbers, they pull the trigger in situations that don’t need it. Some may even say they pull the trigger out of prejudices and biases and the like, not always for self defense. But what’s even more of a red flag in the statistics is how many of these officers go unnamed, and how many receive little punishment, or no punishment at all. According to Wall Street Journal, only 12 officers were charged in the killings of around 1,200 people in 2015.
Yes, some of these were self defense and not out of biases and prejudices but that is still a lot of people killed at the hands of police as compared to the 59 police killed in the line of duty (odmp.org). Yet none were charged with murder or manslaughter. In 2016 few officers have gone to trial, yet none received jail time. Some even received a PAID leave of absence. This is because the police departments investigate their own employees, and 99 percent of the time, they find their own did nothing wrong. According to the sixth amendment of the constitution, everyone has a right to a fair, impartial trial/jury – but not a jury that’s your coworkers and friends who will try their best to pardon you.
The media puts no blame on the officers who kill, but yet they pick apart the family life, love life, and past mistakes of the victims, and I will not stand for that. As if someone who is behind on child support, or has a past drug charge deserves death. No matter the past, everyone deserves life. Yes, not all police are bad, and yes some hope to never have to pull the trigger, but the numbers show the bad ones pulling the trigger. Where are the good cops to stand up to their peers for justice? Where are the good cops who honor their oath and wear the uniform proudly? Where are those officers? Because we as people need you. We need those officers in our time of frustration, and fear. People of all races and backgrounds need to come together to help put an end to the senseless violence portrayed by police departments all across the nation on all people. The only way to make a change, is to be the change. We need a reform on how police stand trial, how their body cameras just “stop working” at times that are convenient to them, how we as citizens can video tape them on duty to demand justice for our neighbors. We need a reform, but we don’t need a riot. Be the change, but be the change peacefully. Fighting violence with violence, just creates more violence. Do not riot, or be violent to demand these reforms as they too are to combat violence. Be the change. Find your voice. Come together.
So if there’s someone you just want to get rid of, become a police officer and you can murder them with a 1 percent chance you’ll go to jail, and don’t worry, it won’t even be a manslaughter charge.
