To start off, this is a heavy subject and maybe controversial when it comes to talking about police here in the United States. I am not for or against any part of this. I believe in what is right, whether it may be for or against siding with the police force.

I am writing this because it is what I have seen, observed, and read about. Keep in mind that not all positive things that the police do is reported on the news because it will not be interesting, so we may not hear about it as much; and, unfortunately, I won't either. I want to quickly thank the police for their great work, not including those with corrupted minds. So if you believe this article is completely against all police after reading it, well, it really isn't. I simply want to shine the light on some issues that police have, and touch on the issue that there is something suspicious going on.

I was going to mostly write about different tragedies that took place and make the police in the United States sound very disgusting, but I will only touch upon them because I am sure you all have heard of questionable acts committed by officers. The most popular cases would be that of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, and, most recently, the shooting of an unarmed man in South Carolina. At the same time, there was even a bizarre incident where a nine-month pregnant woman was punched while being handcuffed by a Texas police officer. Keep in mind that these are only a few cases that have been greatly publicized.

Something that is not greatly publicized: the number of police killings. If you were unaware of the number, so was I. We are on the same boat of being suppressed by the violent acts of the police force. I was surprised to hear about the number; and according to killedbypolice.net, last year there was a total of about 1,100 killings by police. If you think that is crazy, there are 321 killings as of the writing of this article. Can you believe that? It has only been four months since last year and the police killings have not stopped.

This is strange to me because I thought the police were a public service. Then, why are they killing the very same people they should be serving to protect, U.S. citizens? The next question to be asked is, "Are we living in a police state?" Consider this, "do you get scared when you see a cop car or policeman, and do you feel safe?"

Look at their high-caliber weapons, attire, and vehicles. It seems like they are going to war. Maybe they are at war. Could we be living through a war right now? Is the U.S., fighting against its own citizens? At the same time, when policemen show up to a peaceful protest, for example, Ferguson, who is dressed for a riot. Not the peaceful protestors. It can easily be said that if you're looking for a fight, you're going to get one. Why does it have to be this way? I thought we lived in a free society where police agencies respond only to evidence of planned and actual criminal activity. Police officers keep the peace; they do not investigate citizens and activities unless there is some reason to investigate. Police do not investigate citizens' attitudes toward the central government, only their action. Citizen dissent is lawful and police agencies do not investigate citizens' attitudes toward the criminal justice apparatus according to an article involving former officers off all levels of the policing forces, from city police to the CIA. The culture in policing is when an officer attempts to step forward to do the moral thing, they are often abused by other officers and eventually pushed out of the force. On top of that, all they have to say is that someone was reaching for their waistband and attempt to grab their weapon, which gives them the authority to draw their weapon.

Let's move on to patriotism, I'm sure a few of you are saying, 'Merica! "True Patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else," to quote Clarence Darrow. People say that Edward Snowden is very unpatriotic, but is he really? For those who do not know who he is, he is an American computer professional who leaked classified information from the National Security Agency to the mainstream media, starting in June 2013. Due to his actions, Snowden had to leave his beautiful wife and a 200,000 dollar yearly paying job in Hawaii. All he did was warn us what our government was doing. That is love for your country. "Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official," Theodore Roosevelt once said. True patriotism is trying to make your country better, and not blindly following the next person to make orders.

I do not hate this country. I do not hate cops, I know that most officers have good intentions. I just like to consider the problems and situations that have occurred, and looking at the U.S. as it slowly becomes a Police State. Yet, something good happened here in San Diego to help show how things should be. The San Diego school district received a military vehicle, but they decided to return it as citizens were uncomfortable with it, especially after seeing Ferguson police use a similar truck against citizens.

A few ways to end police brutality would first be to educate yourself about your rights. Next, police stations, city hall, and other government venues must be protested against and marched on after every incident of police brutality. Also, we must use our cameras every time police harass us to catch them in the act. Then, we can use the Internet and the viral media to expose these actions worldwide. In their heyday, the Black Panthers would do this. They had a police watch and would follow the police with a camera and record their actions. Now that cameras are so cheap and people have cameras on their phones, it is a lot easier to hold the police accountable for their actions. Thirdly, politicians who do not address issues like police brutality must be voted out of office. Rappers should be spending a lot less time glamorizing black-on-black crime and dissing each other, and more time documenting police brutality. African-American entertainers and activists have a strong voice in America and they must also use that voice to fight the problems in our community. Also, we must use moderate police organizations to work with the police to stop police brutality. Groups like 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement have done a lot to combat police brutality and people should work with them as an intermediary to deal with community issues with the police. Lastly, we need to take legal action as well. The best way to hurt police brutality is by hitting them in the pocket. If the police keep on getting sued for brutality, they'll be forced to deal with the issue. Every incident of police brutality should be reported to both the government and the media.