I want to start this article off with a disclaimer, because I know this is a sensitive issue to talk about. I do not hate the police, in fact I revere them. I would argue that being a police officer is the most important job in this country. They are the living embodiment of our Constitution. If a police officer pulls over a car and searches it with no reasonable suspicion, then the Fourth Amendment is nonexistent to that person.

That being said, that is why it is justifiable to heap criticism onto them, especially in difficult times like now. As I’m sure everyone knows, the major news stories that have been sweeping the nation have been the killings of unarmed citizens by police officers, specifically African American.

The cases of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Laquan McDonald have been capturing the attention of audiences all over the world. They have wrongly put a negative hue on those police officers that uphold the law, and make it their duty to ensure equality and peace. They have also shed a bright light upon those who do the opposite, which is a staggering amount. I won’t go as far as saying the majority of police officers abuse their power, profile citizens, or infringe on rights, but in my eyes even if 10% of the police force in our country is victim of this, that is too much.

When it comes to the cases mentioned above, I believe people have focused on the wrong part of the stories. Everyone asked the question, “Well did he deserve to die?” I’ll answer that right now and say no. There should be no debate that these situations could've been handled far better than they were.

What I believe people should have focused on are the officers themselves. I looked into their careers and specific events that led them to these fateful moments that changed the lives of millions.

Let’s start with Ferguson, MO. Darren Wilson started off as a rookie officer in 200 in Jennings, MO. The police department there was described as being “mired with controversy and notorious for its fraught relationship with residents, especially the African American majority”. He was there for almost a decade before there was an incident that occurred, where an officer beat a woman, Cassandra Fuller, on her own porch after she made a joke. This lead to the entire police force being dissolved due to racial tension and corruption.

Wilson had not received any disciplinary actions himself during his time in Jennings, so he reapplied for a police job in Ferguson. Thirty two of the forty five police officers on the force at the time were allowed to reapply for police jobs, so Wilson wasn’t alone.

Then on August 9th, 2014, Michael Brown was shot an killed by Darren Wilson. Whether or not the shooting was justified is still up for debate, but what is not is what happened after the shooting.

The Department of Justice launched a full on investigation into the Ferguson police force and found some startling information. They uncovered that full on systematic racism was happening in this small town. They found a pattern of civil rights violations and racial bias. Despite accounting for only 67% of the population, African Americans were victims to 85% of vehicle stops, 90% of citations, and 93% of arrests. The police and courts were found to be policing based on generating revenue, not keeping the peace. They were continuously throwing people in jail for not paying fines, which is highly illegal, but regularly practiced.

African Americans were given four or more citations during a traffic stop 73 times from 2012-2014, while non-African Americans were only given four or more citations only twice.

So despite whether the shooting of Michael Brown was justified or not, it is indisputable that he, and the rest of the Ferguson African American community, should not have been subjected to that kind of injustice, which ultimately lead to the events that transpired.

Eric Garner was a 43-year-old African American man who was unarmed and killed by officer Daniel Pantaelo on July 17th, 2014. Pantaelo and other officers approached Garner for selling loose cigarettes on the street, an offense punishable by a fine up to $2,000.

Daniel Pantaelo’s background was that of a, to speak frankly, horrible police officer. He had been sued three times previously by African American men whom claimed that the officer had falsely arrested them.

Kenneth Collins is an African American man that was arrested by Pantaelo and other officers in 2012. The officers subjected Collins to a strip search in public, and eventually arrested him for marijuana charges. In the Collins’ suit, it alleges the officers only did this to gain overtime pay for processing the paperwork. The charges against Collins were dismissed and the papers were sealed by the court.

Tommy Rice and Darren Collins were two other African American men that were pulled over one morning by Pantaelo and other officers in 2012. The men alleged that they did nothing wrong and were profiled against. They were stripped searched on the side of the road, along with a third companion who had heroin on him. The men were arrested and Rice and Collins both filed suits against Pantaelo. The result was that their charges were dropped, and both were paid $15,000.

Neither of these cases resulted in any form of punishment against Pantaelo. He went on with his career until that fateful day in July, in which he killed the unarmed Eric Garner for selling loose cigarettes.

Laquan McDonald was a 17-year-old African American boy that was gunned down by Officer Jason Van Dyke on October 20, 2014. Authorities had McDonald at gunpoint and were repeatedly yelling for him to put the 3 inch blade he was carrying down. McDonald had already slashed the tire of a police car and scraped the windshield with the knife. Police called for someone with a taser to come to the scene to take down McDonald. Officer Van Dyke had been on the scene outside of his car for six seconds before he unloaded 16 shots into Laquan McDonald.

With Van Dyke’s career history, a scenario like this, maybe not to this level of severity, seemed inevitable. Van Dyke had been on the force for 14 years and had 20 complaints filed against him. These 20 complaints were a small amount compared to other officers who had up to 68 complaints.

One specific complaint against Van Dyke concerned Edward Nance. He was an African American man traveling with his cousin when he was pulled over by Van Dyke. Van Dyke painfully cuffed Nance after taking him to the ground when Van Dyke found marijuana in his car. Nance actually had to go to the hospital and required multiple surgeries to fix his shoulders. Nance was awarded a total of $530,000 and Van Dyke was back on the street like nothing ever happened.

These are just three examples of times when officers that should have been punished, weren’t, and that lead to these horrific events. As I said earlier, the job of the police officer is arguably the most important job in this country. That is why they should be monitored and disciplined appropriately. Not taking action when misconduct occurs can lead to tragedies and feelings of resentment towards the police. How can we expect anyone to trust people like the officers in these stories? We can’t, and it is unfair to ask that we do. Not all police officers are bad, not at all, but it is important that we eradicate the ones that are in order to have a criminal justice system that is fair to all, not just a select few.