We have seen numerous stories in the news of black males and females being murdered by police. Alton Sterling and Philando Castile are the latest ones. In two days, these two men were shot and killed by police. In 2015, young black men were killed five times more than white males their age. This is an epidemic and it needs to be recognized.
This first started happening more and more in 2012, when Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Zimmerman did not follow instructions the 911 operator gave him. After nearly three years, Zimmerman was not charged.
The next headline-making death was Eric Garner, who was killed after being put in an illegal chokehold by a white police officer for allegedly selling cigarettes. The officer, Daniel Pantaleo, was not charged.
The next, and maybe most controversial, was the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. A grand jury declined to charge Wilson in the shooting. Later, the Department of Justice also announced that it would also not charge Wilson.
Laquan McDonald is another young man who was shot 16 times and killed by police in Chicago. The officer was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of official misconduct.
Most of these killings seem to be targeted towards young, black males, but African American women are being targeted as well. On November 13, 2014 Tanisha Anderson died after officers in Cleveland allegedly slammed her head on the pavement. No charges have been filed against the officers.
Another young man, Akai Gurley, was with his girlfriend when a New York City Officer shot and killed him. The New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton called the shooting an "accidental discharge." The officer was charged with second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and two counts of official misconduct.
One of the youngest males, Tamir Rice, 12, was shot and killed by police after officers mistook his toy gun for a real one. The two officers involved have not been charged.
The next death was Walter Scott, who was shot by officer Michael Slager. The encounter was caught on video, and Slager was fired and charged with murder.
All of these people were unarmed and described by family and friends as friendly, kind people.
Now, Alton Sterling, who was pinned down by two white police officers and then shot. The officers involved in Tuesday's shooting -- Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II -- have been placed on administrative leave and investigations are beginning. A homeless man was allegedly demanding money from Sterling and so he showed that he had a gun on him. The homeless man then called police saying that Sterling was dangerous. The officers wear things like body cameras, but it still doesn't help. Apparently, these officers' cameras "became dislodged."
The very next day, Philando Castile was shot and killed by police after being pulled over for a broken taillight. His girlfriend live streamed the incident directly on Facebook, after he was shot on Facebook. Castile was armed, but had a permit to carry. He was trying to reach into his pocket to get his license when the police shot him. One officer has been placed on paid administrative leave.
Clearly, this is a problem. There have been so many other African Americans who have been targeted than the ones listed above, and all of these deaths have created a movement of protests and speaking out.
There's a power problem in America with white officers. No, not all officers are bad. They are here to protect us, and I'm completely for that. However, these racist, power-hungry officers need to be taken out of these positions. People will argue that there needs to be more guns so that people can protect themselves, but even when they do, and are licensed, they still aren't protected. We cannot react with revenge, hate or violence. There are five innocent officers dead now because of it. I know there is a sense of hopelessness and fear, but we must be brave and hope that the officers involved in the shootings get their punishment, but the caring, law-abiding officers are protected. In the words of Trevor Noah, "You can be pro-black and pro-cop."
There needs to be even more attention to this, and people need to acknowledge and understand it. Things like Black Lives Matter is being changed into things like All Lives Matter and Officers Lives Matter. That's not the point. You don't have to be black to realize that this is a racism problem. You just have to realize that it is a problem. And if you fail to do that, then you're part of the problem.
