To Protect and Serve

On July 17, 2014 Eric Garner was accused by police officer Justin Damico, for selling cigarettes. Despite Eric claiming that he was not, and that he wished for less harrassment, the police officer locked his arms around Eric's neck and choked him to death. The last words of Eric's were, "I can't breathe." No indictment.

On August 9, 2014 Michael Brown was noticed by police officer, Darren Wilson, for jaywalking. Whether Michael Brown was threatening to Darren or not, he was shot 6 times to death. No indictment.

On November 22, 2014 Tamir Rice was only twelve year old when he was playing with a toy air soft gun, when then shot to death by police officer, Timothy Leohmann, because he thought the gun was real. No indictment.

        These tragic events were significant of the action of police officers, and their validity is questionable. It lets people understand that not everything the force does is correct and their mistakes can leave huge consequences. In my opinion, I believe that the best way to address the issue of police officers shooting the unarmed would be to think of better strategies when encountering the offender, and to provide stricter consequence for them. What I concluded from these recent incidents, is that the victims were all killed for crimes that could be dealt with a charge or a warning. All officers should take less drastic measures and try to communicate better, rather than put all their focus on a weapon. Of course, I'm not a police officer and haven't been in their shoes, but everyone should have the knowledge that killing someone should be the last thing on their mind.

        Also in my opinion, the force should become more serious when giving a consequence to a police officer. I remember in elementary school, an officer told us that if we were to ever commit a crime, it would be difficult to find a career and the crime would be implanted in the records for the rest of our lives. The fear that was placed in every students' face should be shown by the police officers as well. If an officer broke the law, it shouldn't be forgotten or left aside, that shouldn't be a benefit for being an officer.

        I am thankful for the safety the police provide. They protect us at all costs and risk their entire lives, but if one of them is charged with something and are not indicted, how am I supposed to put my trust in them? It's sad, I feel they are becoming more aggressive and violent in their actions and to be honest, I don't know how it could be better dealt with (because of the circumstances), but it bothers me a lot like an itch you can't get rid of.


Side note: RIP all of the victims that were put to death by the police and could have been innocent if given a chance to explain.