“To protect and serve” has always been the motto of law enforcement. Unfortunately, many people don’t believe in that statement anymore. It’s hard to not be afraid of police with the amount of incidents that have occurred even in this last year.
To add to the list of these atrocities, on Oct. 27, 2015, another incident of police brutality transpired at a high school in South Carolina. Students caught Richland County Sheriff’s Deputy Ben Fields with a camera phone as he horrifically wrestled an African American girl out of her desk and threw her shortly thereafter. I was shocked when I first saw the footage. I was disgusted to see a grown man wrap his arm around a teenage girl’s neck, and brutally throw her out of her desk.
Witnesses that saw this take place say that the police officer was called because the student refused to turn over her cellphone to the teacher. This officer saw it fit to use such excessive force because she refused to turn over one of her belongings? In what right mind is that fair or “just.”
Last June, there was a similar incident in Texas, where police officers were on the scene at a local high school student’s swimming pool party to break up a fight that was occurring between the predominantly African American kids and white residents that were harassing them.
However, things quickly escalated past that. When one of the African American girls refused to leave, an officer handcuffed her, hurled her towards the ground, and pinned her down. As two of the girls’ friends came to help her, the officer drew his gun, causing the two friends to run away. I find it hard to think the police are protecting us, when they use such drastic means, especially on those that are clearly underage.
It’s horrible these girls went through such a traumatic experience but we live in a time where we have to think, “well, it could’ve been worse.”
That’s a horrible mentality for anyone to have, but it’s the reality we live in. Those girls could have had their lives taken away from them, and I’m thankful they weren’t.
No police officer should have to use such force unless there is no other option. Police officers are here to protect our lives, not take them from us.
The incident with Walter Scott, where he ran away from a police officer, so the police officer proceeded to shoot at him eight times, is a prime example of officers needlessly taking lives. There’s no reason this police officer couldn’t have chased after Scott, in order to avoid this tragedy.
There was an idea proposed that all law enforcement should be equipped with a camera on their uniform, in order to moderate their actions. I feel this should be implemented because it would make officers consider their actions. If they were to commit an act of brutality, it would be caught on camera.
I grow increasingly scared of police officers as incidents continue to occur. How is someone going to feel protected or safe when the very people who are designated to protect us, are the ones that are doing us harm?
How is someone going to feel comfortable knowing that saying one wrong thing or doing something can either end up with them lying dead or alive on the ground? It’s a problem that must be addressed, for all of our sakes.