There have been many instances before recent times when police used their guns to escalate a situation that did not need that kind of force. The police’s purpose is to protect and serve which some do but others use their badge and status as a get away free pass to shoot someone most of the time killing them. The problem lies deeper than the surface but there must be a reason why cops feel the need to use excessive force which 9 times out of 10 leads to a fatality.
If certain officers were held accountable for their heinous actions then there is a strong possibility that the unjustified shootings would cease. Police violence is at an all-time high in America and it must be dealt with swiftly to protect the citizens of this country.
The police’s willingness to use excessive force has been a big topic in this country since the Rodney King situation. King was beaten brutally by LAPD officers during a traffic stop in 1991 and almost died. According to www.wilsonlawgroupsc.com, “An increased focus on biases within police work has revealed something that many already knew to be true, that officers often treat minorities and other marginalized groups differently. In the worst cases, this may involve the use of excessive force that would not otherwise be applied. Unfortunately, the color of one’s skin can elicit a violent response from the police if an officer is prejudice or discriminatory.” Some police officers abuse their power in the worst way and that must come to a stop to save the lives of people who may have committed a crime but did not commit any actions for an overly aggressive officer to kill them unjustly. With certain police officers committing unjustly killings and beatings they still have yet to be held accountable by a court of law especially in America.
According to www.theregreview.org, “The courts apply the standard for excessive force in such a demanding fashion that it makes it difficult to convict police officers who kill unarmed civilians. Prosecutors must show that a reasonable officer on the scene facing the same split-second decision to use force would not have believed force was necessary. Although about 1,000 people die each year in their encounters with police, one expert found that, since 2005, ‘only 110 law enforcement officers nationwide have been charged with murder or manslaughter in an on-duty shooting.’ Those prosecutions resulted in a mere 42 convictions, although 18 cases are still pending.”