Criminal Justice - Short writting - Ferguson and Race Police and witnesses have

Question

Criminal Justice - Short writting - Ferguson and Race

Police and witnesses have different accounts of the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of an unarmed man in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. Michael Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson were walking down the middle of a street when Darren Wilson, a white police officer, drove up and ordered them to move onto the sidewalk. Wilson and Brown apparently had a skirmish inside in the police car until Wilson's gun was fired. As Johnson and Brown fled the scene, Wilson pursued Brown on foot and shot him six times.

The shooting death of Michael Brown sparked protest and civil unrest largely due to racial tensions between black community members and white police officers. In fact, police did not release Wilson's name until six days after the incident for fear of his safety, on the same day as making public allegations of Brown's involvement in a robbery before the shooting.

Do some independent research on this case. Considering what you have learned about the use of force in Chapter 7(Criminal Justice by siegel), please answer the following:

Is there an epidemic of racist police officers in America? Does the media help or hinder this view? Explain.

(250 word minimum response required)

Explanation / Answer

The shooting death of Michael Brown an unarmed man in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014; shooting fatally of Deborah Danner — an “emotionally disturbed” woman by an NYPD officer and Freddie Gray in April 2015 one after the another in a row; all suggest that there is an epidemic of racist police officers in America. These incidences of violence committed by the police officers the guardians of the law indicate that racial discrimination is still deep-rooted in the American society. According to (Downs, 2016), The FBI had warned of white supremacists in law enforcement 10 years ago only. However at a national conference the FBI director James Comey told police officers at that; because of insufficient data on the use of force, “Americans actually have no idea” whether racial bias in policing is really an epidemic (Downs, 2016). The media is helping a lot in generating awareness about the crime perpetrated by the guardians of law i.e. the police. The news in newspapers, television channels, and the viral videos are generating awareness among the people and country will evolve into a more egalitarian nation due to the awareness generated by the police officers will not be able to go scot-free   saying there is lack of data; the news is available everywhere and registered in the minds of the citizens of the country. Hence media is playing an effective role in making people aware generating the response of the people that is much required in such cases.   

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