There appear to be countless incidents of civilians dying at the hands of police. To be more precise, at least 878 people have died at the hands of police this year; 182 of them were unarmed. These numbers are staggering, especially when compared to other countries. An article by the Guardian shows that police in our country kill more in days than the police in other countries do in years. For contrast, there were no police killings in the United Kingdom in 2013. Not a single one. And while violent crime is down in the United States, killings by police are up. It is clear that something needs to change in our society.
In the United States it almost feels as if there are new killings by police every day, and there are two camps that form when a new one arises: those who condemn the police and those who defend the police.
The difference in opinions is not a bad thing in the slightest; in fact, it’s healthy to have a debate about whether a law enforcement official was justified in pulling the trigger that ended someone’s life. The problem is that the difference in opinions often has no nuance, with the two camps appearing to be vocal extremists. One camp will call any killing police brutality, even if the officer’s life was possibly in danger. The other camp will defend the police, even when an innocent person’s life was taken. As our country continues to discuss this weighty subject, we must have an honest and open-minded conversation. And we must also ask more of our police officers.
Yes, our police officers who already do an important and difficult job must be asked to do more. There are of course obvious cases of abuse and corruption that must be addressed, such as that of South Carolina Police Officer Michael Slager. Slager was arrested and charged with murder earlier this year after he shot and killed a fleeing man, Walter Scott, in the back with his gun and then lied multiple times to colleagues and in police reports. Slager claimed he had used his taser and went on to drop the taser near the murdered man. Slager also claimed he had shot because he felt threatened as Scott had tried to overpower him and take his taser, a strange claim when the man was far away, running from Slager. Due to a video a witness filmed of the incident, the true events were able to be seen and the lies were cut through, though it is chilling to think that Slager’s true actions may not have been discovered if there had been no video.
Yes, there are obvious cases of abuse, just as there are obvious cases of officers handling dangerous situations correctly with armed suspects. Police officers are appreciated because they handle these situations correctly and risk their lives, even at times taking unnecessary risks. Last year, San Diego police were called to a parking lot where a suicidal man was brandishing a gun. Police officers did not immediately approach and instead tried to talk the man into giving himself up peacefully. After about a 15 minute standout, at least one officer fired a shot that wounded the man after he pointed the gun at the police. The police then spent half an hour attempting to persuade the man to move away from his gun, which he eventually did, so that they could arrest him with no danger. The man was loaded into an ambulance and hospitalized, still alive. This story is symbolic, because it represents what policing should be. The police used force as a last resort when their lives were truly threatened, and they did not shoot to kill. They saved a man’s life, and no civilians or police officers were harmed.
In reality, most cases of policing fall somewhere between these two limits. Police officers may be reasonably concerned for their life and shoot an innocent civilian. Police officers may be well-intentioned but may be a bit too impatient, a bit too cautious with their own lives and not cautious enough with the lives of others. Earlier this year, Utah Police Officer Bron Cruz shot and killed Dillon Taylor, an unarmed man who was listening to music on his headphones, hands in pockets. Cruz had gotten a call to investigate the area, with the dispatch call claiming there may have been dangerous individuals armed with guns. Cruz ordered Taylor to put his hands up multiple times. When Taylor began to raise his hands, his shirt rising as well, Cruz shoots and kills Taylor, fearing he may be pulling out a gun. Cruz appears to be genuinely upset when he realizes Taylor is bleeding out and was unarmed all along. He orders medical assistance and says “Stay with me buddy. Stay with me...Medical’s on the way man okay, medical’s on the way. Stick with me, stick with me, come on!”
In this unfortunate reality, it is difficult to say whether or not Cruz was justified in what he did. He took the life of an innocent man, but he was genuinely and reasonably concerned for his own life, fearing Taylor may have had a gun. Yet, though it seems difficult to say from the outside, there should be something that could have been done to prevent that situation. The fact that the situation could have been avoided does not mean Cruz is a bad cop or a bad person, but we should ask for more from our law enforcement officials so that these tragedies are avoided and innocent lives are not destroyed.
An incident last month where Delaware police killed wheelchair-bound Jeremy Mcdole may shed some light on the issue. Police officers got a call saying a man in a wheelchair was armed and suffering from a self-inflicted gun wound. Police arrived at the scene and immediately surrounded and confronted Mcdole from the front, ordering him to put his hands up and drop his gun, though no gun is visible in the video of the incident. Mcdole did not comply. The incident did not last long. After Mcdole appears to reach for his waist, a storm of bullets are fired at him. He falls to the ground, motionless.
The officers could have done more, and they could have done better. It is difficult to know whether Mcdole could not comply with raising his hands because of his wounds or his condition that made him wheelchair-bound, though he was only paralyzed from the waist-down. It could be said that the police officers were hasty in shooting a flurry of bullets at him, not even shooting to maim, but apparently shooting to kill. Perhaps, though, it is justifiable to say that the officers shot in self-defense as Mcdole reached for his waist, but the truth is that the officers should have never let that situation come up in the first place. Mcdole was sitting still in his wheelchair in the middle of the street, apparently unarmed, and apparently not a threat to anyone. Yet police officers immediately confronted Mcdole at close range, instead of following in the footsteps of San Diego police, trying to persuade the suspect to turn himself in peacefully from afar. Mcdole had not even drawn a weapon, while San Diego police waited to shoot until their suspect had pointed the gun he held in his hand directly at police.
Another reminiscent incident is that of Tamir Rice, the 12 year old boy with the toy gun who was shot within seconds of police arrival. There must be more that police can do to be more cautious and handle these incidents so that people are not needlessly killed. Truly, what we must ask of our police officers is to be more discerning in their admittedly difficult, important, and stressful jobs. Many lives are in their hands – the lives of both civilians and police officers.
The data on police killings used at the beginning of this article comes from The Guardian’s database called “The Counted,” which compiles data on police killings through the Guardian’s reporting and other verified sources, such as police and coroners’ reports. The database’s numbers are fairly conservative, because they do not take into account any incidents that are in dispute. Self-inflicted deaths, such as drug overdoses, are not included. The numbers are even more conservative than it may appear, because the database is as an “imperfect work in progress,” that Guardian reporters update with information they are made aware of and can confirm.
There would not be such a large need for an independent database if it weren’t for the fact that the government does not keep a consistent record of the number of people killed by law enforcement. Currently, the FBI runs a voluntary program in which police agencies may submit an annual count of justifiable homicides – the killing of a felon during active duty. One of the problems with this system is that the numbers provided are not representative nor consistent, as police departments are not required to submit a count. Between 2005 and 2012, only about 6 percent of departments submitted a count. Yet, even more glaring issues with the system are that there is no oversight to ensure that the submitted counts are correct, and the counts only include “felons,” as opposed to any civilian killed by police.
It’s true that our society needs change, and just as police officers should be asked to do more, we as citizens should strive to do more. There are many good cops in bad situations, and one way we can improve our society is to change the system they are in. We must push to change laws, so that police officers are held accountable and police departments are transparent.
Sources:
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