There has to be a better way...
There is a pattern of responses or reactions to police killings in the media and in white society. Few are more utilized in the national lexicon than the "Isolated Instance" claim. In an effort to diffuse correlation, instances of police brutality, extrajudicial killings, and general abuses of power are presented in isolated stories in the media. Only the most visible of stories are covered, and even those deaths receive scant media coverage.
The latest in the long, continuous string of unassociated, uncorrelated incidences is the death of 50 year old former Coast Guard serviceman Walter Scott. He was killed by former North Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager in a traffic stop for a non-functioning tail light (which, according to South Carolina ordinance codes, is not against any city or state ordinance or law as long as one tail light was fully functioning). Early stories in the media ran with the police narrative, stating that Scott struggled for the tazer with the officer, managed to wrestle it away, and that the officer "feared for his life" which caused him to draw his service weapon and fire on Scott. Video footage released after the official police timeline of events completely contradict the officer's account and eventually led to a murder charge for the Slager.
The dash camera shows that one lamp was working at the time of the stop. Scott was pulled over going into an Advanced Auto Parts(and was assumed to be fixing the issue), and is cooperating with the officer at the time. When Slager returns to the patrol car, he has Scott's license and information. Scott then flees the scene, with Slager giving chase. The video captured by Feldin Santana begins with Scott and Slager standing next to one another. Scott pushes Slager's hand away, then runs away from the officer. Slager draws his service weapon and fires 8 times at Scott from between 15 to 20 feet away. Slager then radios in "Shots fired" as he walked over to cuff the dying Scott. He walks over to the spot where he discharged his weapon, picked up an object that was knocked to the ground(allegedly his tazer), and moves it over to Scott's body as the second officer makes it to the scene. Neither officer attempt CPR, call for EMS, or attempt first aid.
There have been over 300 Americans killed by police in 2015. There were 115 people were killed by police last month. That is more than the entire United Kingdom police force have killed since 1900, standing at a whopping 53 deaths. In 2012, there were zero deaths in the UK due to police shootings. Service weapons were only discharged three times in that year.
In these extrajudicial killings, the line "I feared for my life" has been a plea for law enforcement to absolve themselves of criminal action in ending another person's life. This narrative is so common place that White Americans are convinced that police have an extremely dangerous job, when it consistently ranks outside of many top 10 lists.
Conversely, more African Americans were killed in 2014 than in the September 11th attacks in 2001, according to the correlation of numbers from the CDC and killedbypolice.net. While it may be true that there are roughly twice as many white people than black people who were killed by police, it is also important to remember that white people outnumber black people in America by a margin of 5 to 1. Based on population data, black people are three times more likely to die in a police confrontation, and young black men are 21 times more likely to die than young white men.
With all the correlation of statistical data, the evidence of a systemic pattern of deadly violence is fairly obvious. Unfortunately, the general population, news media, and law enforcement agencies never address brutality from a national standpoint. There are no calls to reform escalation of force, methods of non-violence deescalation being utilized, or inquiries into the alarmingly high rate of police/civilian killings.
At first, I considered perhaps it was a lack of foresight on the part of the average white citizen. That is false considering they are at least aware that extrajudicial killings occur, but actively minimize its occurrence, severity, and overall impact. Some even celebrate the deaths of the victims, thanking officers for their service as if they were Judge Dredd in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian future. The largest problem is that many of these cases involve minor traffic infractions that result in fines or tickets, or deal with people who have mental issues. In the case of Aiyana Stanley-Jones, she didn't even commit a crime, but was sleeping soundly before being killed by police.
The empirical data is there, but it only serves to solidify the information already known to aware individuals:
The institution of police have become increasingly violent. The are not holding themselves accountable for the excessive violence that they cause, and something must be done about this nationwide epidemic. There is no greater example of proof the accusation of America is now a police state than the hyper-aggressive, overly-authoritiave style of policing exhibited by law enforcement officers. Each case of a non-inditement, aquittal, or not-guilty verdict emboldens the next officer believing he or she could get away with murder. Anyone who believes in a lawful and just society must work together to tear down the blue shield that protects themselves.
More infomation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/...
http://killedbypolice.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
http://www.economist.com/...
http://www.forbes.com/...
http://www.politifact.com/...