There have been countless incidents where police officers abuse their power and the “criminal” becomes the victim. The police officer would forget his limits and would use excessive force to make the suspect do what they want, sometimes even killing the suspect. Police brutality is not only physical intimidation, but sometimes verbal intimidation as well. One recent incident of police brutality was the killing of 43 year old Eric Garner.
The NYPD approached Garner because of a fight just moments ago. Witnesses say he was breaking up the fight. Garner told the officers that he was “tired of being harassed” and to “leave me alone.” As Garner was telling them this, the officer attacked him, put him in a chokehold, and dropped him to the ground. While Garner was on the ground, he repeatedly said “I can’t breathe!” Medics later showed up to the scene and told Garner to “get up on the stretcher” even though he was passed out on the ground. The claimed that he had a pulse and that he was breathing.
I think Garner was peacefully, though persistently, saying he did not want to be bothered with. I believe the police officer was wrong to choke him, even though Garner was way bigger than him. When Garner was on the ground, Pantaleo was still choking him. After that, the officer put his face to the floor and later put his knee on his head. Was that really necessary?
Now don’t get me wrong, cops are great people. They help citizens in need, they prevent crime, and generally look out for the safety of everyone. But some police officers make other police officers look bad. When one cop acts out and does something he or she’s not supposed to do, it makes it seem like all cops are bad, and none of them should be trusted.
Do you think Daniel Pantaleo should have been indicted?
What do you think should be done about police brutality?
What kind of restrictions should the police officers have?
What could prevent more incidents like this from happening?
No comments:
Post a Comment