Police in America Arrest Criminals Not Blacks Police in America Arrest Criminals Not Blacks Anthony Salame ENGL 102 American Military University Professor Teresa Harvey 1 Police in America Arrest Criminals Not Blacks 2 Police in America arrest criminals not Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, or Orientals. There has been a large cry for police reform in the last year due to the shooting of a law violating black teen by a white police officer. There are several claims that the police in America are racist primarily against African Americans. The facts show that more blacks are arrested than any other race in this country, this is due to the amount of crimes committed by them and not by the color of their skin. Although many police supporters would claim that the police are not profiling Africans in America this is factually untrue, although this does not mean they are racially profiling them. Police have made over 14 million arrests in the year of 2014 and every race was arrested not just one in particular. On August 9, 2014 a young black man by the name of Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer Darren Wilson. The Officer was responding to a robbery at a local convenience store when he encountered Michael and friend walking in the street. The next 15 minutes or so in this story has sparked nationwide debate and controversy. The story will never have a citation for being factual because no one will truly know the truth except Officer Daren Wilson and Michael Brown himself. Michael was shot and killed by Officer Wilson, and there after ensued a tsunami of allegations of pure racism as the fuel for his death. For months after the shooting there were countless protests in Ferguson Missouri as well as around the country some peaceful but several very violent. In the end after the grand jury reviewed over a 120 hours of evidence including testimony’s, photographs, phone calls, and videos Officer Wilson was not charged with any crime. The outcome of the trial only fueled the disapproval of the justice system in America against the black community, and has continued the discussion to this day. Police in America Arrest Criminals Not Blacks 3 Arrest rates are lopsided almost everywhere in the United States USA Today Reports that only 173 of the 3,538 police departments in America arrested black people at a rate of equal or lower than other racial groups. Though it may be upsetting to some to hear the fact of the matter is you do the crime you do the time. More blacks are arrested in the United States because of crimes committed if there was no crime committed there would not be an arrest. There are many reasons that may contribute to this high arrest rate which include poverty, low education, and lack of stable family lives but the most prolific is racial profiling. Although there is large difference between targeting individuals for crimes because of the color of their skin and hunting them down because of hatred within for a certain racial group it is something that happens each day. While there is no proof that an officer is particularly profiling an individual due to their color, there is also no proof he or she is arresting individuals out of hatred either. When an animal finds food in the wild it is apt to return to this location in search of food in the future. The facts are everyone in society wants and needs to be good at their job, if a fisherman knows where to find success fishing he will return to that successful pond to fish just as a police officer will return to where he or she knows individuals have a higher probability of breaking the law regardless of their race. “That does not mean police are discriminating. But it does mean it's worth looking at. It means you might have a problem, and you need to pay attention," said University of Pittsburgh law Professor David Harris in reference to the ratio of blacks arrested in who is an expert on racial profiling in the United States of America. Protestors in recent months have had many issues boil to the top of the pot during the wake of the Michael Brown shooting in Missouri. One of the leading demands is that all police officers be required to wear body cameras. The argument is that just as dash cameras in police cruisers the body cameras will hold police more accountable for their actions. Claims of racially Police in America Arrest Criminals Not Blacks 4 profiling would have significant evidence if thousands of hours of video footage supported it. Demands for arrests of Officer Darren Wilson continue even after the grand jury’s decision that he was innocent. Lastly the most gruesome of demands is the death to cops for the death Michael Brown. Protestors Chant “EYE FOR AN EYE” and “PIGS IN A BLANKET” through the streets of New York after two New York Police officers were killed by an extremist who executed the two officers in response to the recent death of Michael Brown and another African American male killed in a separate incident. There may an abundance of protestors but besides the demands stated above there is no clear answer to what the protestors want or how the propose to accomplish their wants. Body cameras for police officers would greatly affect not only the actions of police officers in our country, but the individuals being arrested. Video evidence of an individual resisting arrest or not resisting would be clear, and make convictions much easier for jury’s put in situations like the grand juries during the Michael brown shooting. Officer Darren Wilson was not arrested for a reason, he is innocent. The United States judicial system may not be perfect, but with a case that received as much national attention as this one there is no doubt every step was taken to ensure a fair and just outcome. The jury reviewed hours upon hours of evidence and in the end made an unbiased opinion that the Officer involved was innocent. Police officers in this country are tasked with protecting each and every one of us in our towns and cities. Unfortunately sometimes police may be put into a position where force is needed. Although it is unfortunate that there have been deaths related to police using excessive force this does not give the green light for activist with extreme beliefs to kill innocent police officers. In conclusion racial profiling does exist in America but the fact of the matter is the people being profiled are criminals. Although more blacks are arrested in America than any other race in Police in America Arrest Criminals Not Blacks 5 the country they also break more laws than any other race in the country. Police may target areas in which they know crime is high regardless of whether the area is filled with blacks or another racial group. Body cameras would have a major impact on police violence as well as behavior of individuals being arrested. Although particular protestors may believe officer Darren Wilson deserves to be imprisoned he is innocent and this is a fact. Police officers put their lives on the line each and every day protecting the citizens of this country and keeping the laws in place they should not have to worry about the people they protect trying to kill them. The facts for racial profiling and this topic are extremely hard to sift through because there is so many biased opinionated articles, websites, and journals out there. Amongst all these opinions one fact remains the same people in the United States of America are arrested because they are criminals not because of the color of their skin. Police in America Arrest Criminals Not Blacks 6 Bibliography Blake, J. (2014, 11 27). http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/26/us/ferguson-racism-or-racial-bias/. Retrieved 01 02, 2015 Casey, P. (2014, 11 25). The Michael Brown grand jury process was fair. Retrieved from www.washingtonpost.com: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokhconspiracy/wp/2014/11/25/the-michael-brown-grand-jury-process-was-fair/ Gartland, M. (2014, 12 31). 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