Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson-the man who shot Michael Brown-will not recieve a severance package after his resignation this weekend. He will not recieve any pay or further benefits despite not being indicted by the grand jury. He resigned for his community and fellow officers, saying his "continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance I cannot allow."Effectively, Wilson is now left without a job, no pay and has to move on with his life. Yes, this whole tragedy is very saddening and the protests and reaction from America has been very extreme, but does this man deserve his fair share of benefits after his resignation?
More questions:
Had society not reacted with such hatred toward Wilson, would he have received his benefits and still have his job?
4 comments:
Sources:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/30/ferguson-officer-darren-wilson-resigns-reaction/19697739/
http://www.aol.com/article/2014/11/30/ferguson-mayor-no-severance-package-for-wilson/21000628/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5-news%7Cdl2%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D572933
I think that at this time, refraining from giving Wilson any kind of benefit is a good idea. By awarding Wilson a severance package, the Ferguson Police Department would appear to be giving Wilson some form of reward, and this would further enrage the already furious protesters not only in Ferguson, but around the United States. Right now, I think the most important thing is to try and cool down the situation in Ferguson.
I'm not too concerned with the benefits, but I think it is a good thing that he is no longer an officer. Even though subsequent evidence has supported his account rather than that of eyewitnesses, the controversy surrounding him would only hinder the capabilities of the Ferguson police force.
I think the biggest question here is the power of the media to spin a story and completely oust someone from their job. Brown was confrontational--but he didn't deserve to die. I feel there isn't as much empathy for Wilson who didn't deserve to lose his job.
I feel like there was a lot of spin pushing against Ferguson police, however I do not feel that this fact takes away the point that the man and the police station didn't receive justice as they should have. It is a fact that Wilson did kill an innocent man who did not deserve to die regardless of how confrontational he was. If an innocent person is killed by a police officer the bottom line should be fired with out benefits regardless of whether it occurred in Ferguson or San Mateo.
Digressing slightly, I feel the Ferguson event illustrate a clear lacking in our police system in how to react to a confrontational situation that does not require deadly forces. Today we have many non-lethal weapons such as tazers, pepper spray, and been bag rounds, that do not kill a suspect and the fact that a gun is a police officers first choice to subdue a suspect is appalling. I take into account hindsight is 20/20 however if police training put a heavier emphasis in using non lethal force, it could lead to a much lower casualty rate of innocent bystanders and suspects.
Post a Comment