Friday morning, the Baltimore chief prosecutor Marilyn Mosby announced the charges against six police officers in the death of Freddie Grey while in police custody. The charges range from second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter to false imprisonment and misconduct in office. Freddie Grey died a week after being arrested from a spinal cord injury, thought to be received while in police custody. The investigation and the charges focused around Grey's ride in the police van, where he was shackled at his feet, but unrestrained. He was unconcsious when they reached the police station.
The recent investigation showed that the police made another stop on the way to the station and picked up another prisoner. Mosby has also said that the arrest was illegal.
The charges comes after a week of protests in Baltimore that received lots of coverage due to the outbreak of violence that occurred. The protests were calling for the charges, as well as other measures to stop this from occurring again. Baltimore is the latest city to have an outbreak of protest after a death of a Black man in the hands of the police. The police also did not release the report to the public in fear that it would lead to more violence.
How do you think that the police should handle protests in order to best serve the community? How do you think that deaths while in police custody should be handled?
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6 comments:
Incidents of police brutality occur very often, and it seems like they get swept under the rug. When compared to other countries such as China, Canada, and the UK, America's police force is among the most brutal. In a perfect world, the policemen would be charged to the full extent of the law, and the county sheriffs across the country would all be required to implement stricter policies regarding use of force and accountability of the policemen.
The whole issue of police brutality in the United States is just absolutely appalling. The fact that we have had a very prevalent, recent history of it just makes it all the more shocking, especially given the perceived and taught progressiveness of the US as a whole. The mere act of actually having charges on these officers is a step in the right direction, with some incidents before leaving officers completely unaffected. Without recognizing that this is a problem through the justice system, nothing will get done. It's difficult to state how police should handle protests because of simply how tense they can turn out to be. I think the best thing to do is keep a distance, and ensure that the community is safe while letting protestors sort of do their thing. Deaths while in police custody should undoubtedly be transparent. Cover-up acts like not releasing the report are all a part of the actions these protestors want to change.
Police brutality is an extremely difficult issue because it is incredibly hard to determine whether or not the violence was appropriate, especially when video evidence is lacking. The two sides on this issue are very polarized, as many feel that police brutality is out of control, and that African-Americans are being unfairly treated by a system meant to protect all equally. However, there are also many that believe that the issue is being blown out of proportion, and that the destructive protesting is uncalled for.
I think that there unarguably a difference in how police treat African-Americans as compared to whites. A trending hashtag on Twitter, #CrimeWhileWhite, was characterized by white people revealing past crimes they committed that they were let go by police for. I think that these protests are justified, seeing as there far too many cases of police brutality on African-Americans in the past year.
The protesters who march the streets are rallying for the greater good in putting a stop to police brutality but the way they do it may not be appropriate. Many local economies have suffered setbacks as the result of overnight protests that result in lots of window breaking and stuff like that. In order for the police to serve the community in the best way possible, they should handle protests in a way that lets the protesters know the police are siding with them but simaltaneously discourages careless behavior. Deaths in police custody should be handled in the most neutral way possible. The investigation needs to focus on the hard concrete facts and disregard personal bias.
While it is true that the protesters are marching the streets for the greater good, the way they do it is not appropriate. Many local economies have suffered setbacks as the result of property damage from the protests. If police want to handle protests in a better way for the good of the community, they need to let the protesters know that they side with them since many activists feel alienated from police, but simaltaneously let them know that it is not acceptable to protest that in that careless of a manner. Deaths in police custody should be handled in the most neutral way possible. Personal bias in the investigation needs to be limited as much as possible while focusing on actual concrete factrs.
The issue regarding police brutality is so often now, it does not surprise me. Yet at the same time, Police brutality, like Brendan said, is very hard to determine- simply, it is legal for them to shoot and kill people if deemed necessary. In regards to the protest, I think the police should be more passive in this case. They should not engage citizens, rather they should just stand there as a symbol of justice and eventually the protesters will get tired and rally out.
In regards to the deaths of people in police custody, they should be handled more seriously. It is not very often that people die in police custody, is, rather uncommon unless the person in custody has been shot beforehand and somehow died. Many people fight for what's going to happen before getting into custody like anti discrimination, etc, but not many people fight for what happens to people while IN custody. I think that is an area that is not as discovered as it should be.
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