Yet again in the news we hear of another unlawful murder of two black civilians by the police. The clear evidence of the overly aggressive murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile are disturbing, to say the least. Now I’m aware that these men had their own fair share of offenses; Sterling having a record of sex offenses and domestic abuse and Castile having a lengthy history of, wait for it, traffic violations. This wasn’t these men’s first confrontation with the law, but solely looking at the incidents that led to their death, these men were not a threat to the working officer. Now in no way are these two instances justification for the murders of the five officers in Dallas as a result of sniper attacks. But tell me why I see news outlets reporting stories with headlines like, “The Dallas sniper attack was the deadliest event for police since 9/11,” two events that are entirely different; however when it comes to #BlackLivesMatter, the criminal records of these two men are so quick to surface to distract people from the injustice. At the end of the day, the problem isn’t police vs. blacks, the police have killed many more people than just those who are black, we should mourn for all communities; the real problem is that people who are not equipped to handle guns have access to them; whether that be a police officer who is not trained properly for situations where the “offender”/ victim is carrying a weapon legally or a shooter who was not mentally stable enough to be permitted to carry a weapon. But since so many people want to distract themselves by focusing on the criminal history of the “offenders”/ victims of police brutality, let’s take a moment to actually visualize how many people have been murdered by the hands that swore to serve and protect us so far in 2016:

JANUARY

1. Joshua Sisson, 30

2. Lance Light, 54

3. Lonnie Powers Jr, 37

4. Germonta Wallace, 30

5. Eric Senegal, 27

6. Rodney Turner, 22

7. Albert Thompson, 28

8. Carlton Murphy Jr., 33

9. David Zollo, 54

10. James Maher, 39

11. Joel Nelson, 29

12. Stephen Bukwich, 52

13. Charles Hollstein, 38

14. Alan Franco-Armenta, 32

15. Kenneth Clay, 34

16. Andrew Abernathy, 50

17. Eric Olsen, 26

18. David Kent, 37

19. Christine Lucas, 45

20. Alan Bartley, 56

21. Ciara Meyer, 12

22. Keith Richardson, 58

23. Ramone Lonergan, 32

24. Robert Tenbrink, 45

25. Herman Bean Jr., 49

26. Brandon Bearden, 29

27. Timothy Meehan, 60

28. Miguel Hernandez, 39

29. Willie Holderfield, 41

30. Rakeem Bentley, 24

31. William Waldron, 26

32. Adam Karjalainen, 44

33. Alfred Longoria, 34

34. Clarence Layfield Jr., 55

35. Henry Bennett, 19

36. Kelsey Hauser, 25

37. Ashton Morris, 27

38. Cory Henderson, 31

39. Crayton West, 52

40. Efrian Herrera Jr., 24

41. Joshua Fielding, 38

42. Talmadge King, 47

43. Daniel Shaver, 26

44. Eric Provost, 28

45. Jordan Szymanski, 33

46. Levi Wilson, 39

47. Timothy Caruthers, 27

48. Vasilios Katsouras, 29

49. Filberto Valencia, 26

50. Gary Jones, 36

51. Jim Redmond, 28

52. Samuel Grady, 55

53. Michael Lynch, 37

54. Randy Sanders Jr., 33

55. Timothy Albert, 40

56. Cedric Norris, 39

57. Joshua Lee, 26

58. Sharon Mitterling, 67

59. Michael Robinson, 43

60. Scott Brunson, 50

61. Sergio Alvarado-Morales, 38

62. Stephen Schenck, 47

63. Robert ‘La Voy’ Finicum, 55

64. Herman Flores, 31

65. Israel Rodriguez, 26

66. Janet Wilson, 31

67. John Smith, 27

68. Johnathan Bratcher, 32

69. Nathan Bailey, 30

70. Scott Scanlon, 52

71. Christopher Kalonji, 19

72. Thongsavanh Vandarack, 40

73. William Adams, 33

74. Angela Hiatt, 41

75. Christopher Dew, 29

76. Jacqueline Salyers, 32

77. Randolph McClain, 33

78. Jeremy Sinclair, 42

79. Jose Alegre, 64

80. Michael Brown, 25

81. Philip Salazar, 38

82. Bruce Kelley Jr., 37

83. Charles Smith, 29

84. Jeffry Graves, 62

85. Joshua Bispo, 42

86. Juan Ruiz, 46

FEBRUARY

87. Peter John, 36

88. Edgar Alvarado, 21

89. Joseph Molinaro, 34

90. Justin Prescott, 30

91. Lawrence Kindel, 33

92. Cristiaan Dubrino, 31

93. John Neuman, 53

94. Randy Nelson, 49

95. Raymond Gassman

96. Antronie Scott, 36

97. Hector Leroy, 43

98. Kayden Clarke, 24

99. Scott Harless, 47

100. Thomas Hirko, 54

101. Blake Fitzgerald, 30

102. Emily Thibodeaux, 23

103. Phillip Ferry, 55

104. Ronald Barawis Jr., 38

105. Vinson Strickland, 51

106. Wendell Celestine Jr., 37

107. Jose Mendez, 16

108. Michael Laniado, 27

109. Steve Davis, 47

110. Marese Collins, 23

111. Phillip Luchsinger, 36

112. David Joseph, 17

113. Eric Harris, 22

114. Shalamar Longer, 33

115. Deborah Roman, 44

116. Gustavo Najera, 22

117. Nathan Roman, 10

118. Scottie Yanagawa, 29

119. Anthony Bertoni, 56

120. David Evans, 68

121. John Birkeland, 52

122. Timothy Vessels, 41

123. Vincent Nageak III, 36

124. Alijah Jackson, 35

125. Jerand Ross, 24

126. Matthew Quinn, 45

127. Mohamed Barry, 30

128. David Watson, 53

129. Jonathan Fowler, 32

130. Peter Fanfan, 29

131. Sahlah Ridgeway, 32

132. Ali Yahia, 29

133. Calin Roquemore, 24

134. Calvin Smith, 22

135. Dyzhawn Perkins, 19

136. Eduardo Rodriguez, 24

137. Marc Stoddart, 50

138. Rammy Jaradat, 26

139. Brandon Witt, 39

140. Guadalupe Sauceda, 52

141. Inocencio Cardenas Jr., 38

142. Christopher Andrews, 51

143. Destry Meikle, 48

144. Shawn Dickens, 30

145. Paul Gaston, 37

146. Jose Quintanilla, 30

147. Joseph Noel, 25

148. Oscar Reyes, 35

149. Ronnie Padron, 32

150. Travis Wood, 24

151. Curtis Dugger, 31

152. Justin Moses, 35

153. Charles Lambert, 45

154. Danny Rendon, 30

155. Edgar Camacho-Alvarado, 23

156. Marcos Perea, 41

157. Che Taylor, 47

158. Kisha Michael, 31

159. Marquintan Sandlin, 32

160. Sherrisa Homer, 36

161. David Green, 38

162. Gerardino Cayetano-Gonzalez, 28

163. Jamie Long, 45

164. Patricia Kruger, 38

165. Rouven Loch, 22

166. Alex Buckner, 26

167. Angel Gleason, 36

168. Baltazar Ramos, 39

169. Travis Stevenson, 48

170. Alex Zoucha, 31

171. Christopher Davis, 21

172. Francisco Garcia, 26

173. Martin Wirth, 58

174. Robert Keil, 16

175. Victor Rivera, 27

176. Cedric Ford, 38

177. Greg Gunn, 56

178. Luke Miller, 37

179. Tristan Conti, 19

180. Abraham Fryer, 35

181. Kionte Spencer, 18

182. Fernando Hernandez, 23

183. Earl Hicks II, 43

184. Nathan Grissom, 41

185. Akiel Denkins, 24

MARCH

186. Dimitri Corcino, 39

187. Jorge Gonzalez, 22

188. Mickey Sweatt, 37

189. Daniel Burkhardt, 41

190. Travis Bradley, 35

191. Alex Thompson, 37

192. Sergio Ochoa, 27

193. Brandon Stanley, 30

194. John Chamberlain, 66

195. Darrell Bosell, 34

196. Herbert Ballance, 22

197. James ‘Tony’ Scott, 42

198. Mark Minnick, 51

199. Osvaldo Torres, 41

200. Abelino Cordova-Cuevas, 28

201. Byron Rosas, 45

202. Daniel Chavez, 41

203. John Charles Graham, 42

204. Philip Vitullo, 49

205. Randall Selsor, 45

206. Jeffrey Casale, 27

207. Arteair Porter Jr., 22

208. German Gonzalez, 23

209. Jason Meador, 50

210. Martin Hurtado, 21

211. Wesley Sheppard, 37

212. Christopher Tokazowski, 43

213. Jack Goodman, 46

214. Manford ‘Butch’ Moore Jr., 51

215. Teodoro Valencia, 23

216. Tyre Privott, 25

217. Keith Montgomery Jr., 24

218. Marco Loud, 20

219. Michael Roll, 52

220. Peter Gaines, 35

221. William Jennings, 49

222. Amy McCoy, 38

223. Gevork Alachadzhyan, 45

224. Jacai Colson, 28

225. Jose Cruz, 16

226. Joshua Grubb, 30

227. Wesley ‘Chad’ Deerman, 26

228. Lamar Harris, 29

229. Daniel Wooters, 38

230. Ed McIver Sr., 43

231. Joseph Harris, 34

232. Cristian Medina, 23

233. Dallis Hernandez, 22

234. Dennis Penny, 40

235. Eric Hernandez, 33

236. Richard Gonzalez, 55

237. Vincent Avila, 25

238. Christoper Nelms, 30

239. Map Kong, 38

240. Scott Bennett, 29

241. Sunny Chin, 53

242. Michael Mallett, 49

243. Dylan Whitaker, 23

244. India Beaty, 25

245. Joshua Douglas, 24

246. Thurman Reynolds, 21

247. Torrey Robinson, 35

248. Abraham Martinez, 62

249. Boyd Ballard, 61

250. Clarence Briggs, 55

251. Robert Dentmond, 16

252. Dylan Paper, 25

253. Edward Gorinski, 28

254. Ralph ‘Phil’ Grenon, 76

255. Ethan Rincon, 25

256. Travis Blair, 33

257. Alexio Allen, 30

258. Daven Hannu, 51

259. Raymond Gonzalez, 34

260. Andrew Mike, 29

261. Dominique Silva, 24

262. Jermon Seals, 22

263. Joel Gonzales, 48

264. Mario Sandoval, 19

265. Robert Dussourd, 44

266. Donald White, 55

267. Jose Perez, 39

268. Patrick McManamon, 46

269. Robert Guerin, 33

270. Terrence Blackburn, 36

271. Deriante Miller, 18

272. Earl Ashby, 33

273. Jeffrey Lanahan, 34

274. Loreal Tsingine, 27

275. Alice Goudie, 64

276. Denise Fairchild, 50

277. Joseph Melvin, 46

278. Robert Garrison Jr., 51

279. Angel Montion, 33

280. Thomas Lagano, 52

281. James Brown III, 34

282. James Simpson, 31

283. Kimani Johnson, 18

284. Matthew Wood Jr., 43

APRIL

285. Jesse Juarez, 65

286. Joel Fabela, 38

287. Cameron Glover, 30

288. Darrin Martin, 25

289. David Mack, 69

290. Melissa Boarts, 36

291. Darius Robinson, 41

292. Raul Marquez-Heraldes, 50

293. Kevin Hicks, 44

294. Peter Doherty, 52

295. Cesar Frias, 20

296. Christopher Erdman, 39

297. Laronda Sweatt, 40

298. Marvin Cremeans, 60

299. Christopher Wilson, 41

300. Lance McIntire, 44

301. Luis Gongora, 45

302. Dazion ‘Jerome’ Flenaugh, 40

303. Lamont Gulley, 43

304. Melissa Abbott, 25

305. Diahlo Grant, 27

306. Quron Williams, 19

307. Arturo Yobani-Torrez Valdez, 27

308. Lonnie Ball, 39

309. Luis Soto, 29

310. William Clark III, 30

311. Efren Trujillo-Soriano, 22

312. Pierre Loury, 16

313. Dion Damon, 40

314. Joshua Moreno, 38

315. Travis Wood, 20

316. Jeffrey Wise, 52

317. Koltlee Whitson, 26

318. Rodney Watts, 35

319. Jeff Robertson, 54

320. Allen ‘Storm’ Smith, 26

321. Clemente Najera, 38

322. David Swatsky, 52

323. Robert Howard, 44

324. Gerald Boyes, 52

325. Edson Thevenin, 38

326. Eric Wilson, 22

327. George Tillman, 32

328. Kisha Arrone, 35

329. Richard Bard Jr., 31

330. Demetrius Dorsey, 18

331. Rico Johnson, 28

332. Daniel Blackmon, 38

333. Jorevis Scruggs, 15

334. Sylasone Ackhavong, 41

335. Francis Dufore, 41

336. Jackie Kirkham, 52

337. Paul Gianelos, 45

338. Mario Martinez, 48

339. Carl Baranishyn, 51

340. Tyler Hunkin, 29

341. Demarcus Semer, 21

342. Eric Wakup, 30

343. Jakob Wagner, 18

344. Mitchell Oakley, 24

345. Willie Tillman, 33

346. Bradford Macomber, 53

347. Jonathan Watson, 46

348. Kay Campbell, 60

349. Darrel Machemehl, 44

350. Jacquelyn Burke, 24

351. Joshua Brooks, 26

352. Robin Barber, 28

353. Cin Mung, 34

354. Damon Blair, 21

355. David Anderson, 36

356. Ashtian Barnes, 25

357. Kendar del Rosario, 37

358. Lee Easter, 54

359. Michael Kurtz, 45

360. Bender Dass, 55

361. Jeffrey Hobbs, 48

362. Marion Habana, 28

363. Mark Bess, 33

364. Oswald ‘Ozzie’ Mattner, 42

MAY

365. Charlin Charles, 25

366. Ronald Branch, 28

367. Reginald Dogan, 53

368. Raymond Hopper, 59

369. Cayce Ditullio, 39

370. Gerry Thompson, 40

371. Matthew Tucker, 18

372. Richard Ferretti, 52

373. Burt Johnson, 38

374. Corey DiGiovanni, 36

375. Deresha Armstrong, 26

376. Ronald Williams Jr., 23

377. Alton Witchard, 37

378. Derek Sam, 29

379. Lionel Gibson, 21

380. Nathan Cates, 29

381. Alexander Larmon, 44

382. Arthur Williams Jr., 33

383. Christian Bowman, 23

384. Jaffort Smith, 33

385. Jamie Stotts, 29

386. Michael Johnson, 26

387. Arthur DaRosa, 28

388. Nancy Friedrich, 35

389. Sean Mondragon, 24

390. Stephen Godfrey, 69

391. Stephen Schuster, 35

392. Thongsoune Vilaysane, 30

393. Kimberly King, 46

394. Michael Gaffney, 37

395. Mylanda Martinez, 27

396. Robert Diaz, 28

397. Cody Marsh, 19

398. Francis Clark, 43

399. Jeffrey Sims, 59

400. Ryan Johnson, 34

401. Dracy Pendleton, 35

402. Jabril Robinson, 23

403. Justin Addler, 32

404. Scott Macomber, 48

405. Luke Sanders, 36

406. Garry Conrad, 46

407. Israel Santos-Banos, 19

408. Joseph Weatherby, 44

409. Jaime Ide, 35

410. Jermias Cruz, 30

411. Jessica Williams, 29

412. Kentrill Carraway, 22

413. Timothy Stacy, 36

414. Brian Steen, 40

415. Joshua Beebee, 31

416. Mark Nelson, 31

417. Norman Campbell, 63

418. Travis Moore, 38

419. Bryson Fischer, 28

420. Jorge Zambrano, 35

421. Michael Wilson Jr., 27

422. Vernell Bing Jr., 22

423. Verl Bedonie, 26

424. Bodhi Phelps, 22

425. Leslie Goletz, 57

426. Mario Montoya, 31

427. Derek Prophet, 43

428. Doll Pierre-Louis, 24

429. Terry Frost, 20

430. Angel Navarro, 25

431. Devonte Gates, 21

432. Eugene Smith, 29

433. Fernando Castro, 19

434. Unknown, 45

435. Unknown, 48

436. Warren Christian, 43

437. Terry Edwards, 59

438. Dennis Hudson, 50

439. Dennis Humphrey, 58

440. Ernesto Carraman, 41

441. Ollie Brooks, 64

442. Charles Todero, 30

443. Dionisio Garza III, 25

444. Donald Brown III, 32

445. John Coffey, 53

446. Todd Burroughs, 38

447. Osee Calix, 33

448. Robert Wickizer, 70

449. Nicholas Berger, 36

JUNE

450. Daniel Pigg, 51

451. Michael Johnson, 21

452. Unknown

453. Rodney Smith, 18

454. Willie ‘Meek’ James, 43

455. Hubert Burns Jr., 34

456. Jamie Lee Brave Heart, 28

457. Joshua Smith, 33

458. Daniel Shaham, 31

459. Demarco Rhymes, 35

460. Larry Stepp, 31

461. Christopher Moran, 31

462. Hope Elferdink, 38

463. Henry Green, 23

464. Kalyp Rapoza, 25

465. Andrew Henson, 25

466. Omar Villagomez, 21

467. Weston Sites, 15

468. Willis Walker Jr., 49

469. Carlos Garcia, 43

470. William ‘David’ Powell, 63

471. Clifford Tucker, 68

472. James Nickol, 38

473. John Brisco, 52

474. Unknown

475. William Hollis, 34

476. Bobby Sanchez, 32

477. Clayton Millsaps, 29

478. Juan Briseno-Ortega, 50

479. Keith Bursey, 31

480. Jesus Duran, 31

481. Lyndarius Witherspoon, 27

482. Daniel Edwards, 23

483. John Williams, 61

484. Omar Mateen, 29

485. Edward Acquisto, 80

486. Joshua Sciscm, 33

487. Michael Moore, 18

488. Noel Rodriguez, 50

489. Fernando Geovanni LLanez, 22

490. Kenneth Pointer, 43

491. Mohammad Moghaddam, 54

492. Nicholas Ferro, 47

493. Michael Rasmussen, 38

494. Russell Rosser, 43

495. John Anderson, 59

496. Nicholas Damon, 30

497. Peter Grandpre, 36

498. Ronald Delfino, 21

499. Antwun Shumpert, 37

500. Sergey Makarenko, 17

501. William Hennessey, 34

502. Anthony Ford, 30

503. Clarence Howard, 25

504. Rashaun Lloyd, 25

505. Devin Scott, 20

506. Raphael Bostick, 23

507. Jeff Hyde, 50

508. Lane Lesko, 19

509. Pedro Cruz-Amado, 24

510. Antonio Richardson, 46

511. Isaiah Core III, 20

512. Josiah Williams, 25

513. Quencezola Splunge, 44

514. Roger Ponce, 37

515. Shaun Walke, 31

516. Angelo Brown, 35

517. Deravis Rogers, 22

518. Jay Anderson, 25

519. Christy Sheats, 42

520. Ismael Miranda, 36

521. Josh Herrera, 29

522. Miguel Chavez-Angles, 42

523. Randy Blecher, 50

524. Dylan Noble, 19

525. Rodrigo Guardiola, 36

526. Waldemar Bogusiewicz, 59

527. Daniel Reyes, 27

528. Donte Johnson, 30

529. Germichael Kennedy, 22

530. Terry Maurer, 51

531. Black Peacock, 32

532. Michael Disbrowe, 28

533. Raymond Hutson, 25

534. Sherman Evans, 63

535. Travis Vierra, 26

536. Barry Prak, 27

537. Walden Dang, 61

538. Jessie Mills, 30

539. Lafayette Evans, 37

540. Tyrone Reado, 50

541. Jasen Ramirez, 44

542. Kawme Patrick, 25

543. Michael Schumacher, 41

544. Tristan Vilters, 24

JULY

545. Alexis Mishtowt, 63

546. Helmut Wihowski, 58

547. Steven McQueen, 30

548. Jai Williams, 35

549. Jonathan Justice, 50

550. Pedro Villanueva, 19

551. Raul Saavedra-Vargas

552. Sannon Labit, 40

553. Anthony Nunez, 18

554. Delrawn Small, 37

555. Sidney Washington Jr., 21

556. Unknown

557. William Patterson, 34

558. Alton Sterling, 37

559. Joshua Bolster, 29

560. Melissa Ventura, 24

561. Sam Newby, 49

562. Philando Castile, 32

563. Unknown

564. Unknown

565. Micah Johnson, 25

566. Unknown

567. Unknown

568. Vinson Ramos, 37

569. Melissa Ventura, 24

570. Alva Braziel

570. 570 fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, children, cousins, friends and family. 570 people that I learned about after typing each and every one of their names above. 570 people that had so much more to live for before their time was cut short. 570 people you may not have heard about prior to reading this article. Compare that to a report done by Officer Down Memorial Page that states in 2016, only 59 officers have died on duty; so tell me who has proven to be the real threat? While I understand that some of these victims were, in fact, threatening to officers, which lead to their death, we cannot deny that this number is way too high for just seven months into the year. The police are celebrated for their bravery, but it's nothing short of cowardice to abuse your power and kill anyone who may not fit your perfect definition of a suspect. Why must we hear people fight for the innocence of the victim after they have died and police always get to walk away, where is the logic in that? The issue of race has transpired into an issue of police vs. civilians, each trying to protect themselves from the other through the use of firearms. But how do cops expect people to respond peacefully when they are out here murdering our friends and family? Why did it have to get to this point? Why can mildly difficult situations only be settled by a fatal shot? Why are they so quick to shoot to kill? Why are there so many people on this list? The lives of our officers and our citizens are both important, but this isn't justice; you are breaking your oath to protect and serve by being the ones who pose the danger, instead of prevent it.