As one grows up, you are told that whenever you feel that your life is at danger you should call 911 and the men and women in uniform will come to your rescue. You are taught that police officers are our everyday heroes, they keep us safe, they allow us to live in peace in our neighborhoods. You are trained to pay respect to every police officer when you see them in the streets, because without you knowing, they have kept you alive.
But what happens when these heroes start to abuse their power? When they tackle you down just because you fit a certain profile? What happens when aside of being pin down to the ground you are shot multiple times? What happens when those guilty do not reserve any punishment for his actions? What happens when people watch over and over again similar cases but nothing seems to change?
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Protest happen. People tired of all the injustice surrounding their homes get together and exert their first amendment right. Also, they reach to social media and use hashtags to spread the word. However, it seems that many people believe that putting in their status a hashtag will bring back to life all those killed by police brutality. Others decide to take matters on their own hands and kill police officers.
After all the blood spilled to the ground, one would hope that something will change, yet the biggest change I have seen is the use of body cameras in some police units. What if we challenged the system a little bit more? What if we decided to think outside the box? Why don’t we look into better police training? Instead of tackling somebody to the ground, yelling them to not move and then shoot them, we could find a way to create a more humane treatment and not making guns the first things police officers use. Guns should not be fired until it is confirmed that the other person is armed and the life of one or multiple persons is in danger. Finally, somehow we need to stop teaching hate and separation on the basis of superficial qualities and instead, enforce love and acceptance.
I do believe that there is still out there good police officers. Those who took their oath to protect and save lives seriously. Those who are loved and are looking for the betterment of their communities. Sadly, the bad apples are the ones taking most of the media attention. It’s up to everyone to take part and change.
