Police officers will find everything in the book to harass you – it could be going on a drive, shopping or doing everyday activity and the police will still pull you over without probable cause.
Police violence is a leading cause of death for young men in the United States. Risk of being a victim of police violence ranges between the ages of 20-years and 35-years for both men and women and for all racial and ethnic group.
Controversial and illegal discriminatory practice in which individuals are targeted for suspicion of crimes based on their race, ethnicity or religion, known as racial profiling seems to be the only reason why officers want to stop you.
On May 25, 2020, the Minneapolis police department found themselves in a situation where it would be merely impossible to escape after 46-year old black man, George Floyd was murdered by former officer Derek Chauvin.
This series sparked a nationwide movement, Black Lives Matter, with protests all around the world.
How many more? When will it end? Stop killing us, are phrases heard around the world and the message isn’t clear enough that it still has not gotten through.
There have been innocent lives taken from their family homes, Breonna Taylor, Laquan McDonald, Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery and Amadou Diallo.
The list continues. Black Americans are being brutalized or killed by officers who later on get away with it and never have to deal with consequences in order to protect the reputation of the precinct.
Recently, the department seemed to have dug another hole for themselves after 22-year old Amir Locke was fatally shot to death by another one of their officers.
A police officer’s oath is to serve and protect but it seems they only choose who to protect and who to serve.
The number of brutalities caused by cops have increased immensely high and sadly it looks as if the numbers wouldn’t drop anytime soon with nearly a 1000 civilians shot across all race, as of Dec. 2021.
The rate of fatal police shootings in the United States show a huge gap based on ethnicity. Among Black Americans, 38 per million of the population between 2015 until 2022 have been shot, while for White Americans, 15 per million of the population have also been shot from that same timeline.
Sources say Black Americans are about 3 times more likely to be killed by the police than White Americans. Latino men, Indian and Native Americans are also more likely to be killed by the police than White Americans.
Despite the shootings across the country, the accountability that the police has taken has not been satisfactory enough according to most Americans.
A majority of Black Americans thought police officers were not held accountable for their actions and misconduct while less than half of White Americans had thought of the same concept.
Petitions have been signed to defund the police and to have them do better. Protests are also calling for a reform against police violence. Experts say police need to be trained to address their racial biases.
