The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

Police brutality rises after recent incidents

By Austin Bucci
Staff Writer

Police brutality is a touchy subject anywhere, and has been especially prevalent due to the recent problems in Ferguson, MO where and unarmed teenager, Mike Brown, was shot and killed by officer Darren Wilson in early August, 2014. The debate over whether law enforcement officers go too far is fairly split, but the statistics and accounts of these officers using excessive force speak for themselves.

Following Mike Brown’s murder, Ferguson was in uproar. Peaceful protests emerged in various parts of the area to bring justice to Mike Brown, because Darren Wilson has not been convicted yet despite a barrage of evidence against him. Police retaliated to these protests by even further exemplifying the message of the protest by attacking protesters with tear gas and swat teams wearing riot gear—marking the protesters as rioters, when the officers themselves were the ones using brutal force.

“The things going on in Ferguson are outrageous. Innocent people are being targeted by police force for standing up for an innocent man’s murder,” junior Maya Ermocida replies when asked about her thoughts on police involvement in Ferguson.

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Police brutality also raises the question of race. Mike Brown and a majority of the protesters of Ferguson who were attacked are black, while Darren Wilson, who has supporters himself despite murdering a young man, is white. Statistically, more Americans of color are distrustful of police force and targeted more often.

Police brutality does not necessarily fall under the lines of murder or heavy military involvement, but any kind of excessive force given the nature of the crime. For example, in November of 2013, a fourteen-year-old boy was arrested for shoplifting a Levittown Walmart. The boy was handcuffed and in the custody of two, able, adult officers when he tried to run away. While he was cuffed and mobile, the two, male, adult, able-bodied officers tased the boy and he fell onto the asphalt sustaining multiple face injuries, according to an article by foxphilly.com.

Many argue that cops are put under a highly stressful job and may not always react ideally to situations when having to react in a split second. “Not all cops are bad,” comments senior Riley Stricko. There is no denying that sometimes an officer must put themselves on the line for their job, but there is a clear difference to reacting when a gun is pulled on the officer or the criminal becomes physically violent as opposed to a teenager in handcuffs or an unarmed man walking down the street that puts his hands up when approached. Force in the latter sounds a lot like a dog on a power trip that needs a leash.

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/10/17/in_historic_police_brutality_case_family

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/24003335/teen-family-allege-police-brutality-incident

http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/police-reasonable-force-brutality-race-research-review-statistics

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Police brutality rises after recent incidents