Rough Draft

In the recent years, police killings have led to several demonstrations and calls to reform the law enforcement sector. Many innocent citizens have died in the hands of police officers. According to Marlow (2009), some people believe that police killings are justifiable while other people believe that the law does not allow the police to shoot and kill suspected criminals. This paper examines an article that presents the reasons why the police feel justified shooting and killing suspects during the line of duty. The article is “9 Absurd Justifications for Police Killings of Unarmed Black Males” by Jessica Dickerson.

Jessica Dickerson, in her article, examines police shooting by presenting various cases and defenses that the police officers use after killing of innocent victims. Through outlining of the various justifications that the police officers were giving, the readers can clearly see her point on the issue of police killings. The major purpose of the author is to inform both the public and the law enforcement officers that the reasons that are being used to justify police killings are unfounded. For example, she recounts the gruesome killing of Rumain Brison. According to the police, they were acting in self-defense after seeing that the victim carried an object that seemed to be a gun (Dickerson, 2014). Hence, the police officers were justified to kill the innocent citizen. However, it later turned out that the object was not a gun, but rather a pill bottle that the victim was using for his medication.

Jessica Dickerson also claims that the aspect of mistaken identity should not be used as a justification for police killings. The police have shot and killed many people simply because they were mistaken for being the real criminals. The law enforcers usually react swiftly before making a sound conclusion that the person is indeed a hard-core criminal that can be a threat to the community. Sometimes the police shoot and kill other people because they were looking like a criminal. For example, young Michael Brown was shot dead in Missouri in 2014 because he looked like a thug. However, it was later realized that he did not have any record of criminal activity. The police, therefore, did not investigate if the victim was indeed a criminal.

The author also claims that the police usually use minor aspects to kill innocent people who are mainly African American. This is because there is a stereotype that Black people are violent. For example, some reasons that police use in defense of their acts includes, failure of the victim to obey orders, possessing of toy guns, running away from police officers and the poor mental health of victims as the results that cause their deaths (Wenzen, 2013). However, the police should first analyze a situation before taking any definitive steps such as the killing of a suspected criminal.

Jessica Dickerson addresses several audiences. First, she addresses the law enforcement officers. Through presenting various cases and the defenses that the police officers gave, the law enforcement officers can realize that their actions were unjustified. For example, the writer presents a case in which a teenager was killed because he was wearing a hooded sweater and the police officers thought that he was a criminal (Dickerson, 2014). Perhaps, the victim had worn the attire due to cold weather and did not have any kind of a criminal record; therefore, the officers should have interrogated the teenager instead of opening fire on the young man.

The writer also addresses the general public so as to be aware of the weaknesses of the law enforcement officers. She showcases several incidences where innocent people were killed due to generalizations or mistaken identity. For instance, some people are shot dead because they ran away from the police or others were killed due to mistaken identity. Through addressing the audiences above, she passes her message that the justification that the police usually give after committing murders are not justifiable and that proper action should be taken against such law enforcement officers.

Interestingly, what makes the claims of Jessica Dickerson on police brutality is her level of knowledge. She is knowledgeable in law and justice therefore, develops her arguments based on tangible evidence and not rumors. The readers can easily realize her expertise through analyzing her arguments. She supports her statements with evidence. Her accounts are true events that happened in the recent years between the police and the members of the public. The writer uses various styles of language such as satire to bring out the weakness of the law enforcement officers. From the title of the article, one can be mistaken that she supports police killings. However, through analyzing her unique writing style, a keen reader will detect that she is presenting various cases of police injustice to show that their acts are not justifiable.

The author also has immense knowledge of the law of the land. She quotes from the legal documents that provide the laws and regulations that control the activities of the law enforcement officers.

The arguments of the writer are valid. This is because she presents reasons that are supported by tangible evidence. Her accounts of the police killings are true since they occurred and there is enough evidence to corroborate her findings. She supports the stories by presenting the pictures of the victims as well as the demonstrations that took place after the extra-judicial killings were made. Through supporting the claims, readers and other interested groups can analyze the validity of the statements and realize that they are true.

The writer also gives a true account of the places that the shootings occurred. She does not just generalize that the killings occurred in various places in the United States. She specifies the states that were affected, for example, North Carolina and Missouri. By giving the exact locations add more details concerning the events, one can easily look for more information on the killings and thus justifies that her claims were not based on rumors but actual events that took place.

The article showcases several underlying values, beliefs and attitudes that have shaped the behavior of humans and specifically the law enforcement officers. For example, the article talks about the need to show respect to human life. The writer presents her arguments that are against police killings and she advocates for the preservation of human life. The article also shed light on discrimination based on racism. According to Field, (2012), most of the police shootings occur between the law enforcement officers and Black males. This shows that racial discrimination is still alive in the United States and other parts of the world.

The article also presents a belief that blacks are a violent group of people. This is because the police portray them as possible suspects in any scene of a crime. Unlike their white counterparts, the black males are prejudged as being violent individuals. However, this is just a stereotype that should be avoided.

In conclusion, the article effectively tackles the issue of police shootings and the justifications that the law enforcement officers usually give in their defense. Jessica Dickerson clearly presents her opinion by outlining the reasons that law enforcement officers are considered as justifiable during police shootings.

References

Dickerson, J. (2014). 9 Justifications for Police Killings of Unarmed Black Males