WHERE DO THE PEOPLE'S LOYALY STAND?
Storified by bmilner1 · Sat, May 21 2016 23:47:00
Policing in the 21st Century is a hard job; even tougher with the rise in allegations, prosecutions, and unfortunate events, where officers may have done wrongful actions. When certain officers have lost the desire to engage (positively) with the community, have stopped attempting to problem solve with their community, or have ceased to give a quality product, then we have issues. Is the uprising of media bashing Police causing more issues rather than helping?
The August 9, 2014 police shooting of black unarmed black teen Michael Brown started a wave of demonstrations across America. While there is a longer history of controversial police shootings and tactics in the community, Ferguson officer Darren Wilson’s confrontation with Brown brought many questions and anger into the streets of Ferguson, Mo. A grand jury decided on not indicting Wilson, causing the community to erupt in protest and destruction.
Won't Mike Brown me I'm shooting back at the officer
RIP Michael Brown, brave young angel taken away too soon. 😥😭#HandsUpDontShoot #CantBreathe #BlackLivesMatter #DownWithWhiteness @autopsy_87
Do to the controversy within this Mike Brown case, when other cases, similar to this one, came up in the future the result of media, Police, and the people all having different opinions of how the event actually happened.
FREDDY GRAY: APRIL 12, 2015
On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray, Jr., a 25-year-old man, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for possessing what the police alleged was an illegal switchblade. While being transported in a police van, Gray fell into a coma and was taken to a trauma center. Gray died on April 19, 2015; his death was ascribed to injuries to his spinal cord. On April 21, 2015, pending an investigation of the incident, six Baltimore police officers were suspended with pay.
What we know: Gray was arrested on a weapons charge in a high-crime area of Baltimore known for drugs. He "gave up without the use of force," Baltimore Deputy Police Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said last week.
An officer apparently took his Taser out and was prepared to use it on Gray, but he never deployed it, Rodriguez said. And none of the six officers involved in the arrest described using force against the 25-year-old.
Gray was placed inside a police van and was able to talk, said Rodriguez, who described Gray as upset.
An officer apparently took his Taser out and was prepared to use it on Gray, but he never deployed it, Rodriguez said. And none of the six officers involved in the arrest described using force against the 25-year-old.
Gray was placed inside a police van and was able to talk, said Rodriguez, who described Gray as upset.
What we don't know: It's unknown what caused the spinal cord injury that led to his death a week after the arrest, and it's also unknown what, if anything, happened inside the van.
On April 18, 2015, after Gray's subsequent coma, the residents of Baltimore protested in front of the Western district police station. Gray died the following day, April 19, 2015, a week after the arrest.
Further protests were organized after Gray's death became public knowledge, amid the police department's continuing inability to adequately or consistently explain the events following the arrest and the injuries. Spontaneous protests started after the funeral service, although several included violent elements. Civil unrest continued with at least twenty police officers injured, at least 250 people arrested, 285 to 350 businesses damaged, 150 vehicle fires, 60 structure fires,27 drugstores looted, thousands of police and Maryland Army National Guard troops deployed, and with a state of emergency declared in the city limits of Baltimore.
Further protests were organized after Gray's death became public knowledge, amid the police department's continuing inability to adequately or consistently explain the events following the arrest and the injuries. Spontaneous protests started after the funeral service, although several included violent elements. Civil unrest continued with at least twenty police officers injured, at least 250 people arrested, 285 to 350 businesses damaged, 150 vehicle fires, 60 structure fires,27 drugstores looted, thousands of police and Maryland Army National Guard troops deployed, and with a state of emergency declared in the city limits of Baltimore.
The unwarranted death of Freddie Gray has become a staple case regarding police brutality, and the hashtag Black Lives Matter blew up after this incident.
