Michael Brown of Ferguson, Essay Example

Lately, a majority of news coverage has been focusing on the protests related to the death of Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri. While the protests were in full spring, a cop who was on trial for inappropriate use of a chokehold on Eric Garner of Staten Island, New York, was not indicted for killing an innocent man. This has created a lot of interest in determining the problems that exist in the police force and the overall society idea of the value of black life. Ultimately, it would be valuable to determine ways that the police forces in the United States could be reformed to ensure that police brutality ceases to continue.

Clarke R., Lett C. “What happened when Michael Brown met Officer Darren Wilson”. 11 November 2014. Web. 6 December 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/08/us/ferguson-brown-timeline/>

According to Clarke and Lett, Michael Brown was an unarmed black teenager that was nonetheless assaulted by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. The reporters provide witness testimonies, most of which report that Wilson was the aggressor and that it seemed that Brown was doing nothing wrong. In fact, Michael Brown got scared and tried to run.

CNN is a reliable source because it has talented reporters and does research to gain a greater understanding of the stories that it reports. This source is convincing because it provides the witness evidence that many of the individuals following this story have heard mentioned, but not seen the details of.

This is related to my research question because it explains the actions of cops that should be changed. It is important for cops to verify that the individuals they are questioning are guilty of a crime by demonstrating evidence. In this particular case, it is possible that Wilson suspected Brown of some crime, but there was no physical evidence that convinces anyone not involved in the situation that this was the case. Therefore, there should be concrete proof that a criminal is an individual before a cop is able to stop someone on the streets. If this is done anyway, the cop needs to be held responsible for hs actions and potentially lose his job if found guilty.

Matthew J. “US activists demand police reform as Ferguson cop quits”. 30 November 2014. Web. 6 December 2014. <http://news.yahoo.com/us-activists-start-seven- day-march-michael-brown-201511329.html>

Matthew explains that in light of the protests that have been occurring in Ferguson, the cop who was responsible for murdering Michael Brown decided to resign. Despite the resignation, protestors continue to speak out against the action of the police in the area, believing that the police force took in appropriate actions in this situation, mainly that Officer Darren Wilson’s actions should not have been supported and forced to resign.

This publication is credible because there is much information on this subject currently being reported, and this data is consistent with what is presented on other digital media sources and news channels on television. This source is convincing because it explains many aspects of the issues that are currently occurring in Ferguson and across the result as a consequence of the recent murders of black individuals by the police. Ultimately, the public will not be satisfied until police are retrained and equality become a reality.

This source helps demonstrate the need for political change in order to satisfy the American public. Individuals that did not personally known Brown or Garner mourn them because of what their deaths represent to society. The only way to fix this problem is by ensuring that society changes to ensure that all men are equal.

New York Civil Liberties Union. “Police Accountability and Criminal Justice Reform Campaigns”. N.D. Web. 6 December 2014. <http://www.nyclu.org/issues/due-process-and-justice/police-accountability-and-criminal-justice-reform-campaigns>

According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, many campaigns are currently in place to promote equality among all citizens in the eyes of the police. These efforts include ending stop and frisk, reducing the number of black individuals that are put in prison. Preventing these changes from occurring are locking black individuals in a vicious cycle that makes them targets.

This is a reliable source because this organization works directly with volunteers in order to enact social change. This source is convincing because it highlights many of the main ways that people are hoping that the actions of the police will be changed.

This is relevant to my research question because it provides the government with many reasonable ideas that will help them direct police reform. It is important to reduce the stop and frisk policy because it unfairly targets minorities and is a breach of civil liberty. Since civilians are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, this is a violation of basic human rights.

Resnikoff N. “Activists demand sweeping reforms to NYPD after Garner death”. 5 December 2014. Web. 6 December 2014. <http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/5/activists- demandsweepingreformtonypdaftergarnerdeath.html>

Resnikoff discusses the lack of accountability that has been present for police misconduct. In an attempt to resolve the feelings between protestors in the case of Eric Garner, the mayor of New York City, Bill DeBlasio, is hoping to create a program that will retrain police in order to prevent such tragedies from occurring. DeBlasio is also upset that the jury failed to indict the cop at fault, even though there was clear evidence for the crime.

This publication can be considered credible because Al Jazeera is a reliable international news source with little bias. This source is convincing because it reflects the opinions of protestors and politicians, and presents reasonable ways in which the police could change in order to prevent this type of disaster.

This is important to the research question being asked because it demonstrates that there is both public and governmental support for radical change. It appears that the police are in opposition to these changes, but it would be necessary for them to submit to the agencies that are responsible for their funding and regulation.

In conclusion, it is important for the police force in the United States to be reformed in order to ensure that black lives have the same legal protection as white lives. To do so, it is necessary to gain governmental support for these actions because these agencies oversee police funding and action. Furthermore, specific policies, such as stop and frisk should be outlawed because they specifically target minority individuals. Most of the time, these individuals are innocent. It is important for the police to understand that individuals must be considered innocent until proven guilty and that some form of physical evidence needs to be present before any form of police intervention could be taken. As the protestors continue to rally against police action, there will likely be more discussion on this topic, and change will soon occur.