Police keep many different items with them on a daily basis such as keys, pencils, radios, pepper spray, a baton, and what’s been on America’s mind lately, a gun. It’s hard to ignore the fact that about 1,100 people have died at the hands of our lawful protectors, according to Killed by Police’s website. The same source states that over 250 people have been killed by officers since the beginning of 2015. This is a problem that is becoming more and more visible as time passes. Many of the victims of police shootings have been people of color. The events that have triggered  protests and uprisings that have attained the public eye. The most significant deaths have been those in New York, Ferguson, Chapel Hill, and how they are an example of the race problem with police in the United States.

On August 19 2014, a black 18 year old boy named Michael Brown was shot by a white police officer named Darren Wilson. Wilson describes Brown in the scenario saying that he “looked like a demon” and made him fear for his life. Allegedly, Brown and his friend had stolen a few cigarillos from a nearby store, according to Gawker. Wilson recalls that he drew his gun because he “felt that another one of those punches to the face could knock him out, or worse. I mean it was, he was obviously bigger than I was and stronger than I am.”. Photos taken of Wilson after the incident show little to no damage. He was, however, diagnosed with a possible facial contusion on his right cheek, in a report of his injuries by a nearby hospital. This brings up the question is why he did not have any bruising on the left side of his face, where Brown allegedly punched officer Wilson twice.

Protests broke out after Brown was shot, eight times. He was left in the street for four hours in the hot August heat. Many, if not most, protests were peaceful. Those that were not were not endorsed by Michael Brown’s family. At the scene of Brown’s death, the photographer who was there to document the evidence didn’t have a charged camera, which seems sketchy and unprofessional. The jury at Michael Brown’s trial was 75% white, which may raise some red flags seeing as how this issue could be interpreted as a racial issue. The final decision for officer Wilson was that he was not to be indicted and was not charged, from the Washington Post. But obviously,this is not the only case where a black person has been killed by a white police officer that ends up not being charged.
Although chronologically, Eric Garner’s death was before Michael Brown’s, the news were brought back to life once the trending hashtag ‘Black Lives Matter’ surfaced. Garner was choked to death on July 17, 2014, just over a month before Brown. Garner was accused of selling loose cigarettes to minors. Garner was killed by two police officers, Daniel Pantaleo and Justin Damico, by being held in a chokehold for around fifteen seconds. The NYPD policy prohibits the use of chokeholds. The most appalling part of this situation is that the chokehold was filmed and that the man who had filmed it, Ramsey Orta, was jailed. Wouldn’t a person think that the reason that police don’t want to be filmed is because they’re doing wrong? Like my mom says when we’re driving, “there’s no reason to be afraid if you’re not doing anything wrong”. Garner’s last words are “I can’t breathe”, which echoed through protests all over the country.

Although Garner’s death was documented on film and shown as proof in the courtroom, there was no indictment. This decision only strengthens the belief that many racist police officers share, that they can get away with whatever they want, even with incriminating evidence. People become desensitized to trauma when it occurs on an almost daily basis, which has happened when there is constant killings of people of color.

The Chapel Hill shooting was not necessarily police brutality, but it is an example of the racist agenda of the United States. The shooter’s reasoning for killing three young muslims was over an ongoing parking dispute. Craig Hicks shot Deah Shaddy Barakat, Deah’s wife, Yusor Mohammad, and Yusor’s younger sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha on February 10, 2014, according to WRAL, a local news station. All three were under the age of 25, whereas Hicks is almost 50. Hicks is facing charges though, there is strong consideration of the death penalty. It’s almost crazy to fathom that someone can be sentenced the death penalty by a neighbor over a parking problem.

Overall, America needs to clean up its act. This country is letting itself be consumed by racism, mainly in the police force.The term, “POC” can be defined many ways, people of color or, problems of color People of color are treated as problems and not people. So in conclusion, Police may need to put down their guns and pick up the broken pieces of themselves. We need to remember the names of the fallen, so they won’t be forgotten and everything that they represent.