Across the globe, officers have a duty to control crimes by all means, and they are given guns to shoot only where applicable. However, there are so many cases that draw various views especially where officers shoot unarmed suspects. Obviously, it is shady for any officer to shoot unarmed suspect, and even those armed suspects should not be shot after surrendering. Officers can only shoot unarmed suspects as a way of self defense-in cases where a suspect is likely to inflict physical injury to the officer. In addition, an officer can shoot an unarmed suspect in case they try to get away from the officer who has arrested them.
The matter of shooting unarmed suspects can be looked at as a wrong thing, simply because it is against human ethics to kill people anyhow. Besides, the role of the officer is to fight for justice, by arresting those people against the law and jail them, but not to kill them. This matter, therefore, should be viewed within the department policy, simply because whatever the officers do must be in line with the policy that guides them. Killing of unarmed suspects is against the law, and looking at it within the department policy, legal actions must be taken to the offender.
The general perception of people especially after such incidence is that, officers do not do what they have been chosen to do. They have been selected to protect the lives of people, but killing is totally against their duties. Such acts of killing unarmed suspects affect the relationship that law enforcement has with the society. Generally, law enforcement is a system whereby selected officials such as officers ensure people do what is right at the right time, and rehabilitate or punish the few that go against what is right (Walker and Charles 34). Therefore, killing unarmed suspect is against law enforcement, because such suspects should be transformed to change their ways into the acceptable standards of the law, hence killing them denies what is right for them, and this affects the relationship between people and law enforcement.
Works Cited
Walker, Samuel, and Charles M. Katz. Police in America. McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.
