Issue: The current shooting incidents at the hands of police officers are on the rise, with no hint of slowing down. From the shooting of Rodney King in the early 1990s by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers to shooting of Amadou Diallo in late 1990s at the hands of New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers there have not been as many incidents of what many see as either police brutality or police misconduct in over 20 years. There was a long period of drought where police incidents were sparse. This dry spell broke in 2014, when Officer Darren of Ferguson Police Department (FPD) in Ferguson, Missouri shot and killed teenager Michael Brown. This incident ignited riots that closely resembled those at the time of the Rodney King shooting. This incident with Michael Brown began what appeared to be a domino effect and copy-cat cases of police shooting incidents. The commonality among all these cases is primarily the race of the victims. With the incident in Ferguson debate surrounding civil rights, walking or driving while Black, and officers’ over-zealous use of force, and lack of accountability when use of force is unwarranted (Leonnig, 2014).
Law: The law affords police officers much leeway, and discretion as to when deadly force needs to used, and often a split-second type of decision is made when an officer believes that either his or those around him lives are in danger. The Supreme Court ruling in 1980 is the case law, law enforcement experts use as legal; standard, which creates a frustration for prosecutors who often try to seek convictions such as in the case of Officer Wilson and Michael Brown, when it appears that they used excessive and unreasonable force when encountering a civilian. Position: Case law, rulings from the Supreme Court, and findings from investigators were enough to exonerate Officer Wilson, preventing him from being held culpable for Brown’s death, and justifying his use of force. Wilson stated that he use force to defend his life, which is in accordance with the ruling in 1980. Officers are not held liable as with Wilson because he is allowed to use force if he ‘reasonably’ believes that there is imminent danger, regardless of whether this danger exists or not (Leonnig, 2014). In this case, he was declared justified in the shooting, and consequent killing of the teenager Michael Brown. Witnesses wanted Wilson to be held liable as he was said to have lodged six bullets in an innocent 18-year old young man who was willingly surrendering to him.
Conclusion: As in the case with Officer Wilson, and Michael Brown and others such as most recently Alton Sterling in Louisiana; rarely are police officers held liable (whether civilly or criminally) for in these shootings incidents (Leonnig, 2014). Many blame case law for protecting officers who are bot specially trained to use force, and also the lack of internal or external mechanisms to hold these officers liable for their misuse of force. While respective police departments ae not affected by these shooting incidents, many in our communities especially unarmed men of minority groups are being physically hurt, and killed on a daily basis without being liable to the law for their egregious of excessive behaviors (Leonnig, 2014).
Work Cited
Leonnig, Carol, D. Current law gives police wide latitude to use deadly force. 2014. Web. 27July 2016
