Q: What type of race is mostly affected by police violence?

Even though every race is affected by the police violence, African American people are more affected than others. In fact, there was a young ,black boy who was shot by a white police man. He was holding a fake pellet gun and was shot seconds after police arrived. Stephen S. Loomis, the president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, said in a statement on Friday night that charges were filed against Officer Loehmann “despite the fact that he did nothing wrong that day”. Police didn't even hesitate to ask question but shot him on the spot. A different time,a police officers fatally shot an unarmed black man 4 times when he started to take an object out of his pocket, which was a box of cigarettes. It wasn't necessary to shoot the man 4 times, but he did. Ms. Dumanis, President of the police district, said that “If one objectively examines the facts, the only reasonable conclusion is that the officer’s actions were legally justified and understandable,” . The police officer was not charged for taking someone's life away.

Q:Can videos end cycle?

Having a recorded video of police violence can show people a realistic view of what happened. Videos are evidence to what really went down. Williams-Dillard said that "It not only feels like there's more coverage, there is more coverage. ... It's not a perception, it's definitely real,". Having recorded videos gives people a different reaction and motivates them to stop the violence. Even though videos might help, it will not end the violence, it's up to the police officer himself to decide. Klinger, who counts police use of force among his research interests, said “Don't expect the videos to be a panacea for the violence, but just as police have lied about suspects, suspects have lied about police as well.” Videos can definitely help to lower the violence, because police will know they are being watched and think twice, but that doesn't mean it wills stop them. If you have a chance to record, it would be very useful because yes, videos can stop violence.

Q:Do their punishments fit their crime?

Some are charged but many are left untouched.Speaking of punishment, what can an officer actually be sentenced to? For a small issue, reprimand is usually given. Then, a dock of pay, followed by suspension, firing, finally followed by potential jail time itself. Jail is the last thing they will get charged with, which rarely happens. In fact, there was a homeless man that was camping on private property. The police came and asked him to leave, but he didn't want to. He was standing with a small pocket knife and there were dozens of police officers. Police officers saw this a threat and shoot him multiple times, killing the victim. CNN reporter tells us that “They were not charged because what they did was reasonable.” They took a life away and were not even charged. We can come together and stop this. Another time, a 14 year old boy was “choked” by police because he stared at them with “dehumanizing eyes”. The district tells us that “He was suspended for three days and will come back to work.”. Is three days really enough for choking a boy? Police get away with small punishment and should be charged with a higher punishment. According to the University of Illinois, in Chicago there were approximately 17,700 complaints against police. Approximately half of those were race-based. Only 800 of those were actually deemed worthy enough to be looked at, and out of those 800, only 45% of the officers involved were given a “reprimand,” 37% suspended, however 75% of those suspensions were five days or less, and the rest all resigned on their own, not wanting to face the consequences. The fact that this is allowed and known is absolutely terrible, and we need to both put a stop to it, as well as train and punish our officers effectively.

What should you do if a family member or friend is a victim to police violence?

If you are trying to follow damages for violence against a family member or a friend, your first step is to “Save as much proof and evidence as possible and document it”. You will need to get as much information as possible that will show what actually happened. Some evidence you can get for proof is police video camera,footage caught by others, dispatch records, witness statements, other officers at the scene, and any eyewitness. Pictures or videos is the most essential piece for evidence. After you have all the information, it's important to create record of your complaint. If you don’t report your claim of police violence right away, the police department might try to dismiss your claim because time has passed. Everything has to be done the correct way and need to have proof and evidence. Otherwise, you might not have legal grounds for pursuing such a claim. It's important that you are treated equally and fair.

How often does police violence happen?

Police violence happens more than you think they do. According to the professionals from the institute of North Carolina, a police officer kills a citizen every 7 hours. In 2016, 1152 citizens were shot by police. That's 1152 innocent civilians that had to die due to police violence. We can come together and try to lower that number and keep everybody's lives safer.

Vocab

Brutality: doing something unfair to one or another.

Convict: guilty of charge.

Justice: Doing right after someone done wrong.

Understand; know what something happened

Communities: People living closely together.

Brutality: unfair treatment to others.