What Happens When the Protectors Become the Predators?

Anyone who even vaguely follows the news will know that over the past few years, the subject of police violence and accountability has escalated greatly. With a large number of high-profile cases that involve white policemen shooting black civilians, the question arises... what happens when the protectors become the predators?

The people who enforce the law shouldn't be above it 

Having a gun, a uniform and a badge do not mean that the world is your playground, where you can do what you like without consequence. Law enforcers should be there to protect the law and make sure it is being followed, safely. This doesn't mean that they are exempt from obeying the law themselves. The same rules that apply to you and I should always apply to law enforcers too. This doesn't mean that "self-defense" can be used with reckless abandon.

Law-enforcement is the modern-day executioner of people of color 

You only need to look at the cases of Manuel Loggins Jr., Sean Bell, Michael Brown and much more to realize that there is a rising trend of white police executing black men and women without reason or cause. Police are there to protect all citizens, not to make rash choices based on the color of someone's skin, or based on their own prejudices. The assumption of white police that black men and women are trouble-makers and dangerous only leads to more execution and unfair stigma around young black men.

Law enforcement and hired killers 

Two black men were shot dead in July 2016 in Dallas, Texas. Philander Castile and Alton Sterling were unarmed but were still shot down by police. Because of this, 5 policemen were later shot dead. There are some conspiracy theories that both of these incidents were actually planned by law enforcers. Some people believe that the killing of five policemen was a planned attack in order to take the relevance out of the Black Lives Matter movement that was gaining traction. If this is so, then this just shows how much power law enforcement has, even against their own men when it comes to controlling society.

White supremacy in law enforcement 

As confirmed by The Intercept, the FBI officially acknowledged that white supremacists have infiltrated and influenced law enforcement agencies in the USA. This means that within the agencies that are responsible for the protection of citizens, there are people in power who can make decisions with white supremacist intentions. By having the presence of white supremacists in law enforcement, this means the execution of people of color is likely to continue.

Police have a lot of power, but not a lot of accountability 

Matthew Ajibade was killed by 2 policemen. Only 1 of these men was convicted, and he was only sentenced to 1 year in prison, and only on weekends ( mappingpoliceviolence.org ). The law favors the police. This is dangerous when considering that police have access and rights when it comes to weapons and defense. What is stopping a police man or woman from acting violently if the law is not going to punish and reprimand them? Having a lot of power comes with a lot of responsibility, but this responsibly can be highly abused if there is no one above to issue punishments and keep the law in line with its own rules and expectations of civilians.

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