Dear Future president,

Police brutality. These two words have affected our nation negatively. Corrupt cops are abusing their power and calling it doing their job. Well news flash, killing a man because he’s selling cd's in front of a store is not doing your job. There are many more cases of cops abusing their power in different states. I propose that we take a stand and relieve corrupt cops of their job of protecting our citizens.

According to NY Daily News, it keeps happening, More and more Americans have tasted or have died at the hands of police brutality. “Over the past 18 months, nearly 2,000 people have been killed by American police.” That is OUTRAGEOUS. Why is that number so high? “In all, every single day in the United States, three people are killed by police before they ever get to a jail and at least eight die in jail.” It’s like everytime you turn on the news you see a man or women killed by police or have died in police custody.

Take Kansas teen Bryce Masters for example. He was tasered longer than he should have been. “A federal judge ordered the release of shocking dashcam footage this week showing a Missouri police officer using excessive force in the arrest of a 17-year-old driver, who was tasered for so long he suffered brain damage and almost died.” He also threw him on the pavement like he was nothing but trash. This makes my heart drop. I propose that we make sure that cops like that are not on the force anymore. Also on July 17 Eric Garner died at the hands of police. “Cellphone video shot by a friend of Garner's shows the officer maintaining that hold as Garner is taken to the ground, crying out, "I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe”, over and over again. The words stop. And Garner never gets up.” That police officer held Eric Garner in a chokehold until he died. I don’t know about you but this makes my stomach churn.

You want to know what else is shocking, The cops that commit these crimes aren’t facing the right charges for the crimes that they make. Some don’t even get charged for what they have done. “The young officer, placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting, was expected back on the job this week to handle clerical duties as the probe of the killing continued.” This was the officer that shot Philando Castile. He shot him while there was a baby and his girlfriend in the car. I find this completely saddening. We should have this officer removed of his badge.

Police brutality is so bad that peaceful protest have turned deadly. “The protesters were angry, but they were peaceful. Even the uniformed police officers walking and taking pictures with them — symbols of the system they were denouncing — remarked how smoothly the Thursday evening march through downtown Dallas was going.

But nearby, someone far angrier was about to take aim.” A person was so angry at police that they decided to take matters into their own hand. Someone outside of the #blacklivesmatter protest decided they were going to start shooting and take the lives of two innocent police officers. This is what the brutality to citizens from some police officers drove someone to do. We need to stop police brutality before it drives another person to take more lives of innocent police officer.

Others may say that police brutality is a myth. Issac Balley says, “Because cops are good men doing impossible jobs, nothing is more important than shielding them from unfair criticism. Because treating them as though they are guilty until proven innocent would be wrong.” They also say we should stop blaming cops for doing their job. Using excessive force when it’s not necessary is doing they’re job? That is not doing their job. That’s abusing their power. Other people say cops have the hardest jobs and should use force when they fear for their life. In the article “Why We Always Find Excuses For Cops Who Kill” by Issac Balley it says, “ Who told him to wear that hoodie? His pants sagging like a prisoner's? He had on a red sweater. The Crips? That blue cap. He should have known that would have triggered the cop's training on gangs and gang violence. And those tattoos, a thug's signature decoration, if ever there was one.” This sounds like cops discriminating to me. People should not have to fear for our life because they want to wear a hoodie. People should not be stereotyped.

Our President, Barack Obama, is even saddened by the events that have happened between our communities and police. Obama has stated, “What's clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents, they are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve." .He understands that no man, even an armed man, should be executed by cops at point-blank range with his licensed gun still in his pocket. The people need to come together to stop police brutality. Many voices together is bigger that one. Police brutality needs to end so we can put our trust back in police again.

Sincerely,

LeAnn

Works Cited

King, Shaun. "King: So Much Police Brutality That It's Hard to Monitor." NY Daily News. NYDailyNews, 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016. <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-police-brutality-hard-monitor-article-1.2494742>.

Mcshane, Larry. "Minn. Police Chief Defends Cop Who Fatally Shot Philando Castile." NY Daily News. NYDailyNews, 18 Aug. 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016. <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/minn-police-chief-defends-fatally-shot-philando-castile-article-1.2756248>.

Balley, Issac. "Why We Always Find Excuses for Cops Who Kill." CNN. Cable News Network, 7 July 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/07/opinions/black-lives-police-lives-bailey/>.

Schuppe, Jon. "How a Peaceful Protest in Dallas Became a Deadly Cop Ambush." NBC News. Nbcnews, 8 July 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016. <http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/dallas-police-ambush/how-peaceful-protest-dallas-became-deadly-cop-ambush-n605926>.

Botelho, Greg. "Was a New York Police Officer's Chokehold on Eric Garner Necessary?" CNN. Cable News Network, 8 Dec. 2014. Web. 01 Nov. 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/04/us/eric-garner-chokehold-debate/>.

Dailymail.com, Joel Christie For. "Horrific Dashcam Video Shows Officer Excessively Tasering a 17-year-old Boy for so Long He Went into Cardiac Arrest and Suffered Brain Damage." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 07 June 2016. Web. 01 Nov. 2016. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3629599/Shocking-dashcam-video-shows-officer-tasering-17-year-old-boy-long-went-cardiac-arrest-suffered-brain-damage.html>.