Dear future President,

Police brutality is a problem that seems to occur more these days. This is an obstacle that has been going on for decades but now seems to occur more often. Social media is taking a huge part of this. This predicament needs to be dealt with immediately. Police brutality is literally tearing America apart. Your help and support is the only way to solve this dreadful problem. According to the law dictionary, police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. “Excessive use of force” means a force well beyond what would be necessary in order to handle a situation. In the current year, 2016, police have killed nearly 940 people. The worst problem about police brutality is that police officers are targeting a specific race, which is Black Americans.

According to The Guardian, Black Americans are affected more towards police brutality than any other race. “32% of Black people killed by police in 2015 were unarmed, as were 25% of Hispanic and Latino people, compared with 15% of White people killed.” I believe police brutality is affecting everyone’s view of police officers. This is because they’re targeting a specific group of people, Black Americans. Police brutality is a cruel problem that is seeking your ability to create a solution.

Innocent is someone who is not guilty of a crime or offense. Most of the Black Americans killed recently by police officers were innocent. In 2015 police officers killed at least 102 Black people who were unarmed. This is nearly 37% of Black people being killed with the population of Black people in the U.S. being 13%. Unarmed Black people were killed 5x the rate of white people in 2015. Black people are being shot to death by police officers for the most stupid reasons which is known as discrimination.

Darrius Stewart, 19 year old male killed by a police officer on 7/17/15 after mistaking him for someone else. Troy Robinson, 32-year-old man fatally killed on 8/6/15 by a police officer. Troy ran from a police officer after a traffic stop and then was tased, causing him to fall from a eight-foot wall. Keith McLeod, 19 year old male fatally shot on 9/23/15 after trying to pass off a fake prescription at a pharmacy in Reisterstown Village and then ran away from the police. According to the police Keith reached "around to the small of his back and abruptly [whipped] his hand around and [pointed] it toward the officer, as if with a weapon.” Richard Perkins, 39-year-old man who was claimed to approach Oakland police officers and “pointed a firearm in their direction.” He then was shot several times to death on 11/15/15. Later the police revealed he was handling a toy gun. No officers were charged with a crime for killing any of these innocent Black males.

In order to solve this atrocious complication, body cameras should be advised. Police officers should wear a body camera on their clothing at all times during their work hours/shifts. Body camera will definitely decrease police shooting rates tremendously. Body cameras are beneficial in numerous ways. These cameras can record any situation that was misunderstood, in need of more detail or needs more clarification. Not only will these cameras improve police officers behavior but the person the police is with or targeting behavior will improve as well. When someone knows they're being watched, their behavior is more likely to improve just as much as or more than a police officer’s behavior.

Overall, police brutality is a cruel situation needing a solution. Police brutality is increasing as the years come along. Last year, 2015, police killed 1186 people. Right now it is only November and police officers already killed nearly 940 people. Imagine how much it’ll increase by the end of 2016 without your help. As the next President you have the ability to help change this by creating a rule or a law on police officers wearing body cameras at all times. No family should suffer from the death of a loved one. No one should be killed for any reason especially by the ones who are supposed to protect us not kill us. Body cameras are a necessity in this situation, all I need is you to make this possible. With your help America can finally live their lives with peace, joy and become stress-free!

Sincerely,

Yoaliz

Work Cited

Staff, AOL. “5 facts about police brutality in the United States that will shock you.” Aol.com. 2016. http://www.aol.com/article/2015/10/22/5-facts-about-police-brutality-in-the-united-states-that-will-sh/21252144/. 20 Oct. 2016.

Swaine, Jon. Laughland, Oliver. Lartey, Jamiles. “Black Americans killed by police twice as likely to be unarmed as white people.” The Guardian. 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/01/black-americans-killed-by-police-analysis. 20 Oct. 2016.

“Police killed more than 100 unarmed black people in 2015.” Mapping Police Violence. http://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmed/. 20 Oct. 2016.

College, Rasmussen. “Police Perspective: The Pros & Cons of Police Body Cameras.” Rasmussen.edu. http://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/justice-studies/blog/pros-and-cons-of-police-body-cameras/. 26 Oct. 2016.

“7 findings from first-ever study on body cameras.” PoliceOne. https://www.policeone.com/use-of-force/articles/8218374-7-findings-from-first-ever-study-on-body-cameras. 26 Oct. 2016.