Nadia East

Prof. Alton
ENG 111.06

Mistakes Were Made: The Cost of Justice in America

On August 19, 2014, an unarmed student was shot six times and killed by a police officer. His
body was left on Canfield Drive for four hours. The officer has not been punished. The officer had his
identity in the shooting concealed by the police department until he could delete all of his social media
and leave the state. The officer has been on paid leave for three months and fifteen days as of the time
of this writing or, a total of one hundred and seven days. These facts represent a gross miscarriage of
justice, and the following events cast a dark shadow over the American justice system.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the

free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances. (U. S. Constitution.)

This is the shadow over the country. Following these events, the community of Ferguson,
Missouri, exercised their First Amendment right by assembling peacefully within their own community.
The response to this was different from what one might have expected there has been use of military
hardware, from armored high-powered rifles to body armor, all the way up to armored vehicles. Video
feeds, both from the protestors themselves and from media outlets have, for months, shown a vision of
America out of a speculative fiction piece that more resembles dystopian science-fiction than a small
community. American law-enforcement, outfitted for Falujah or an Afghanistan raid, marched through
a community they are supposedly sworn to protect, tossing tear gas canisters and firing rounds

considered less than lethal. These items are nonetheless often deadly or crippling. Amnesty
International was deployed for the first time on U.S. soil, journalists confirming they were mistreated
by the police for simply being journalists, despite the rights guaranteed for the purpose of protecting
and preserving the American citizenry. This shadow looms long, and its historical impact is only
beginning to be felt.

For every shadow cast, there must be a light, however: In this case, the ghost of post-9/11
military spending. The American military, inflated with fresh recruits and a program to stop loss,
required an excess of powerful and expensive hardware to engage in the War on Terror. And yet, the
war winds down. The soldiers must come home eventually, and the gross expenditures cannot simply
be thrown into a closet and allowed to collect dust. Weapons are made to be used. Thus, the 1033
program, courtesy of Congress and the Defense Department comes into play. Brianna Ehley of CNBC
explains that the program has allowed for local police departments to receive more than $5.1 billion in
military-grade property from surplus desks to Mine Resistant Ambush P (MRAPS), M-16s, and
Kevlar body armor. In 2013 alone, more than $449 million in military equipment was transferred. In
fact, Ehley also notes that 40% of the military equipment has never been used by the American
military. The equipment is almost literally thrown at police departments, sometimes regardless of size.

We went through some pretty bad areas of Afghanistan, but we didnt wear that much
gear, said Kyle Dykstra, an Army veteran and former security officer for the State
Department. Dykstra specifically pointed out the bulletproof armor the officers were
wearing around their shoulders, known as Deltoid armor.
I cant think of a [protest] situation where the use of M4 [rifles] are merited, Fritz
said. I dont see it as a viable tactic in any scenario. (Gibbons-Neff)

There is a pattern that accompanies the presence of weapons in that they escalate any conflict.
One must wonder, then, what the goal of the police is, by approaching unarmed protestors with more
military hardware than army veterans saw during their tours of duty. The implication is clear: in the
eyes of the police, the local government, and even the federal government (whose clear words and
refusal to approve police-arming programs could diffuse the situation have never been heard), black
Americans engaging in peaceful protest within their own communities are the equivalent of terrorists.

What does a man threaten, by raising his hands in silent protest of a life lost to a police officer?
Especially a police officer originally from a department noted as a mainly white department mired in
controversy and notorious for its fraught relationship with residents, especially the African American
majority (Leonnig, Kindy, and Achenbach). Wilson's previous department was so ineffective and
harmful, in fact, that it was dissolved by a vote from the community it supposedly served. The
armament and activity of Ferguson's police is so blatantly war-like that veterans speaking out against
the police department is not uncommon. A group consisting of 16 veterans has written a letter to the
Missouri National Guard, informing them of their duties toward the American people and challenging
them to do their true duty, asking, Do you really want to be part of suppressing those civilians raising
all these important issues on the national stage? (Bernabe).

The acts that the nation takes in the near future will set the standard for the future of the nation.
The coming generations will both be influenced by what America does today, and will serve as a lesson
to them by how they will govern themselves in the future. As a nation, America must take action now,
for the assurance of freedom in the future. The police must be demilitarized, held accountable for their
actions, and trained so that such gross injustices as the ongoing attack on Ferguson's community is
never repeated.

The question, then, becomes what sort of nation America wishes to be. There are two paths
ahead. One path is where the police, the national guard, and the government itself serve the citizens,
not the protection of a lawbreaking officer, to the point of violating the civil rights of citizens. They
will actually protect the communities they serve. Along the opposite path, the one the nation is walking
now, is a country where militarized police work for none but their own ego and the protection of their
fraternal order. The former is a country to be proud of, and is the country most Americans wish to come
in the future, if not for them, but for their children. The latter is a toxic cycle that shall continue to
repeat unless something is done.

Works Cited
"Constitutional Topic: The First Amendment." USConstitution.net. 3 Jan. 2011. 27 Feb. 2011 .
Ehley, Brianna. "Much of 'used' Military Equipment given to Police Is New." CNBC. CNBC, 11 Sept.
2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
Gibbons-Neff, Thomas. "Military Veterans See Deeply Flawed Police Response in Ferguson."
Washington Post. The Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
Leonnig, Carol D., Kimberly Kindy, and Joel Achenbach. "Darren Wilson's First Job Was on a
Troubled Police Force Disbanded by Authorities." Washington Post. The Washington
Post, 23 Aug. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
Bernabe, Nick. "Military Veterans Send Urgent Letter To National Guard In Ferguson Telling Them To
Stand Down." MintPress News. AntiMedia, 25 Nov. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.