Anthony Ramey

11/26/18
Period 5
Major Assignment 3: Argument

On June 6th, 2016, Philando Castile was shot a total of 5 times in his car, starting from a

stop over a dead brake light. In under 40 seconds Philando Castile was dead, leaving behind a

girlfriend and daughter, both of which were in the car at the time (Ellis and Kirkos). Philando

Castile is not the only African American to have been killed by a police officer, and he is far from

the last to be a victim of this pattern as well. It seems that nowadays the occurrence of these

murders has increased dramatically and there is no apparent end in sight.

Civilian deaths at the hands of police, primarily African American citizens, has caused

police operation to be driven to the forefront of media assault and argumentation. Through the

many opinions and articles, Van Newkirk II’s quote stating, “The next shooting may not come

tonight or tomorrow. By the math, though, every two days a black person of some age—14 or

18 or 43 or 37—armed or unarmed, sober or under the influence,resisting arrest or providing

officers with identification will be shot and killed by an officer or officers. Video of the incident will

likely be circulated. Protests will likely follow. But any sort of end to this violence remains truly

unlikely," has resonated perfectly with how our society functions. To no end is there articles of a

new African American being unjustly murdered by a person in uniform, from St. Louis’ Michael

Brown to Minnesota’s Philando Castile. To this, I agree with Newkirk’s quote and feel that the

cycle will not end due to lack of justice, bringing on negative consequences.

It seems that every month there is a protest for an African American’s life that had been

taken unjustly by someone part of the police force. This will not end, simply due to the lack of

justice brought to this topic. In 2016, African Americans ranging from ages 15-34 were nine

times more likely to be shot by a police officers, suspicion or not (Swaine and McCarthy). Two

years before this, Michael Brown was shot and killed in St. Louis. With all these deaths raging

through people’s minds, protests ensue. Chaos rules the streets as citizens unleash their anger
over the pointless deaths, and in the end they get in more trouble than the person doing the

shooting. Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot Michael Brown, was not indicted over the

killing and more unrest ensued (Associated Press In St. Louis). The lack of justice for officers

who shoot and kill keep perpetuating the cycle. Protests ensue over a new shooting, and it

seems that police become more and more likely to shoot and kill another person.

Michael Brown is not the only example of the lack of justice after these events; lack of

justice is more common than actual punishment! In the case of Philando Castile, Jeronimo

Yanez who was the officer who shot and killed Mr. Castile, was found not guilty on all counts

against him (Ellis and Kirkos). These are just two examples of many over the last decade in

which the officer involved was not charged. In most cases, the officer continues on in the force

which is part of the reason riots happen. It seems that there is very little consequence on

officers who shoot African Americans. The basis behind the killings center around mental health

or the wellbeing of themselves, which turns out to be the deciding factor, but when that excuse

is used over thousands of murders, the excuse cannot be trusted anymore, but it is.

Now, social injustice is a leading problem in police murders, but there is another view

that can be discussed, which is the reputation we are upholding as Americans. When America is

looked at through the media, what is seen is political articles and numerous articles on police

and school shootings. The killing of minorities, specifically African Americans, portrayed by the

media steadily ruins America’s reputation as free and safe, a place where all people have liberty

and justice is enforced. Social issues such as these will continue to run America’s reputation

into the ground and begin to create global issues. Internally, this ruins the reputation of all

governmental parties, the court system, police, politicians, and even the President himself. As a

whole, the misdeeds of those who are meant to protect us are the ones affecting our internal

and global reputations for the worse.

Lack of justice and ruined reputations are bad enough in the cycle of African Americans

being killed by police, but combined they account for the families who have lost their loved ones
to these injustices. While most families can reach a settlement over a wrongful death, the death

still weighs heavy on their heart and torments them. Losing any family member prematurely is

difficult to live and deal with, but when the man or woman behind the killing is supposed to

protect and serve, and afterwards remains on the force, there is a constant reminder of what

has happened. Not only does it devastate the family, but the community as a whole is affected.

Overcome with anger and grief, emotions are let out in riots and protests. Having the constant

reminder of what has happened serves to perpetuate the emotions of those affected, which

goes back to the cycle.

There are those who believe that there is probable cause to these shootings, so they

see the protests and riots are only chaos and troubles. In some ways this is true, as protests do

turn violent and shootings sometime do have probable cause. From their point of view, giving

meaning behind the shootings makes sense, as there are factors within that occupation that

other jobs do no have. The biggest factor in being a police officer is the mental state. In many

instances officers must make split second decisions to protect themselves and those around

them, so in a way accidents happen. This deteriorates at a person’s mental state, putting them

in a state of constant paranoia and effecting their decision making.

Now, while mental state plays a part in policing, shooting first and asking questions later

should not be an excuse to justify these shootings. Paranoia and a less than average mental

state does not hold up for every single shooting that has happened in America in the last 10

years. To simply cast away blame, and pass on the murder of an innocent person, that is in

some cases, is immoral and wrong for all parties involved. The family of the deceased must live

with that, and simply washing away the blame under an excuse soils the legacy that the person

will leave behind.

Murder is a concept that most think of and see as inherently wrong, but without justice

involved as well a cycle of hurt and sadness follows. When a police officer shoots and kills a

member of the African American community and gets away with it, protests and riots ensue.
What is left in the wake of this is anger, at the justice system, the world, anything that is

deserving of it. These murders will continue to happen, racial prejudice does not fade away in a

day, and there will continue to be hurt and anguish. Justice is what is needed, and it is not being

served. Leaving families heartbroken, angered and without a member will only perpetuate the

cycle of murders and anguish, and will only further tear apart families without justice.
 Works Cited

Ellis, Ralph, and Bill Kirkos. “Officer Who Shot Philando Castile Found Not Guilty.” CNN, Cable
News Network, 17 June 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/06/16/us/philando-castile-trial-
verdict/index.html.

II, Vann R. Newkirk. “When Will the Killings Stop?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 7 July
2016, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/officer-involved-shootings-castile-
sterling/490349/.

Associated Press in St. Louis “Ferguson Police Antagonized Michael Brown Protesters, DoJ
Report Finds.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 30 June 2015,
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/30/ferguson-police-michael-brown-protests.

Swaine, Jon, and Ciara McCarthy. “Young Black Men Again Faced Highest Rate of US Police
Killings in 2016.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 Jan. 2017,
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/08/the-counted-police-killings-2016-young-
black-men.