While reading my local newspaper I
came upon an article articulating a shooting of John Crawford III (a black man)
by a white police officer in a local Wal-Mart.
Due to national press from shootings such as that in Ferguson, Missouri,
I began to dig deeper to see if this shooting received national press. It appeared as if some national newspapers,
such as the Washington Post, reported
this shooting, but it was covered significantly less than those cases with
similar facts.
By clicking on the link at the top
of the page you can review the surveillance footage of the shooting. The basic facts are as followed, John
Crawford III walked into a Xenia Wal-Mart and picked up an unpackaged, air
pellet rifle. While holding the pellet
rifle in one hand, Mr. Crawford walked around the store talking on the
phone. Meanwhile a fellow shopper called
911 stating that there was “a gentleman walking around with a gun in the store”
and that he was “like pointing it at people.”
After reviewing the surveillance footage, at no instance do I see Mr.
Crawford pointing the gun at anyone; however, this is what was reported to the
police. Following this 911 call, two
officers enter the Wal-Mart with loaded firearms. As the police enter the frame of the surveillance
footage, Mr. Crawford, still on the phone, looks in the direction of the
police, turns in the other direction, before being shot and falling to the
ground.
Mr. Crawford’s family later released
a statement stating that based off of the surveillance footage as well as
eyewitnesses, that their son had been murdered.
The police officers were never indicted after a grand jury found they
had acted in a lawful manner. After this
step in the judicial process I thought that the process would be over; however,
both Ohio’s Attorney General and Governor called for the Department of Justice
to launch their own civil rights investigation.
I think that it is correct that an independent civil rights
investigation be launched. As the role
of race and police brutality has come increasingly into the sphere of American
consciousness, it is necessary that all ground be covered in order to insure
the security of all citizens. It is
extremely important that the public can have confidence in their police
force. Further, it is counterproductive
if the police become plagued by a negative reputation. Therefore, I think it is important that we
closely scrutinize the action of our police, especially when dealing with
potential cases of civil rights violations.
Kathleen, I really like how you've brought in a current issue, and tied it back to the ever going issue of the police. It's like what Prof. McKinney has mentioned in class-- where do you turn when those you're supposedly supposed to trust will offer no help, or will hurt you?
ReplyDeleteThere was a recent issue in SC outside my hometown, where a young black man (someone many of my friends knew) was pulled over at a gas station. In the video from the police car, you can hear the officer asking the young man to step out of his car. Prior to this, like any human that is pulled over, the gentleman reached for his wallet, and then to his glove compartment for his registration. Immediately, the officer begins to yell "get on the ground, get on the ground or i'll shoot!" The young man gets out of the car as quickly as possible, but not before shots have been fired on him.
Not once in the footage did the young man do anything differently than any other person in a situation being pulled over for speeding would do. Because of his color, he was targeted as being suspicious.
While I think that many issues that occur where a black man is being assaulted by a white officer (or something of the like) are hyped up and made into racial issues, ones like these that happen to people we know show that racism is still an issue that unfortunately permeates into the judicial system, especially at lower county and town levels of police enforcement.
I respect this choice of issue quite a bit, as it is not only a controversial one but a significant one. Police departments have always played a pivotal role in spurring waves of outrage as they delegate inherently copious amounts of power to a large number of individuals with limited opportunities for vetting.
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