Deadly Police Shootings
In today’s society, there has been an escalation of reports involving police officers using deadly force on unarmed suspects. Almost every day news channels are reporting on incidents that involve deadly police shootings. News reports have a major impact on how police officers are perceived by the public, leading police officers to be thought of as killers.
According to the Washington Post, 793 people have been shot and killed by police. Some may question how accurate this number is, due to the fact that there is no national data system set in place to calculate deaths caused by police officers using deadly physical force or even physical force. The Washington Post along with several other news agencies have been keeping their own records
of killings committed by police. More often than not, the media portrays information in a biased manner. Most of this bias information includes headlines involving unarmed shooting of a colored male. As a result of biased headlines, community members have reacted by committing acts of violence leading to riots.
The most unfortunate reality of this situation is no-one will truly understand the police officer’s choice to use deadly force. Officers are on the streets every day away from their homes and families to insure the public’s safety. However who ensures the safety of police officers? Police officers have to make split second decisions, and those decisions could lead to a loss of their own life or the lives of others. In the heat of the moment they may believe their life was in danger due to a suspect having an object that could kill them. The choice to use deadly force severally impacts both parties, the police officer has to live with that choice the rest of their life. Unfortunately the public and media may never understand the choices police officers have to make involving the use of deadly force.
According to the Washington Post, 793 people have been shot and killed by police. Some may question how accurate this number is, due to the fact that there is no national data system set in place to calculate deaths caused by police officers using deadly physical force or even physical force. The Washington Post along with several other news agencies have been keeping their own records
of killings committed by police. More often than not, the media portrays information in a biased manner. Most of this bias information includes headlines involving unarmed shooting of a colored male. As a result of biased headlines, community members have reacted by committing acts of violence leading to riots.
The most unfortunate reality of this situation is no-one will truly understand the police officer’s choice to use deadly force. Officers are on the streets every day away from their homes and families to insure the public’s safety. However who ensures the safety of police officers? Police officers have to make split second decisions, and those decisions could lead to a loss of their own life or the lives of others. In the heat of the moment they may believe their life was in danger due to a suspect having an object that could kill them. The choice to use deadly force severally impacts both parties, the police officer has to live with that choice the rest of their life. Unfortunately the public and media may never understand the choices police officers have to make involving the use of deadly force.