Wilfred Gray Research Papers
Everybody has a different reaction when seeing a police officer in public, ranging anywhere from feeling safer to running a mental checklist of anything you could have done wrong. And when you see a gun on an officers hip, does any part of that feeling change? Do you feel protected or more vulnerable?
In April of this year, our news outlets were flooded with photos, videos and reports of both violent riots and peaceful protests in Baltimore, Maryland. We watched as cars and shops were burnt and destroyed. We watched as people cried and bled on the streets. What prompted it all? The death of a 25 year old man in police custody. Freddie Gray, a man not much taller than any of us here was beaten by six Baltimore police offices and subjected to an incredibly forceful arrest due to the possession of what police alleged was an illegal switchblade. The extent of Freddie Grays injuries was his spine broken in multiple places. On April 19th, a week after his arrest, …show more content…
Only 40,000 volts of electricity are actually needed to take down an adult male. The use of capsicum spray has also proven to be undoubtedly effective on large groups or even in riots.
Furthermore, the training and preliminary restraining tactics learned by police officers should lessen the need for lethal weapons. It is also important to understand the lengths of the gun laws in Australia meaning that the illegal possession of guns is only present in a very small proportion of the Australian police force meaning that guns in the Australian police force can be seen as unnecessary, overkill even.
With this evidence of the unnecessary nature of guns in the Australian Police force and the continuing authoritative position of law enforcers, as well as the effective preliminary tactics available to police officers, I urge you to consider whether firearms are truly necessary to keep us, as a nation,
In April of this year, our news outlets were flooded with photos, videos and reports of both violent riots and peaceful protests in Baltimore, Maryland. We watched as cars and shops were burnt and destroyed. We watched as people cried and bled on the streets. What prompted it all? The death of a 25 year old man in police custody. Freddie Gray, a man not much taller than any of us here was beaten by six Baltimore police offices and subjected to an incredibly forceful arrest due to the possession of what police alleged was an illegal switchblade. The extent of Freddie Grays injuries was his spine broken in multiple places. On April 19th, a week after his arrest, …show more content…
Only 40,000 volts of electricity are actually needed to take down an adult male. The use of capsicum spray has also proven to be undoubtedly effective on large groups or even in riots.
Furthermore, the training and preliminary restraining tactics learned by police officers should lessen the need for lethal weapons. It is also important to understand the lengths of the gun laws in Australia meaning that the illegal possession of guns is only present in a very small proportion of the Australian police force meaning that guns in the Australian police force can be seen as unnecessary, overkill even.
With this evidence of the unnecessary nature of guns in the Australian Police force and the continuing authoritative position of law enforcers, as well as the effective preliminary tactics available to police officers, I urge you to consider whether firearms are truly necessary to keep us, as a nation,