Racial Discrimination in the US (Free Essay Example)

On August 9th, 2014, Darren Wilson, a white police officer, shot and killed Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American man in Ferguson, Missouri. News of the shooting rapidly spread on social media and sparked a national conversation on allegations of racial injustices and inequality in the criminal justice system. The shooting ignited long-simmering tensions between the majority-black population of Ferguson and the local police, who were mostly white. Though public opinion was sharply divided, the protests and riots and the response by Ferguson's heavily militarized police demonstrated the extent to which the relationship between racial minorities in America and the police had frayed (CRS). The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice opened its investigation of the Ferguson Police Department about a month after the shooting, on September 4, 2014. The investigation revealed a pattern of unlawful conduct within the Ferguson Police Department that violated the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and federal statutory law. This incident, which grasped the attention of millions across the nation, can be related to many of the ethical dilemmas and topics that we have discussed in JUST 4880. 

The issue of racism and the racial divide in the United States began with the development of our nation. There is a long history of racial discrimination from the treatment of the indigenous people during colonization, to slavery and the Jim Crow era, all the way to the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014. We live in a culture where white supremacy reigns in both extreme and subtle ways. As a result, the racial division in our country translated on to policing. The history of racism is deeply ingrained into policing in the United States and provides context to the current oppressive nature of the police, specifically targeting black people and minorities. According to our textbook, Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice, written by Joycelyn M. Pollock, “The major constructs of procedural justice research include neutrality and respect. There is strong evidence that these two aspects of procedural justice are differentially experienced depending on what race or ethnic group you belong to.” Furthermore, a recent study by the National Registry of Exonerations found that blacks are about seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than whites, accounting for a disproportionate share of exonerations. They also spent four years longer on death row than wrongfully convicted whites (Pollock). Considering the history of discrimination and that translation onto policing, why was the shooting of Michael Brown so significant? The first reason- Brown was unarmed. Because of this, outrage was sparked concerning excessive force and police brutality. The death of Michael Brown caused civil unrest and nationwide protests and rallies in support of the Missouri teen and the countless others who have been killed by police. This event marked the beginning of the Black Lives Matter protesting. The fact that Brown was unarmed reduces the possibility that he was posing any threat to officer Wilson, therefore making his death an incident of excessive deadly force. The second reason this event was so groundbreaking is that the Department of Justice got involved in this case and investigated the Ferguson Police Department, leading to some significant discoveries about the department and its practices. First, FPD’s approach to law enforcement, shaped by the city’s pressure to raise revenue, has resulted in a pattern and practice of constitutional violations. Officers violate the Fourth Amendment in stopping people without reasonable suspicion, arresting them without probable cause, and using unreasonable force. Officers frequently infringe on residents’ First Amendment rights, interfering with their right to record police activities and making enforcement decisions based on the content of individuals’ expression (DOJ). It was also found that the Ferguson Police Department officers “routinely abuse the failure to comply charge” and “engage in a pattern of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment” (DOJ). Some examples of excessive force that were brought up in the Department of Justice’s report on the Ferguson Police Department include their overuse of electronic control weapons and their use of canines on low-level, unarmed offenders. The shooting of Michael Brown was an unfortunate event that was extremely likely to occur, based on the evidence of abuse of power and excessive force that was normalized by the department. 

One of the more significant discoveries made by the Department of Justice in their investigation of the Ferguson Police Department following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown was the department’s consistent use of excessive force. According to the Congressional Research Service, the rules and procedures regarding the use of force in policing includes when “the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or to others, it is not constitutionally unreasonable to prevent escape by using deadly force” (Thompson). However, in the case of Michael Brown, it was confirmed that he was unarmed, making the use of deadly force unconstitutional. In this course we have discussed multiple instances of how the use of deadly force can be an example of an ethical dilemma in the criminal justice system. Understanding the exact prevalence of police brutality and deadly force is complicated because of the difficulty in distinguishing between justified and unjustified force. However, it is clear from the reports and testimonies from witnesses that the shooting of Michael Brown was an instance of unjustified force. 

In our textbook, Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice, the role of police officers is discussed. This is an important topic in relation to the Michael Brown shooting because of the boundaries that were overstepped which resulted in Brown’s death. Pollock raises the following question regarding the duty of police officers- “Crime fighter or public servant?” The unclear answer that surrounds the duties of police officers plays a role in incidents like the Michael brown shooting. There are also ethical dilemmas which surround the role of policing like the militarization of police departments, for example. Militarization of police departments and the 1033 program, which transfers excess military equipment to U.S. police forces—federal, state and local, plays a big role in situations like riots and protests related to civil unrest caused by police brutality. Because of the shooting of Michael Brown, there were protests by the public that were met with a heavy police response. This police response included the use of rubber bullets, heavily armed SWAT teams, tear gas, and smoke bombs. Darren Wilson, the officer that shot the lethal six shots at Michael Brown, was not charged or indicted by a grand jury as a result of the incident. The Department of Justice and the state of Missouri both concluded that they did not have enough evidence to show Wilson committed manslaughter or murder. Wilson resigned from his position as an officer and has kept a low profile ever since. The question on whether justice was served still remains open ended, due to the fact that Wilson faced no legal consequences but was forced to resign and will forever be recognized as the officer that sparked the civil unrest that resulted from the shooting. This incident between Michael Brown and Darren Wilson shows the importance of discretion in police officers and how the decision to use force can have an impact on the community and the nation.

The investigation of the Ferguson Police Department and the fatal shooting of Michael Brown revealed a pattern of unlawful conduct which violated Amendments of the United States Constitution and federal law. The conclusion of the Department of Justice’s investigation on the Ferguson Police Department showed that their law enforcement practices violated the law and undermined community trust, especially among African Americans, and gave changes necessary to remedy Ferguson’s unlawful law enforcement practices (DOJ). This incident, which grasped the attention of millions across the nation, can be related to many of the ethical dilemmas and topics that we have discussed in JUST 4880 including racial discrimination within the criminal justice system, the use of force as an officer, and the role of police officers. Also, as a result of the death of Michael Brown, a new era of civil rights movements was sparked through Black Lives Matter protests. This incident had a big impact on communities and police departments all over the nation, not only the Ferguson area.