In Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow, she includes a section that references interactions between police officers and civilians. For example, she includes the statement that, “a wallet could be mistaken for a gun” (84) This is obviously a problem that should be fixed, but it is not irrational to say the least. The stereotype that people of color that live in a “ghetto” neighborhood are typically armed and or dangerous is sad to say the least, but is still a problem. A police officer has to act quickly and must save themselves from any harm to benefit others around them, so shooting on sight seems like the best plan possible. But, is there a way to fix this? Possibly. I am not extremely educated on the topic of “police shootings” (not sure of the exact name, this one just came to my head) or topics that are related to it, but I will try to propose an argument in order for how we could reduce tragedies like the ones that have happened to Tamir Rice, and various other victims.
In order to obtain more information on the Tamir Rice case, I googled it and found a CNN article about it. To be quite honest with you, I do not blame the officer to shoot him as he was carrying an item that looked like a gun, however, it was a gun that only dispensed pellets. But, on the contrary, with Alexander’s point that when a wallet could be mistaken for a gun the subject should be apprehended accordingly. We, as society, can reduce these tragedies by simply complying with police officers… It is not that difficult. It may be a little bit ignorant of me to say just to comply with police officers, but still it is a way to reduce the tragedy as a whole. If you feel uncomfortable complying with an officer for any reason whatsoever then you deserve to be apprehended, it’s a win or lose situation. You either harm yourself or your save yourself. Before reaching into your pocket, car console, or any other compartment tell the officer what you are doing first so he knows and can be ready. If you aren't telling the officer what you’re doing then he will just assume suspicion and get ready for whatever is about to happen. To conclude this post, I would just like to say that I am not sure if I answered the prompt correctly or not, but I just believe if you are with an officer, being questioned, or any other situation you should just comply, use your fourth amendment right if necessary, you can say no to an unwarranted search.
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