2008 Woodie Awards
Public criticism, examination checks law enforcement
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: OpEd Page
Society and human nature necessitate the presence of a law enforcement body to protect and serve the greater population, ensuring defense against unnecessary victimization from those who would have less than honorable motives for causing harm upon others who want nothing more than to pursue their own definition of happiness. Ultimately, this leads to a social dichotomy between those enforcers of the law who have made the decision to protect their fellow man and those citizens who, adopting the role of the teetering toddler taking its first steps, have need for the almost paternal brand of shelter from the greater evils which rear their heads in our dream of a civil society.
Through voluntary decision, these two factions of society are separated and their differences all the more exacerbated, especially as horror stories continue to pervade the conversations of both sides, serving as a warning to the nature of humanity by those who wield power and those who depend on its benevolence. Though many scholars and pundits have remarked on the racial or ethnic aspect of disparities in arrest rate, sentencing and the ultimate solution of the death penalty, I believe that this works too hard to further factionalize citizens who, by necessity of their position, should unite regardless of their differences in order to insure that those who wield power do not aim to capitalize from its abuses.
The events in New York surrounding the death of Sean Bell, a young man who was gunned down in Jamaica, Queens by five officers in 2006, has worked to factionalize the disparities of the city's population. In turn, the racial component of subsequent debates have only worked to exacerbate the divide between the greater body of citizens who have respectively chosen to believe one testimony over another after weighing testimony and the present physical evidence.
The ratio of officers to alleged perpetrators in the incident numbered three to five in favor of law enforcement who, suspecting the presence of deadly weapons, responded in an effort to ensure their own lives would not be cut down short. When no weapons turned up, the incident was turned over to independent investigation and subsequent trial to determine, on the basis of defendant testimony, whether officers responded appropriately or inappropriately to what was deemed by the situation. The ultimate acquittal of the officers has left some without reconciliation and others vindicated yet the city still remains intact in spite of the stigmatizing nature of the incident, which some have suggested demonstrated a preponderance of racial bias over physical evidence.
Through voluntary decision, these two factions of society are separated and their differences all the more exacerbated, especially as horror stories continue to pervade the conversations of both sides, serving as a warning to the nature of humanity by those who wield power and those who depend on its benevolence. Though many scholars and pundits have remarked on the racial or ethnic aspect of disparities in arrest rate, sentencing and the ultimate solution of the death penalty, I believe that this works too hard to further factionalize citizens who, by necessity of their position, should unite regardless of their differences in order to insure that those who wield power do not aim to capitalize from its abuses.
The events in New York surrounding the death of Sean Bell, a young man who was gunned down in Jamaica, Queens by five officers in 2006, has worked to factionalize the disparities of the city's population. In turn, the racial component of subsequent debates have only worked to exacerbate the divide between the greater body of citizens who have respectively chosen to believe one testimony over another after weighing testimony and the present physical evidence.
The ratio of officers to alleged perpetrators in the incident numbered three to five in favor of law enforcement who, suspecting the presence of deadly weapons, responded in an effort to ensure their own lives would not be cut down short. When no weapons turned up, the incident was turned over to independent investigation and subsequent trial to determine, on the basis of defendant testimony, whether officers responded appropriately or inappropriately to what was deemed by the situation. The ultimate acquittal of the officers has left some without reconciliation and others vindicated yet the city still remains intact in spite of the stigmatizing nature of the incident, which some have suggested demonstrated a preponderance of racial bias over physical evidence.
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