Abstract
The Ferguson Missouri shooting is an incident that has attracted national outrage and global criticism. The incident involved the shooting of a black teenager who was suspected of being involved in an altercation. A police officer shot the teenager several times before he succumbed. Demonstrations followed the incident that was characterized by the looting of businesses. The essay looks at some of the incidents that followed the shooting. The evoking of national issues such as racism and unemployment, which were at play during the incident led to the witnessed demonstrations.
Introduction
Managing police has important effects on the society, including the interaction between this institution and the public. Some of the past incidents that involved the police and shooting of perceived innocent civilians have led to the development of standards within the police force. Ferguson Missouri saw unrest from street demonstrations after a shooting incident that involved the police and an unarmed civilian. The incident sparked a national controversy, which elicited debate on police management, constitutional rights, racism, and police brutality (More, & Wegener, 1992). The following essay evaluates the shooting incident in Missouri in relation to the management of police.
The Incident
The main incident in Ferguson involved a police officer who shot an unarmed black teenager (McLaughlin et al., 2014). The available details indicate that Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black teenager, was headed home in the company of a friend when the incident occurred. The officer and the Ferguson Police Department have reported that Brown had been involved in an altercation. The 28-year-old officer stated that the he had ordered the two teenagers to get off the streets when the altercation ensued (McLaughlin et al., 2014). Wilson was the police officer on duty when the incident occurred. He confirmed that Brown had an altercation on the window of the police car.
Apparently, the police officer fired a shot from his window because Brown had become aggressive. Teenagers flew from the site after the shooting. The officer who followed them asserted that Brown, amongst other youngsters, turned aggressively towards him (McLaughlin et al., 2014).
The officer confronted Brown who increasingly became violent. Wilson fired several shots, which landed on Brown to the extent of being seriously wounded. Many reports have been published concerning the incident, with different individuals giving their eyewitness reports. Some of the individuals who gave their eyewitness reports indicate that Brown had not resisted arrest and that he had his hands in the air at the time of the shooting.
Some reports indicate that the officer reacted in self-defense when he shot Brown and that there was no altercation that was committed at the time of the episode. The shooting event occurred near Brown’s home, which is within a majority black neighborhood. It occurred at a time when the area citizens had exhibited differences with the local police department. The teenager died from the many bullets that were fired by Wilson. The murder led to street demonstrations and running battles between the police and the local residents. Demonstrations were initially violent, with the demonstrators destroying property and injuring other people. The police officers were forced to use teargas and other forceful means to disperse the angry rioters. The riots took place for several days.
The Involved Individuals
The shooting incident involved a number of individuals, with each of them playing different parts and/or representing different aspects of the society. The two main individuals who were in the incident include the police officer who was involved in the shooting and Michael Brown. The teenager was shot on the suspicion that he was among the robbers who had robbed a close store to which the officer was responding.
The second player in the incident is the police officer who shot and killed Brown. This officer was ‘white’ just like most of the other officers who were operating in the area. The officer represents that police force in the area. Hence, the two individuals represent the existing hostilities between the majority white police force and the black neighborhood (USA Today, 2014). For a long time, the United States has had such differences between the white police officers and the black public. The other individual who was involved in the shooting incident is Brown’s friend Dorian Johnson. Johnson was in the company of Brown when the incident occurred. He is the sole witness in this incident. He is useful when it comes to giving the account of events as they occurred.
The other party in the incident is Brown’s family that lost a son in the confrontation. Just like most other families, Brown’s parents will be seeking justice for the murder of their son in unknown circumstances (USA Today, 2014).
The parents claimed that Brown had no trouble with the law and was always obedient and law abiding. It is expected that this family will be actively pursuing justice for their son after the settling of the matter and/or when the demonstrations are over. As with other incidents in the past, the family is usually left with the trouble while the rest of the society progresses (USA Today, 2014). Other individuals in the incident include the local citizens who were indirectly involved in the incident.
Issues in the Incident
Several issues in this shooting incident are important for discussion. The first issue in the incident is the shooting of an unarmed civilian. According to analysts, the shooting can be a constitutional challenge. The police force is not allowed to shoot unarmed individuals unless they are a threat to the lives of the officer (Gottschalk, 2010). Most of the eyewitness accounts indicate that Brown was not armed at the time of the incident. The observation was confirmed by the police force. Any justification for the murder has to be proven in a court of law with sufficient evidence. Major eyewitnesses assert that they were not armed and had not been involved in any form of robbery or breaking of the law.
The other part of the story is that Brown had surrendered and had his arms in the air while the officer shot again and killed him. Police are not allowed to shoot at individuals who have surrendered and/or are cooperative (Reynecke, 2001). The number of shots that were fired at Brown is an indicator of the confrontation that might have taken place. Investigators will establish if any shots were fired after he had surrendered or if he had even surrendered at all. The police force in this area of the county will be on the spot for a period because of the incident.
The third twist of the incident is the racial part of the story. Police officers in the force are described as being mainly white in a majority black society. The white police officer who was involved in the shooting of a black teenager can expose the traditional differences between the main races in the country and the area. The demonstrators indicate that they (main races) feel that the teenager was picked because of his color. The incident has widely been viewed as a representation of the racial tensions that underlie some of the US neighborhoods. Racial segregation and stigmatization of the black population is at play. These individuals assert that they are being targeted unfairly (Reynecke, 2001).
Evolving Issues
Apart from the main problems that were involved in this shooting incident, other issues have evolved, and are still evolving, since the day of the shooting. One of the major issues is the interaction between the police force and the black population. The police forces in the Ferguson are mainly composed of white law enforcement officers, an issue that inhibits the cooperation between them and the local citizens. The traditional view is that the black individuals are involved in most altercations and most of the robberies that take place. The public is agitated that the police officer assumed that black individuals conducted the robbery. The information that is available from this incident is that the proportion of black individuals within the police force in the area consists of only 30% of the force in the area (Reynecke, 2001).
The other evolving issue from the incident is the amount of unemployment that the black population is subjected to. The demonstrations took place for a significant duration indicated that the local citizens did not have consistent employment. The proportion of unemployed black individuals is significantly high in the US compared to that of other races, especially the white race (Reynecke, 2001). Unemployment rate was one of the issues that were cited as causing the initial robbery that the officer was responding to, the massive demonstrations, and the looting that took place during the demonstrations (USA Today, 2014).
The incident has also brought about issues about political differences in opinions. Democrats and Republicans have held opposing views on the incident, with these views mainly being in the appropriateness of the police response. While most of the democrats held the opinion that the police response was less appropriate, the republicans were mostly of the opinion that the police rejoinder was appropriate. The differences between Republicans and Democrats have been consistent in most of the incidents of this kind, especially where the racial factor is involved (USA Today, 2014).
Opinion
The incident elicited several opinions from different avenues, with these different opinions reflecting the political and social divides in the country. The personal opinion is also important in the discussion as stated in this part. In my opinion, the incident evolved into a national issue due to the underlying issues. The US is one of the nations that have strong racial and political divides. Any issue that touches on these divides and factors is bound to evolve into a national issue where different individuals contribute to the debate. This issue evolved into a countrywide subject because of the response that followed the shooting. The demonstrations evoked racial tempers and hence the spread to the national platform.
As an opinion, the main issue that had been dominant in the event is the police brutality that was exhibited in the area. The majority white forces in the region are seen as acting on a racial manner whilst segregating the black population in most of their interactions. The black population mainly holds that it is being left out in the development agenda. The other issue that I feel is central to the demonstrations following the incident and its development into a national issue is the unemployment of black youths (USA Today, 2014). The US is one of the developed nations that have disparities in racial employment. These disparities cause differences in social levels.
Role of Social Media
In the current decade of technological revolution, the social media has been the source of major incidents on a global scale (Bryfonski, 2012). The role of social media in these events cannot be underestimated. Some of the social media sites that were important in the incident include Facebook and Twitter among others. The social site users contributed towards the development of the demonstrations. These social sites were important in the mobilization of individuals to take part in the demonstrations. Their users reacted to the stories, hence helping spread information about this incident. Social sites have been the preferred methods of mobilizing people. In fact, some of the major global events are organized through these sites (Jennings, Blount, & Weatherly, 2014).
Social sites were some of the initial tools that were used to spread the news of the incident, with information about the incident also spreading through these sites. One of the Twitter users reported the occurrences as a first-hand witness, stating that he had witnessed the incident. According to this twitter user, the victim was shot seven times. The social site user recounts the incident in a manner that the teenager had not declined arrest; neither was he acting in a violent manner.
The role of social media sites has continued long after the incident. Activists in opposition to the incident are vigorous on social media. Some of these individuals organized the demonstrations. Social media sites were also important platforms for debate on the incident and issues that emerged from the incident. The activists in the shooting case are aggressively debating on the issue, with the different sites operating groups on social media in which different members can give their contributions. The government is also a major technology user and is active on the social media sites (Mandiberg, 2012). Different politicians are actively engaged in the social media discussions as a way of trying to win the opinions of people who take the opposing sides.
How I would have handled the Incident
The shooting incident evoked several reactions from the local population in Ferguson and in the US as a whole. There are different ways that is would have acted in a different manner if I were the interim chief of Police in Ferguson. The incident occurred in a neighborhood that is dominated by the black population. The immediate action that I would have taken as the chief of police in the area is to initiate investigations into the incident. This step would ensure that the reason for the shooting and the exact events were evaluated. The other action would be to ensure that information of the incident was available to the public as soon as it was made available to the police.
As the chief of police, I would undertake the action of suspending the police officer who was involved in the shooting to ensure that investigations were conducted in a manner that appeared fair to the public. I would also send a message of condolence to the family for the loss in the promise of further investigations into the incident. The shooting would be a significant political issue. Hence, I would have embarked on getting the support of local politicians and church leaders. The department would cater for the expenses of the autopsy whilst ensuring that the results were communicated to the public.
The citizen’s response was expected but unwarranted. The main way that I would have handled the response of the public in Missouri was to ensure heavy police presence during the demonstrations. As opposed to the barricade of roads that the demonstrators were using, the immediate action that I would have taken during the demonstrations would be to organize more black police officers to ensure that they integrated with the demonstrators. The provision of security throughout the period of demonstrations would have also stretched to the local businesses, which were at risk of being looted. The presence of police would have dissuaded the demonstrators from engaging in the many sideshows.
Poll Results
During the course of the assignment, I conducted a Facebook poll of twenty-five respondents. Social media is an important tool in this form of analysis (Weiguo, & Gordon, 2014; Meyrowitz, 1985). During this poll, I asked them about the incident in Ferguson Missouri. The first question was whether they were aware of the incident that occurred in this area, with those who responded in a positive manner answering on their opinion of why the incident developed into a national issue. In this poll, only 13 of the 25 respondents answered that they had knowledge of the incident. Therefore, the 13 participants proceeded to answer the question of why the issue developed into a national issue.
Most of the respondents indicated that there was a racial twist to the incident. They indicated that the police officer shot the teenager because he was black. They also stated that the reason for the escalation of violence and the national response was the national manner in which race was held in the country. Some of the respondents also stated that the reason for the development of the issue on a national scale was due to the demonstrations that followed the event. These demonstrations attracted attention of individuals from other parts of the US. The demonstrations and the response that followed the incident elicited the national response, with the various opponents and proponents of the debate opening new fronts.
The respondents also indicated that the issue developed into a national concern because of the political response that took place. The different respondents also focused on the police response that followed the shooting. The police were said to have put forward an explanation that was not favorable to the public and hence the national response. However, in their opinion, the issue would have been handled locally and nationally so that all people could have faith in the investigations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the incident that took place in Ferguson Missouri was an unfortunate one that led to the death of a black teenager. Investigations are still on going, with the available information contrasting the police reports. Different reports that emerge from the incident indicate that the possibility of underlying issues that will always crop up whenever such an incident occurs. It is necessary for these issues to be dealt with early enough to ensure that future responses do not take the same path.
Reference List
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