Blast from the past

One of the worst cases of police brutality in American history happened May 13, 1985 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A bomb containing military C4 explosives was dropped on a house containing six children and seven adults. Police Commissioner Gregore Sambor and fire Commissioner William Richmond prevented fire fighters from battling the flames. The fire was a tactical weapon used so police could arrest four adults in the building for seven charges ranging from disorderly conduct to possession of explosives. The attack ended up killing five children ages 7-13, destroying 60 other homes in west Philadelphia.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/05/_30th_anniversary_of_move_bombing_lessons_unheeded_in_one_of_america_s_worst.html

Real Problem

To me the real problem is after events like these occur its only in the news for a few weeks maybe a month tops. Only to have us forget about it not too long after. Unless we focus more on the problem at hang police will keep thinking they can get away with harming someone. When police are going around hurting people because of their poor ethics every so often who can we trust to protect us when we need it

Silver lining

With all this talk of police misusing their authority one officer has a different belief. Ohio police officer Jesse Kidder showed great restraint when dealing with a suspect that came charging towards him. The officer used prefect judgement when addressing the situation relying on his quick thinking from the perpetrators actions. While in confrontation with him he saw the person was trying to get shot by him and attempted to spring towards the officer. The officer wanted to make absolutely sure he needed to use deadly force on the perp. His actions set act as a fine role model for officers that chose to use deadly force right away.

 http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/04/19/dnt-oh-officer-doesnt-shoot-charging-suspect.wlwt

Waist of time?

New York cops feel the retraining they were requited to take was "a waist of time." Another insider stated "It’s been a big disappointment on the backs of the city because they’re paying for this course." There are reports of the training having no new tactics, cops thought the training would involve more tactical training. The veteran boss said that the $35 million “smart policing” primer is a flop, and that eight out of every 10 cops give it negative reviews when they finish the training. Now Im sure this is not the retraining concerned people had in mind. 
 http://nypost.com/2015/02/22/cops-say-training-after-eric-garners-death-is-a-waste-of-time/

Truly unfortunate

The events in Baltimore were unfortunate in more ways then one. The first being the death of Freddie Grey. Second being it took a city full of rioters to bring out a faster investigation for justice regarding Freddie. It is truly sad when the people who were protesting peacefully could not make as big an impact as the rioters. It took a whole city destroying itself to right a wrong. But this is also a fine example of what can happen when people are truly in a desperate situation where they feel what they try will not make a difference. Hopefully one change that comes from this is a change in ethics and protocols  police follow.

Baltimore Riots

On April 12 2015 Freddie Gray was arrested by Baltimore police and sustained injuries during his arrest. These injuries caused him to go into a coma, only to pass away six days later. Before his arrest friends and family claim he was in good health. After being arrested it was found he had injuries to his neck and spine sustained while being transported in a police vehicle. This incident sparked riots in Baltimore that lasted until April 28.  On May 1, 2015, Gray's death was ruled to be a homicide and legal charges were issued against the six officers involved in the incident, including that of second-degree murder. Sadly it took almost a whole city rioting to bring justice to this unfortunate incident. These riots were not the true intention from citizens of Baltimore. This was originally starting off as a peaceful protest involving high school students. Unfortunately this plan did not go as well as planned. Students began throwing bricks and rocks at mall windows sparking the riots to grow out of control. 

Here we go again.

In North Chareston, South Carolina Walter Scott was pulled over for a traffic stop and shot eight times by officer Michael Slager. The officer claimed he reached for his tazer, and then tried to flee the scene. Now this officer doesn't get away with this they way he hoped for. The officer was charged murder after the compelling footage from the video was released. 

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/walter-scott-shooting-south-carolina-police-officer-claimed-he-feared-his-life-before-video-1495327

Recent news

In San Bernardino County, California a suspect being apprehended for identity theft was brutally hit over and over by 11 deputies. In the video of the suspect being apprehended was tasered to the ground where he was hit repeatedly by two deputies. After being hit a few times the suspect gives up on his failed escape and puts his hands behind his back as a sign of surrender. Only to be continuously hit by the deputies. As more and more deputies arrive at the scene, they decide to join in on the attacking of the suspect. With in two minutes there were over 37 punches, 17 kicks, and four strikes with a baton, not including being stroked with the taser gun. San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon told the news station, "I'm disturbed by what I see in the video.
 http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/04/when-police-brutality-goes-beyond-a-bad-apple/390303/#disqus_thread

Too much power?

After learning about these events all I could think about was did all theses events have to end the way they did, and what caused police to do the things they did. Personally I feel it was misuse of their power. In two of these events these cops most likely thought I can get away with this as long as I report it was self-defense. With the events that occurred police should be required to take some kind of test or program that requires officers to be qualified enough to not misuse their power.

Brutality in Law Enforcement

Thought out 2014 and 2015 they have been several incidents where police misuse their power and end up hurting or killing someone during an arrest. At first the three that were heard often were the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, the choke hold that took Eric Garner's life in New York, and the traffic stop incident that ended with Jamal Jones being tasered then dragged out his passenger door window.