Can you guess
what happened to a 13-year-old African-American boy last week? That’s right, he
was shot and killed by one of the men in blue. Yes, again. However, this
particular case is not so easy to take sides on. The victim, an eighth grader
named Tyre King, was shot during a chase down an alley because he pulled out
what looked to be a firearm out of his waistband, which was later found to be a
BB Gun. Though he was only a young teenager, I can understand why a police
officer would feel the need to defend himself through force because he might
have thought his life was in his danger. Situations like this one are a
reflection of our Country’s need to restructure laws regarding replica/actual
firearms as well as a wake-up call to reconsider traditional police training
and tactics.
Investigators
on the scene first believed King’s weapon was a handgun, but “upon further
inspection, was later determined to be a BB gun with an attached laser sight.”[1]
That’s not all
to the story though. The police officer involved in the shooting has a past.
Specifically, Officer Bryan Mason was involved in another shooting in 2012.
In
2012, Mason shot and killed a 51-year-old man who was reportedly aiming a gun
at another man in his home, and refused to drop the weapon when officers
arrived. Mason was cleared of any wrongdoing in that case.(1)
It’s clear that
this case is problematic for a number of reasons. Kids that are in their early
teens should not be getting shot and killed. But on the other hand, kids in
their early teens shouldn’t try to rob other people of their money or walk
around neighborhoods with realistic BB Guns tucked into their waistband. Simultaneously,
police officers shouldn’t be so quick to pull out their guns on young teenagers
that robbed a mere $10 from their victim. Indisputably, America needs to
rethink its laws regarding replica firearms and firearms in general but
simultaneously also needs to address the police brutality situation.
While it is the
police force’s job to protect and serve the citizens of the United States,
recently their reputation has been tainted by the seemingly purposeful
shootings of African Americans. This is something they cannot ignore. To gain
the respect of the public, I think the police have to reconsider how they train
their officers. That goes hand in hand with stricter laws regarding
firearms/replicas.
I almost
sympathize with officer Mason. But, his actions and the way this situation
unfolded tells us something. Police in this country need to be better trained
on how to de-escalate situations without the immediate use of firearms. In
addition, I think more laws should be implemented to prevent minors from
acquiring replica firearms, for their own safety and protection. These
tragedies have to stop, but it’s a complicated issue that has to be tackled at
several different angles all at once.
I agree, there needs to be a complete restructuring of laws with regards to replica firearms, and better training for officers to de-escalate situations without resourcing to firearms. So many shootings in the past two years have raised from mishaps and misunderstandings. However, the officer at fault, given his previous encounter with firearm misuse, should be given more blame. The kid is, at the end of the day just that, only a kid. And his reaction in pulling out his BB gun is the equivalent of a child on a playground. His instincts are not yet fully developed, but the officers are required to be.
ReplyDeleteI followed along with your line of reason, but had to stop at the idea of sympathizing with the police officer. There has to be more to analyzing this man's character and implicit bias when we rationalize his reason for shooting a child. Upon reading more about the incident, it seems that the boy was reported as having robbed ten dollars from a man.
ReplyDelete"Police records say the reported robbery was over $10. In a recorded 911 call, the robbery victim calmly indicates that he wasn’t going to make a big deal over $10 but that other witnesses called to report what happened."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-police-officer-placed-on-leave-kill-boy-bb-gun/
One has to wonder, then, in a case of petty crimes with low stakes and no press for charges, why the officer found it imperative to chase the young teenagers while holding a loaded gun. It's an example of blowing consequences out of proportion when young black men are found to be in opposition with any degree of the law.
Another interesting question would be to ask why a 13 year old child would have replica of a police firearm in the first place. Maybe this comes from my biased repulsion of guns, real of fake, but having such items available for kids is bound to cause trouble, often to fatal ends.
- Alya
I think it would be interesting to find out if the outcome shifts if police are better educated on what firearms look like. Is this racially seeded or related to a lack of training? I have a hard time believing all of these shootings against black men are related to a lack of appropriate training and resources -- rather than some inherent bias. I think our country has to start with more training for police. But this has to involve diversity training -- social science training -- as well as deescalation and firearm identification training.
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