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There have been many recent news
circulating in the media related to the police forces. But it is not because of
their valour or dedication, but rather the opposite. There have been many
recent cases about police brutality that have shown the entire police
association in a bad light.
A few weeks back, George Flyod, a black man
was brutally assaulted by a police officer while his colleagues watched him do
so. This created an uproar across nations where people gathered to protest.
Who Was Georg Flyod?
George Flyod was an ordinary security guard
who was allegedly accused of giving a counterfeit bill to a shopkeeper. “Is
that such a big crime that the police officer had to kneel down on his neck?”
is the question being asked.
In the video that went viral, it can be
clearly seen that the general public around the area is saying that Flyod was
not even protesting his arrest or he is not able to breathe. Even after that,
the police did not leave him.
What Happened?
The police officer knelt on Flyod for eight
minutes and Flyod uttered the words,” I can’t breathe”. These words were used as slogan by the
protesters. This incidence has questioned the humanity of police officials.
Derek Chauvin, the officer who sat on George Flyod’s neck was charged with third degree murder and second degree manslaughter. He was fired from his job along with the three other police officers who were present at the scene. All the four accused can expect imprisonment for up to forty years.
Police Brutality at Its Rise?
This
has tainted the image of the police in front of the world. Many police officers
have urged the people to not judge them based on the incidence that took place
in Chicago, America as a few bad officers cannot define the whole police force.
Nobody could have expected this extreme
racist attitude from the police force. It has been witnessed that black people
are targeted more than the white people. Black people are doubted and stopped
more than white people by the police.
In the 21st Century Racism Continues to Be the Problem
This racial bias is quite evident. For
centuries, black people had to deal with much more serious troubles than the
white people. Like slavery and protesting for its abolishment. Even after years
of abolishment on slavery, black people still have to deal with its trauma.
This trauma is passed on from generations.
Incidents like these can make black people stressed and traumatized. Yasmine Jameelah, founder and CEO of the “Transparent and Black”
collective said that there have been an increase in the number of black people
asking for therapy since this fiasco.
The police force has to understand that it
is their duty to always be on their best behavior as people look up to them.
The public should not fear the police. But incidents like these leave a mark
that cannot be ever forgotten.
Meanwhile in India
Similar incidents have occurred that have
disgraced the police community all over the world. Recently in Tuticorin, a
‘twin murder’ happened in which a father and son died after being in police
custody.
Jayaraj and his son Benicks owned a mobile
shop in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. They were arrested for running the shop a
little late than the permitted time duration. It seems as a very small mistake
and they should have been fined or punished accordingly.
But they were assaulted so brutally that
they had to be shifted to a hospital. They were kept under the police custody
for a whole night before appearing in front of a Magistrate the next morning.
The son complained of a chest pain in the jail and was taken to a hospital.
He died. After that the father complained
of a fever and he died as well. Tuticorin police chief Arun Balagopalan has
said,” we have ordered a probe”. It is very clear that they were both assaulted
brutally as both of them died.
Their family has refused to accept their dead bodies after
the post-mortem. Jayaraj’s daughter said that his father and brother were
assaulted so badly that she cannot even mention as a woman, the things that her
father and brother went through.
Here's the Difference
Chief Minister E Palaniswami has condemned the death but he
has not mentioned the police force in his statement. He has decided to give 20
lakhs to the family and a government job to a family member.
Even though two FIRs have been filed, no officer has been
charged with murder. Four police officers have been suspended and that’s it. No
other action has been taken for such a grievous situation.
It just shows that those who are in power cannot be
controlled and the public will have to be the one harmed through the injustice
done by those in power. There have been several cases of such injustices that
have occurred in the past.
It Is Not the First Instance of Such Incidents
In 1967, the New Orleans police arrested an African-American
schoolteacher for public drunkenness. He was beaten very badly and the incident
was caught on camera. One of the officers was fired, another was suspended and
another was acquitted.
In 2008, a 42-year old Caucasian woman named Angela Garbarino
was detained by the police. She was drunk and hence started arguing with the
police. The police officer turned off the camera and when it was turned back
on, she was lying in a pool of blood.
There have been many other cases in which the accused officer
was set free after the trial. There has to be serious punishments for such
behaviour so that police officials fear the law. It will not be right to
categorize every officer as the bad person here.
But Martin Luther King has very wisely said,” Injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.
Written by – Trishla Gupta
Edited by – Adrija Saha
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