Officers Gone Bad

 Story by Quinae’ Morton. Photo from www.nytimes.com.

This is the story about Edward Bronstein who was pulled over by police in Burbank,California, March 31, 2020. The officers thought he was driving under the influence of a narcotic. They ended up pulling him over to draw blood. The autopsy report states when Edward asked them why they needed a sample, he was abused by officers and one knelt on his back Bronstein yelled, “I can’t breathe.” He ended up losing consciousness after being pinned for several minutes. He was pronounced dead by paramedics later that morning. The autopsy report reveals that Bronstein had methamphetamine in his system. Police claim that this is what killed him but I don’t believe that. Bronstein was literally fine before police even pulled him over. Police took it in their hands to kneel down on him while he screams,“I can’t breathe!“ I believe they didn’t get up until they knew for sure he was dead. 

This is a problem because people should not be getting pulled over and killed because officers want to make assumptions. We can solve this problem by developing interventions in police departments, collecting research to determine how they work and collecting data on police behavior. By doing this we could see what the actual problem is in order to get that certain person fired. 

If people don’t take action, then our community will never be a great place for people like us. If the community does take action then we will live a better life and won’t be afraid in our community.  

I believe we all should always report when an officer is doing something wrong. 

Quinae’ Morton is a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.