What Can Be Done To Stop Police Brutality?

Story by Thomas Howard. Photo by racismreview.com.

Police brutality is getting out hand. Now, thanks to the work of body cameras, police officers are starting to be held accountable for their use of unnecessary force. Protesters are beginning to get more violent because they want answers from the government and want to know what is being done to stop this madness from happening to African Americans. There have been a lot proposals for different ways this can be stopped, including a proposal from rap artists Jay-Z, The Game and Snoop Dog when they lead a peaceful protest sharing their experience with other black folks. But, destruction of property isn’t the way to solve the problem. it just makes things worse to deal with for the government.

In my opinion, body cameras are a great idea because they give a lot of people closure and result in fewer complaints about how the police are wrongfully arresting or killing people. I feel like this step is one way to end police brutality. If people can see what’s going on when police are out in the field and see actually what they are doing to African Americans, the public wouldn’t be divided in these cases—resulting in a decrease in riots and vandalizing.

Alternative enforcement is needed to resolve the situation. For example, the cellphone video of Freddie Gray was used in the trial of six officers who arrested and murdered him. Sadly the charges were dropped and the six officers were given administrative duties and may return to patrol after the review of the case. If body cameras were used in this situation, this would have eliminated any doubts about Freddie Gray’s arrest and the use of force. I feel body cameras are a big step towards stopping police brutality and keeping the public informed about the actions of police officers.

Thomas Howard is a freshman at Friendship Collegiate Academy.