Criminal Justice
For your first research paper, choose a recent deadly police shooting/killing that created racial controversy in THE USA.
You MUST use the ASU Library Database system to search articles/newspaper articles. ASU MEANS Arizona State University.
Explain the facts of the case, the outcome, and the issues that surrounded the case that contributed to the controversy. Rely on all readings, websites, and lecture notes to apply theoretical contributing factors as to why such incidents take place.
1- Select a case and explain the facts of the case.
2- Select and summarize a theory that could be used to explain the behavior of anyone involved in the incident.
3- Apply the theory to the behavior of one of the participants in the case you selected.
4- Keep in mind that this is not an opinion based assignment, however, a researched-based essay.
The essay must be APA format, Must be 5 pages in length in actual content, double-spaced, using a 12-point font with 1-inch margins, and include at least 8 legitimate sources. Keep in mind that this is not an opinion based assignment, however, a researched-based essay. You can use the ASU Library Database system to search articles/newspaper articles. Wikipedia, blogs, websites, and other nefarious sources of dubious credibility are not acceptable sources.
Thank you AND make sure to follow the exact instructions.
ANSWER
For a long time, statistics have indicated that African Americans, particularly black men, are more prone to crime-related activities in America comprising drug-related felonies and theft and burglaries, among others (Hargrove 2015). The situation prompts many in the police department to perceive a threat and consequently respond in hostility towards the race and gender in a manner that does not match their crime, which has often lead to death or serious injury. Examples of deadly police shootings include Byron Williams, fifty years, black and in the year 2019, cycling without a safety light in Las Vegas. After a confrontation with the police, Mr. William is documented to have died in police custody, saying that he could not breathe and repeating it 17 times (Las Vegas Review-Journal). Eric Garner was also a victim in New York City in 2014, who was caught selling untaxed cigarettes by the sidewalk. Mr. Garner died after being put in a chokehold crying that he could not breathe (Time.com). And in another most recent case that caused a total public outcry, George Floyd was caught using a fake $20 bill. After a confrontation with the Minneapolis police force, he died chokehold pleading that he could not breathe (BBC.com).
The three are examples of deadly police killing with more being unaccounted, including wrongful arrests and prosecutions, mistaken shooting by the police, and mistreatment, including deprivation of sleep, food, and water while in police custody many others. The New York Times observes, “a pattern of aggressive tactics that ignored prevailing safety precautions while embracing dubious science that suggested that people pleading for air do not need urgent intervention” (NY Times). This essay considers the case of George Floyd, including the facts of the case, conflict theory, and how it relates to the deadly police killing to establish racial-based social conflict motivations behind the killing.
George Floyd was 46 years old when Derek Chauvin pinned him to the floor, and within 30 minutes, Mr. Floyd was pronounced dead. Reports on Mr. Floyd’s life indicate that he had lost his income source as a bouncer due to the COVID-19 pandemic (BBC.com). Mr. Floyd was at a local food store, Cup Foods, trying to buy some cigarettes when a teenage employee reported to the police about the use of a fake bill according to store protocol. The police arrived shortly after to find Mr. Floyd in a car with two other people. A court transcript explains that Thomas Lane, one of the officers, pulled out his gun immediately without threat and against the police code of conduct (BBC.com). Mr. Lane then pulled Mr. Floyd from the car, where actively resisted arrest. However, after being handcuffed, Mr. Floyd became compliant as Mr. Lane explained the reason for the arrest.
Mr. Floyd repeatedly was co-operative and continuously apologized; however, a struggle ensued when the officers attempted to put Mr. Floyd in their police vehicle where Mr. Floyd “stiffened up, fell to the ground, and told the officers he was claustrophobic” (BBC.com). This was when Mr. Chauvin arrived, and collectively they tried to put him in the police car. Still, in handcuffs, Mr. Floyd fell on the ground where Mr. Chauvin put his knee between his head and neck for 7 minutes and 46 seconds (BBC.com). Mr. Floyd pleaded that he could not breathe, calling out his mother, and at one point gasped that Mr. Chauvin would kill him. A female bystander told the police that he had been nose bleeding, and then Mr. Floyd said he loved his mother and his kids, but he was dead now (BBC.com). Six minutes into the chock hold, Mr. Floyd was non-responsive and was shortly pronounced dead.
The situation reflects more on the Conflict Theory researched by Karl Marx (1818 – 1883), where he explained society as a collection of people belonging to various social classes (Bartos 2002). These classes are in constant conflict in a competition for resources, among them food and housing, education, and employment. The concept explains the singling out of black men like George Floyd on the topic of police brutality. These reasons include the fact that the cases all happen in the poorer neighborhoods of the United States, meaning that the victims were of low or no income, and in addition to a desperate situation, a global pandemic looms. As a survival mechanism, they turn to crime like using a fake $20 bill.
Secondly, the scenario presents the police department with a conundrum where they have to ensure the streets’ safety but are often tasked with the duty to constantly keep black low-income young men from causing trouble in the areas they patrol. Thirdly is the generalization of the black young men’s insubordination component by the various police departments causing them to be more aggressive in a confrontation with them than with another young caucasian female or male committing the same crime. And lastly, the entire black community’s view that the police are enemies and threats to their survival. These factors propel the conflict theory as Max Weber later added to the theory saying that different groups are affected differently based on race, gender, and education level (Turner 2014).
Karl Marx suggested that as far as humans and these humans did things and said things, there would always be conflict and variation in social status (Bartos 2002). The low-income black men living in the United States could likely continue to suffer injustices not because of a biased police department but because of society’s current status. Social conflict suggests that perpetual conflict is a result of competition for limited resources (Jacobs 1979), and in this case, the limited resource is security for the police. To maintain social order in an already desperate situation, the solution is through power domination, as observed with Officer Derek Chauvin. According to the theory, “those with wealth and power try to hold on to it by any means possible, chiefly by suppressing the poor and powerless” (Jacobs 1979).
These larger economic differences present the strong with an urgent necessity to maintain order to preserve their ongoing relationships. One way to do this is by having a brutal police force with a deadly instinct almost absent in emotion and feeling. Mr. Chauvin displayed this at its best. First, he did not bother to confirm Mr. Floyd’s concern about him being claustrophobic. Secondly, when Mr. Floyd complained about not getting enough air, he made a snide remark about how talking uses oxygen and that he should shut up and conserve oxygen (BBC.com). Thirdly, he ignored the pleas of bystanders, for instance, the lady who observed Mr. Floyd’s nose bleeding. And lastly, Mr. Chauvin held a man in a chokehold for more than seven minutes. These facts line up with conflict theory, where paramount that the police are this deadly to hold power for the strong and wealthy. Jacobs (1979) observes that “the most direct way to maintain order, one logical implication of conflict theory is that law enforcement personnel should be most numerous in metropolitan areas where differences in economic resources are greatest” (Jacobs 1979).
The New York Times observes that this case is repetitive in the United States, saying that, “The deaths of Eric Garner in New York and George Floyd in Minnesota created national outrage over the use of deadly police restraints. There were many others you didn’t hear about” (NY Times). The issues discussed are presented as social problems in society, making the authors aware of the social conflict that exists. Statements like “Mr. Floyd’s dying words have prompted a national outcry over law enforcement’s deadly toll on African-American people, and they have united much of the country in the sense of outrage that a police officer would not heed a man’s appeal for something as basic as air” (NY Times) makes it very clear that the authors support an idea that terrible crimes have been done towards a specific race of people and it needs to stop. However, in response, the United States president advocated for more force to cumber the riots resulting from deadly police killing on social media.
To conclude, an observation can be made that conflict will always present in a society with unequal distribution of resources. The essay successfully examines the case of George Floyd, including the facts of the case, conflict theory, and how it relates to the deadly police killing and establishes racial-based social conflict and motivations behind the killing. Additionally, the essay observes the purpose of a strong police force in a society with a large income difference between the strong and wealthy and the weak and poor.
References
Bartos, O. J., & Wehr, P. (2002). Using conflict theory. Cambridge University Press.
BBC.com. George Floyd: What happened in the final moments of his life. Retrieved on 2nd November 2020 from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52861726
Hargrove, M. D. (2015). The Brutal Truth about Police Brutality.
Jacobs, D. (1979). Inequality and police strength: Conflict theory and coercive control in metropolitan areas. American Sociological Review, 913-925.
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Review examines the death of a man in police custody who said, ‘I can’t breathe.’ Retrieved on 2nd November 2020 from https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/review-examines-death-of-man-in-police-custody-who-said-i-cant-breathe-2134932/
Nytimes.com. Three Words. 70 Cases. The Tragic History of ‘I Can’t Breathe. Retrieved on 2nd November 2020 from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/28/us/i-cant-breathe-police-arrest.html
Time.com. ‘The Correct Decision.’ NYPD Fires Daniel Pantaleo, Officer Involved in Eric Garner Chokehold Death. Retrieved on 2nd November 2020 from https://time.com/5655525/eric-garner-daniel-pantaleo-fired-decision/
Turner, S. P., & Factor, R. A. (2014). Max Weber and the dispute over reason and value. Routledge.
