Police officers spend all their working hours dealing with people at their worst, which means that it’s very likely that they’ll have to make decisions of great significance to the lives of others, including potentially ending them. While good training and experience can help decrease the chance of making a mistake in this area, there are still times when these situations occur.
A deadly confrontation between a man and police can be devastating for the families of both the victim and the officer who took them into custody. The incident in McKeesport, PA, was no exception to this rule.
To serve and protect?
When a person is arrested, they have the right to a lawyer and the right to a fair hearing in order to protect their rights and interests. It is the police officer’s job to help ensure that a person can get this protection.
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The police officers also have a legal obligation to keep a person’s health and well-being in mind. This means that they have to ensure that the person they are arresting is able to receive medical treatment when they need it.
For example, if they are concerned about the person they are arresting’s breathing, they may have to ask for emergency help, or they might have to put them on an oxygen machine in the vehicle. During these interactions, the police officer has to consider all of the factors that could cause the person to be harmed, such as their age or condition.
In addition to the police officer’s duty to be a good steward of the public’s safety, they have a moral obligation to be fair and consistent with their actions in their line of duty. To achieve this, individuals must acknowledge their biases and preconceptions.
A change has to happen with the law
This can be challenging, especially with minorities or those with a history of violence. As a result, there have been several high-profile incidents of police brutality over the years.
One of those incidents involved George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police in 2020. In the case of Floyd, Hennepin County prosecutors charged a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, with third-degree murder and aggravated assault, based on witness videos that show him pinning George Floyd to the ground while keeping his knee over his neck for eight minutes and 15 seconds.
should one man have all that power?
The video footage has helped raise questions about the actions of police in general, and how they should be treated. Since the Floyd murder, there have been a number of similar cases across the country, including in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and Philadelphia.
A recent incident in Memphis, TN, shows how these issues can affect the city as a whole. In January, Memphis resident Tamir Nichols was arrested and then beaten by five officers who family attorneys called a “savage beating.”
The video footage, which was released on Wednesday, has been the subject of much media coverage as well as a national protest movement against police brutality. As a result, a number of law enforcement agencies around the country have opened a civil rights investigation into Nichols’ death.
