“Surrender is no guarantee that an armed police officer will not shoot you,” Steven Magee, the author of the book Toxic Electricity, once stated (GoodReads). Over the past several years, police abuse of power has become a significant issue in the United States. Although police abusing their power dates back to the Civil Rights movement, it is still happening today because police have even more power. Some will have the perspective that the police are just doing their job. However, police are not doing their job when they set up a special needs teenager as part of an undercover high school drug sting, or when they shoot a depressed boy whose family called for help. The role of the police is to enforce the law, but sometimes the police think they are the law.
Sometimes, the police can end up being the bad guys. In one case, a special needs boy enrolled at Chaparral High School in Georgia was set up by undercover police. “He suddenly had this friend who was texting him around the clock,” Doug Snodgrass, the father of the teenager, told ABC News (Alternet). The boy had Asperger's and a few other disabilities. He struggled to make friends and this made it easy for the undercover cops to bait him into their trap. One officer quickly befriended the teenager. Little did the boy know that his new friend was a cop who was trying to throw him in jail. His “friend” quickly convinced him into buying drugs for him. It began as a request for the boy’s prescription medicine away, then the officer manipulated the boy into buying marijuana. The boy said no at first, but when the officer offered him $20 to buy the drug, he complied. “Who "hounded" the teenager to sell him his prescription medication,” a statement from ABC News (Alternet).  The teenager was then arrested and placed on trial. The judge ultimately found the teenager innocent and he was not allowed to be expelled. Yet despite this, being found innocent the school has tried many times to suspend and expel the boy due to his previous record. This is just one example of the police abusing their power.

Could you imagine having a depressed family member shot in front of you after calling them for help? That is exactly what happened to the Ramirez family in 2012. Their son suffered from depression, and they called the police to come and help with their son. “Never said that the family was in danger or that a crime was in progress,” recalled George Ramirez, the father of the victim (Alternet). On April 16, 2012 George Ramirez called 9-1-1. He told the police that his son was depressed, and they wanted help. When the responding officer came to the house, he just walked straight inside. The only thing he asked was where he could find their son. When he found him sitting on the couch, he ordered him to get up and put his hands behind his back. While all this was happening, the son started to question the officer about why he was being arrested. The officer then pulled out his taser and tased him from point blank range. The son soon stood up, dazed but awake. Daringly, he said to the officer “Shoot me,” not thinking the officer would shoot. However, the officer shot four times from eight feet away, landing three out of the four shots. Then instead of calling for medical help, the officer had back-up come and place the rest of the family under arrest. “Other sheriff's deputies arrived on scene, none of whom rendered any first aid to Ramirez,” states a compliant record (Alternet). Forty minutes later, their son was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The police in this case did not try and help at all. Instead, they exploited their power to kill and arrest innocent people who had simply called to get help.

In some situations, police abuse of their power does not only harm one family or one person -- it can also harm a whole community or city. This year, a black Milwaukee police officer shot and killed a black man. According to the NYDailyNews, Sylville Smith was shot after fleeing a traffic stop and refusing to drop his gun. Because, the officer inferred Smith might shoot, he shot and killed Sylville. This shooting did not only have an impact on the victim and his family. "The fact is this individual has revealed his character [in ways] that did not come to light during the hiring process," said Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn (NBC).The city, already facing many other problems now massive riots started by angry protesters.  The revolt not only impacted the other officers who were wounded during the protests, but also impacted innocent bystanders. People set fires throughout the city, causing property damage and more, and one eighteen year old was shot in the neck. The city even put a curfew in place for teenagers to keep them out of trouble. As the Milwaukee shooting shows, police abuse of power can have widespread consequences, and even leave a whole city in shambles.

In summation, while the majority of police officers tend to use their power for good, there are some who abuse their power and harm the people they are meant to protect. When police officers take the law into their own hands, the result can be tragic. In the examples above, the officers ended up hurting the civilians they had sworn to protect. It is important to watch over the police and ensure those who act wrong are punished. If other police see officers getting punished they will stay in line and learn from other’s mistakes. If police are not held accountable there will be more unjust police shootings, protests turning into riots, and broken-apart families.

Citations
AlterNet. "12 Shocking Examples of Police Brutality...Just This Month." Alternet. Alternate, 1 Jan. 2016. Web. 18 Dec. 2016.

Violence, Mapping Police. "Police Killed More than 100 Unarmed Black People in 2015." Mapping Police Violence. MAPPING POLICE VIOLENCE, 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 18 Dec. 2016.

Reads, Good. "Quotes About Police Brutality (77 Quotes)." (77 Quotes). Good Reads Inc, 1 Jan. 2016. Web. 18 Dec. 2016.

Ali, Safia Samee. "Cop in Shooting That Sparked Milwaukee Riots Charged with Sex Assault." NBCNews. NBCUniversal News Group, 20 Oct. 2016. Web. 18 Dec. 2016.

Jamieson, Alastair, and Alex Johnson. "Milwaukee Mostly Calm Amid Curfew Following Violent Protests." NBCNews. NBCUniversal News Group, 16 Aug. 2016. Web. 18 Dec. 2016.

Good, Dan, and Christopher Brennan. "Milwaukee Cop Who Killed Sylville Smith Accused of Sex Assault." NY Daily News. NYDailyNews, 20 Oct. 2016. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.