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One major flaw within the United States’ criminal justice system is the policing and the effect they have had on the community they are serving. For many years, the tactics and methods used by police officers in America have been questioned by their communities. One particular method brought into question is the amount of force used by officers, especially when it comes to the use of weapons. American police officers have been judged in the past about the force they have used, their weapons, leading people to question if these actions were even necessary. These actions have been especially questioned by the African American community, who have been most affected by gun violence by the police. Of the people killed by the police department, most have been African American. The African American community has been looked over and over again, now with the repeated murders of their own by law enforcements, they are taking a stand. Now citizens of the United States are bounding together to fight for police reform. One organization leading the charge is Campaign Zero. Campaign Zero is fighting the battle of police reform by breaking down policing issues into three separate categories. These three categories consist of limiting police interventions, improving community interactions, and ensuring accountability. These three steps are just the beginning steps that can be taken towards a new form of policing in the United States.

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 Relate issue to two different provisions or rules of the Bill of Rights or 14 Amendment (see this for reference)

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 Relate issue to two different provisions or rules of the Bill of Rights or 14 Amendment (see this for reference)

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The Fourth Amendment protects the rights of the citizens, by not allowing law enforcement to search their person, home, or vehicle unless there is reasonable suspicion or a warrant allowing such behavior.

The Fifth Amendment gives all citizens due process of law, meaning they will have the right to a fair speedy trial, in front of civilian eye witnesses and a judge where they can plead not guilty or guilty.

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Descriptions of people involved in or impacted by this issue (3)

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Descriptions of people involved in or impacted by this issue (3)

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Rodney King - Rodney King was a victim of police brutality. He was African-American man who on March 3, 1991, King was beaten by LAPD officers during his arrest. King was being pulled over after a high-speed chase, for driving while intoxicated on I-210. A rare occurrence happened during this time when George Holliday, (an uninvolved individual), filmed the brutal attack from his nearby balcony. He went on to send the footage to local news station KTLA. The officers wrote on their police report lies to cover up the brutal beating. However, the footage showed an unarmed King on the ground being beaten after initially evading arrest. The incident was covered by news media around the world and caused a public furor. King took the officers to court however, with a predominately white Jury and Judge, all 4 officers apart of the trial were aquitted. King claims that he was scared for his life, not knowing if he was going to survive that night. People took to the streets and started riots, killing 63 and injuring 2,383 more people in the LA area. The case was then prosecuted by the federal government and 2 of the 4 men were given prison terms. Rodney King inherited 3.8 million dollars in damages and lived to tell the story of how he was brutally beaten by law enforcement.

Botham Jean - Botham Jean was sitting in his apartment eating ice cream when he was shot by Officer Amber Guyger. Guyger thought she was on her floor, entering her own apartment, when she saw that the door was nudged open. She had thought that Jean was an intruder in her own apartment and ended up shooting him. She then called 9-1-1, however it wasn’t till after he passed that she realized she was on the wrong floor. She had lived directly below Jean and the floors looked very identical, however, this doesn’t excuse the fact that there were many chances for her to realize that it was not her apartment. As an officer she should know how to take hints, and de-escalate a situation.

Breonna Taylor - Breonna Taylor was asleep next to her boyfriend at the time, in her home the night she was murdered by police. 3 Police officers were carrying out a search warrant related to a drug case. Taylor’s boyfriend assumed, like any other human being, that there were intruders in their house. He shot his licensed gun at the officers, who then returned fire. 8 bullets hit and killed an unarmed Breonna Taylor, in her own home. However, these officers were not charged for taking the life of an innocent and unarmed African american. The 3 officers resigned from their duties, and Taylor’s loved ones received 12m in damages and the loss of their loved one. It’s upsetting to me how something like the murder of someone, in their own home is justifiable. It also sickens me how these officers were not charged for their crimes.

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This graphic shows the different ways we can go about reframing the police department. The three main ways are police interventions (blue), improving community interactions (orange), and ensuring accountability (green). This image is from Campaign Zero.

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This graphic shows police body camera reports for the 30 largest cities in the United States. The five categories that were reviewed were coverage, fairness, transparency, privacy, and accountability. This image is from Campaign Zero.

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In 2014, 1,046 people were killed by the police. Of those 1,046 people, 656 people (62.7%) did not have a gun. This image is from Campaign Zero.

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In 2019, there were only 27 days in the entire year where the police did not kill someone. Most of these days, unfortunately, had three or more police related killings on a given day. This image is from Campaign Zero.

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This graphic shows the different kinds of policing in other countries. Police in the United States in 2014 killed over 1,000 people, whereas in 2011 the police forces in Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan combined killed 14 people. This image is from Campaign Zero.

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One person that is fighting the criminal justice issue of policing is Andrew Mills. Mills is the Police Chief of Santa Cruz Police Department. Since 2018, the Santa Cruz Police Department has been using Neighborhood Policing Teams. The Neighborhood Policing Teams consist of unarmed officers to solve lower level crimes. The goal is to prevent conflict and help identify issues that may be occuring, and instead of just solving them, but finding solutions to ensure there are no future offenses. "With neighborhood policing, we work with the community to understand the problems associated with that neighborhood”, Chief Mills said. One example of the Neighborhood Policing Teams in action was when the Santa Cruz Finance Department called complaining about people doing drugs and urinating in the parking lot. Chief Mills sent an officer to meet with the employees of the Santa Cruz Finance Department to find solutions of people loitering in the parking lot. After conversation, they decided to add low leveling fencing and signs deterring loitering from the parking lot. Ever since, there have been no issues. The Santa Cruz Police Department and Chief Andrew Mills are just one example of how the police can work with the community to find peaceful and non-violent solutions to everyday problems.

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Justice in Policing Act of 2020

The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 is meant to establish a national standard for the operation of police departments, mandate data collection on police encounters, reprogram existing funds to invest in transformative community-based policing programs, and streamline federal law to prosecute excessive force and establish independent prosecutors for police investigations

The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 is beneficial and will advance justice because it will make it easier for the federal government to successfully prosecute police misconduct cases, end racial and religious profiling and eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement.

Ending Qualified Immunity Act

Qualified immunity protects government officials, including police officers from being held liable for their actions while performing on the job, even if they violate others’ civil rights unless their actions clearly violate federal law. Meaning their actions must violate a written law and there must be an earlier judicial ruling that the specific actions are unlawful.

Ending qualified immunity will be good because it will hold police more accountable for their actions because they will not be able to perform harsh and cruel acts without the worry of punishment or reprimands.

“Defunding the police”

“Defunding the police” initiatives aim to take the overabundance of money given to police stations and departments and give them back to the community to make these communities better and safer so the need for the police presence is not as serious.

This initiative will advance justice because more funding towards bettering the community and things within the community such as schools, health care, and other vital programs. An example of bad usage of funding is New York City who spends more on policing than it does on the Departments of Health, Homeless Services, Housing Preservation and Development, and Youth and Community Development combined.

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About the Author Mary Zerkel Mary Zerkel is coordinator of AF, et al. “6 Reasons Why It's Time to Defund the Police.” American Friends Service Committee, 16 Sept. 2021, https://www.afsc.org/blogs/news-and-commentary/6-reasons-why-its-time-to-defund-police.

“ACLU News & Commentary.” American Civil Liberties Union, https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/ending-qualified-immunity-once-and-for-all-is-the-next-step-in-holding-police-accountable/.

Chughtai, Alia. “Know Their Names: Black People Killed by the Police in the US.” Al Jazeera Interactives, Al Jazeera, 7 July 2021, https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2020/know-their-names/index.html.

“Criminal Amendments in the Bill of Rights.” Criminal Defense Law Center, 7 Jan. 2020, https://www.criminaldefenselawcenterwestmichigan.com/criminal-amendments-in-the-bill-of-rights/.

Ending Qualified Immunity Act - Ayanna Pressley. https://pressley.house.gov/sites/pressley.house.gov/files/Ending%20Qualified%20Immunity%20Act%20One%20Pager.pdf.

“The Game (Ft. 2 Chainz, Curren$y, Diddy, DJ Khaled, Fabolous, King Pharaoh, Problem, Rick Ross, Swizz Beatz, TGT, Wale & Yo Gotti) – Don't Shoot.” Genius, https://genius.com/The-game-dont-shoot-lyrics.

George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 Summary - TQPEY. https://tqpey.blogspot.com/2021/06/george-floyd-justice-in-policing-act-of.html.

Guerrero, Juan Carlos. “Is There a Better Way to Police? One California City May Have Found the Answer.” ABC7 San Francisco, KGO-TV, 15 July 2021, https://abc7news.com/police-reform-community-policing-unarmed-officers-better-tactics/10872830/.

H.R.1470 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Ending Qualified ... https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1470.

“Kendrick Lamar – Alright.” Genius, https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-alright-lyrics.

“Lil Baby – the Bigger Picture.” Genius, https://genius.com/Lil-baby-the-bigger-picture-lyrics.

php5developer.com. “Website Review: Joincampaignzero.org.” Website Review | Joincampaignzero.org, https://9en.us/en/www/joincampaignzero.org.

“Pin by 筱 何 on 关于熊猫: Panda Wallpapers, Panda Artwork, Panda.” Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/681873199815372640/.

“The Problem.” Campaign Zero, https://campaignzero.org/problem.

“Reports.” Campaign Zero, https://campaignzero.org/reports.

“Rodney King.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 19 Oct. 2020, https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/rodney-king.

“What Does the Fourth Amendment Mean?” United States Courts, https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/what-does-0.

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1. The Bigger Picture - Lil Baby

Lil Baby said,  “It's bigger than black and white

It's a problem with the whole way of life

It can't change overnight

But we gotta start somewhere”

Through him saying this, he is explaining that the racial problem in America is no longer a matter of simply Black and White, but rather a systemic problem with the nations and its laws/ruling, especially by the police force.

2. Alright - Kendrick Lamar

The song “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar was made in response to the killing of Michael Brown and many other African Americans in America. The main punchline of the song “We gon be alright” became a very popular chant at the protests and marches of these killings.

3. Don’t Shoot - The Game

The Game wrote this song in response to the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. He is rapping about how even when “Our” meaning black people’s hands are up and they’re pleading with the police they still end up dead. He also says,  “God ain't put us on the earth to get murdered, it's murder.” The nature of the statement "In God We Trust" which can be seen on many things which the government, especially the police, represents and stands by seems to be contradicted here because many people within America especially African Americans are being murdered and treated as less than.