What is police brutality? Police brutality is abusive power using excessive force in situations where it’s not required and where police are assuming the worse for their personal “protection.” Many Police Officers have sworn to protect and serve, but have abused their power and authority to cruelly and assault and manipulate people of color, even if they were innocent. People of color have been attacked and been left with physical and emotional scars that will follow them as the days go by. In order for the Oakland community to trust the police and have a positive relationship, the police need to understand why the community distrusts them so much.
Firstly, people haven’t trusted the police in Oakland because of what has happened in history. In the article “Controversial History Sets Tone for City’s Discord” by Paul Harris from the news source The Guardian he reports “ A 17-year-old Black Panther party member was involved in a shootout with police, but surrendered and stripped down to his underwear to show he was unarmed. However, he died after being shot by police at least 12 times”(Harris). His name was Bobby Hutton. He was one of the youngest and first of the Black Panther Party and was dedicated to making a difference for his people and police relations. On April 6, 1968 Bobby Hutton was shot 12 times and died due to police “assuming” he was armed. Bobby Hutton had many years of life but was taken away so quickly. This clearly shows that police are forgetting history that has left people of color scarred and explains why the community does not trust the police.
Secondly, why should the community trust the police if they kill innocent people still. In the article “The Shooting Death of Oscar Grant: What You Need to Know” by Tom Head from the news source ThoughCo he states “On New Year’s Day, 2009, an Oakland police officer shot and killed an unarmed, pinned suspect.” Oscar Grant was a 22 year-old African American man who was shot by a white police officer that was sentenced to jail for 11 months.”(Head) Oscar Grant clearly said “don’t shoot don’t shoot” demanding that he wasn’t dangerous or armed. The police didn’t cared and killed him anyways. Why should the community trust the police if they killed Oscar Grant who was innocent and others recently.
In addition to the violence that has happened, also when the community calls the police for an emergency they don’t answer which has broken the trust of people of color. A teacher at Life Academy, a high school in Oakland who teaches about police brutality in his government class, named Yuji Okamura stated “when something does happen the police don’t show up and so people don’t trust them” (Okamura). As a teacher from Oakland he sees how people don’t trust the police because they don’t show up. This affects Oakland because more and more crime will happen. But how can we prevent crimes from happening if polices don’t care to help out. This is supported by the article “Oakland police dispatchers slow to answer emergency calls” by East Bay Times which states “37 percent of 911 emergency calls were not answered within industry standards of 10 and 20 seconds” (Tadayon) This confirms that polices don’t answer the phone right away. Due to this the community abandons their calls and don’t bother calling anymore.
Growing up, children are supposed to look up to and feel safe from the Police, but this is not the case showing again the lack of trust. Lastly in a conversation with a 9 year old that goes to Global Family Elementary School in Oakland he said “ the police aren’t my hero because everytime a police passed by my parents they get scared”(Garcia). As young as a 9 year old is scared of police officer. Which shows how he doesn’t trust the police because he is scared that they might come up to them and do something horrible. As young as a 9 year old thinks that if he walks on the streets he might be killed or stopped by a police for looking suspicious. This affects the young community because they will always have that though in there mind that it could be there last day living if they see a police officer because they might be stopped.
Others might say that at the end of the day that the police officer still serve the community no matter what but our community want to be served with respect and hoping we won’t be harmed. The Oakland police need to look at back into history and repair the roots for things to improve today.
In conclusion the police don’t deserve our trust yet, because they keep using abusive force. The Oakland policy #100 clearly says that their department does not tolerate abuse of law enforcement authority but the community is not seeing that which cause them to not be able to trust the police.
Work Cited
Garcia Rafita. “Interview with Rafita Garcia” 10 Dec. 2018.
I interviewed this young 9 year old boy because at least once a week he see a police go by his street. He is a credible source because since we get lots of adults perspective we don’t we give the young community a chance to express how they feel.
Harris Paul. “Controversial History Sets Tone for City’s Discord” 26 Oct. 2011.
This is from the website The Guardian which is a source is credible because the blogger talked about cases that has happened in Oakland that related to police brutality like the story of Oscar Grant.
Head Tom. “The Shooting Death of Oscar Grant: What You Need to Know” 28 Dec 2017. This is from the website ThoughtCo who has education world wide. This is a credible source because Tom Head has been a writer for over than 25 years and has won awards for his very unique writing.
Tadayon Ali. “Oakland Police dispatchers slow to answer emergency calls” 16 Feb. 2018.
This is from the website called East Bay Times which is a newspaper that talks about what happens in the Bay Area. This is a credible source because it was recent and it’s evidence from Oakland which is where we live in.
Okamura, Yuji. “Interview with Yuji Okamura.” 10 Dec. 2018.
I interviewed Yuji Okamura who teaches in his government class at Life Academy in Oakland. They are credible source because Yuji Okamura has been teaching in Oakland for years.
Photo by Artondra Hall 
Dear Yasmin,
I agree that many people do not feel safe around the police, especially minorities such as African Americans, and I believe the system has failed us many times by letting these officers off easy. The police enforcement definitely needs more training as well as more education. Many cops over the years experience trauma which affects their line of duty, but also some police officers do not know how to handle difficult situations and handle the situation violently.
I agree with the author that the police don’t deserve our trust because they kill innocent people and don’t answer emergency calls. In the article, the author says, ” On New Years Day, 2009, an Oakland police officer shot and killed an unarmed, pinned suspect. Oscar Grant was a 22 year old African American man who was shot by, a white police officer that was sentenced to jail for 11 months. Oscar Grant clearly said ” don’t shoot, don’t shoot” demanding that he wasn’t dangerous or armed.” This shows that they killed an innocent man. They also don’t answer emergency calls. In the article, the author says, ” But, how can we prevent crimes from happening if the police don’t care to help out. This is supported by the ” Oakland police dispatchers slow to answer calls which states, ” 37 percent of all emergency calls were not answered within industry standards of 10 and 20 seconds.” This shows that they don’t answer to emergency calls.
Hi Yasmin! I enjoyed reading your blog post. You did a great job clearly organizing your points making sure to support each with researched evidenced. I would encourage you to ask yourself the following questions: Do you think every single police officer is intent on abusing their power? How can the community and police force come together to begin solving this issue? I would love to hear back from you! 🙂
Dear Yasmin,
I am so happy that I got to read your amazing and informative blog because you used real life situations to help support your writing which made your blog so much stronger!
One sentence you wrote that stood out for me was: “This affects the young community because they will always have that thought in there mind that it could be there last day living if they see a police officer because they might be stopped”. This stood out to me because it is not fair that the young community has to grow up in a place where there is a lot of police brutality. They shouldn’t be scared of stepping out of there homes because they can’t trust the police. Your post makes me want to learn more about this topic because I also believe it is important for us as a community to stop police from abusing there power.
I really appreciate your writing and I look forward to reading your future posts as well!
Thank you, Marleni?
Dear Yasmin:
I am saddened by your post, “Do The Police Deserve Our Trust”, because I don’t think it is right for a young 9 year old child to have to see the terror in their parents faces each time a police officer drives by their home. People need to feel safe in their community and especially in their own homes. Uniforms are their to protect and serve not terrorize and harass. One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “… he died after being shot by the police at least 12 times”. I think this is horrible because an innocent man got shot. That poor man stripped down to his underwear to show he was unarmed but was still shot because they believed he was armed. What kind of animal has the audacity to shoot an unarmed man after it is visibly clear he does not have a weapon on his person.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because your research into police brutality and the steps you have in mind for police enforcement to take in order to gain back the trust from the community is not only necessary, but essential. Your examples of what the victims of police brutality have been through are heartbreaking. No man or woman should ever go through what those people have been through. Being shot when unarmed and when repeatedly saying “don’t shoot don’t shoot” is wrong and unforgivable. I hope those officers get their act together and actually start doing what they said they would do, which is protect and serve.
Sincerely, Britney
Dear Yasmin
I am impressed by your post “Do The Police Deserve Our Trust” because you explained many issues that many communities have had with law enforcement such as abusing their power. Also I am impressed on how you expressed the importance on police brutality. One sentence you wrote that stood out to me was, “ Law enforcement have used their power using excessive force in situations where it’s not required and where police are assuming the worse for their personal “protection.” I think this is shocking to read about because law enforcement have continued to abuse their power and nothing has been done to stop it and it has impacted many communities.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because I really find it interesting the topics you write about. Your topic is an issue that many communities deal with and I find it very important that people are informed of what is happening.
Edger Marquez
Dear Yasmin
I am impacted by your post “Do The Police Deserve Our Trust” because it opened up my mind to the reality of law enforcement world and the power they uphold. I also realised that not only due people get injured by the law enforcement(police officers) but they ethier target those of color or white. This article helped me further understand that people who are in the law enforcement need to rethink what they will do before they do it because it will impact children, and people in some shape or form. One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is “ As young as a 9 year old is scared of police officer. Which shows how he doesn’t trust the police because he is scared that they might come up to them and do something horrible.”(par.5) i believe this is thoughtless acting from the law enforcement. In the future we should seek to restrict the officers abilities to act upon a situation .Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because of the great detail your provided such as a witness and your personal insight to the world of law. This was a great peace of writing describing what police brutality causes and its definition.
From:Martin Montes
Dear yasmin,
I am interested in your post “Do the police deserve our trust”because its a controversial issue today that has many aspects to it. I’m also interested because i know oakland is a high crime area in california.
One sentence you wrote that stands out to me is “in conclusion the police don’t deserve our trust yet because they keep using abusive force” i think this is interesting because i think this make the community feel angry and upset because they don’t have anyone to turn to. I also think it makes everyone feel unsafe because they cant call for help.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because i want to know if this issue gets resolved or continuous. I would also like to see if there is any other issues that correspond with this.
Ricardo
Thank you so much for reading and commenting on my blog. I agree how you said that it makes my community angry and upset. Thank you so much for taking your time and reading my blog
Dear Yasmin
I have noticed that you put a lot of time and effort into this blog and how every piece of evidence is relevant to your topic. One part of your blog that stood out was when you interviewed a 9 year child and how they even give their opinion and that you are not just asking adults about their thoughts but a also children too. I hope see another amazing post by you. 🙂
Thank you so much for reading my blog. The part of you comment that stood out to me was how you also agree with me on how we should also get children thoughts. Also thank you for taking your time and reading my blog and being able to comment. Thank you so much for reading my blog.
Dear yasmin i can tell you put a lot of work on your blog and that you did a very good research. I agree with you that ¨Others might say that at the end of the day that the police officer still serve the community no matter what but our community want to be served with respect and hoping we won’t be harmed. The Oakland police need to look at back into history and repair the roots for things to improve today.¨ because it’s true that the police is serving the community but some police officers take advantage of the situation and that’s a problem.Thanks for writing your blog and good job.
What is police brutality? Police brutality is abusive power using excessive force in situations where it’s not required and where police are assuming the worse for their personal “protection.” Many Police Officers have sworn to protect and serve, but have abused their power and authority to cruelly and assault and manipulate people of color, even if they were innocent. People of color have been attacked and been left with physical and emotional scars that will follow them as the days go by. In order for the Oakland community to trust the police and have a positive relationship, the police need to understand why the community distrusts them so much.
Firstly, people haven’t trusted the police in Oakland because of what has happened in history. In the article “Controversial History Sets Tone for City’s Discord” by Paul Harris from the news source The Guardian he reports “ A 17-year-old Black Panther party member was involved in a shootout with police, but surrendered and stripped down to his underwear to show he was unarmed. However, he died after being shot by police at least 12 times”(Harris). His name was Bobby Hutton. He was one of the youngest and first of the Black Panther Party and was dedicated to making a difference for his people and police relations. On April 6, 1968 Bobby Hutton was shot 12 times and died due to police “assuming” he was armed. Bobby Hutton had many years of life but was taken away so quickly. This clearly shows that police are forgetting history that has left people of color scarred and explains why the community does not trust the police.