In 1992, an unarmed black man, Rodney King, was harshly beaten by four Los Angeles
police officers in an inhumane manner. It was this crazy incident that sparked the intense 1992 LA
riots. Have these massive riots put an end to such police brutality towards black people? Well, the
answer is clearly a no. Statistics have found that, in 2016, 6.66 per 1 million black American people
were killed by the police, when compared to only 2.9 per 1 million for white Americans. Even today,
we hear so many cases of police being unfair towards people of color, especially blacks. Although
we mostly hear that black adults face these situations, black minors are also victims of police
discrimination.
police officers in an inhumane manner. It was this crazy incident that sparked the intense 1992 LA
riots. Have these massive riots put an end to such police brutality towards black people? Well, the
answer is clearly a no. Statistics have found that, in 2016, 6.66 per 1 million black American people
were killed by the police, when compared to only 2.9 per 1 million for white Americans. Even today,
we hear so many cases of police being unfair towards people of color, especially blacks. Although
we mostly hear that black adults face these situations, black minors are also victims of police
discrimination.
Recently, an unarmed fifteen year old black boy was shot and killed by a police officer in
Texas. Some investigation found that the kid was just trying to leave a house party because he
thought it was getting very dangerous. Police officer Haber reasoned that there was an altercation
with the vehicle towards the police, but later openly accepted that he ‘misspoke’, and that the car
was actually not driving towards the police, but away from them. He also said, “I don’t feel the
shooting met our core values”. This is simply just one of the several unjust incidents black minors
face. In many areas, when black juveniles are arrested, they are put in adult courts. One such state
is Florida, where two-thirds of the juveniles tried as adults are black people. As an example, in 2011,
16 year old Warren Germain, who was arrested on a burglary charge, was tried as an adult. He was
the only juvenile in an adult boot camp that lasted a year. He said how being with adults who
committed crimes was very difficult, because some of them were actually very bad. I personally
feel that, whether black or white, or whatever race, kids should not be tried as adults. Kids,
irrespective of race, are not that mature, and are still in the process of learning the ‘right’ vs. ‘wrong’.
I hate the general belief that black kids are less “innocent” than white kids. I just find it very
shocking that even black “kids” face police discrimination. I’m very confused about whether the
LA riots have actually made much of a difference in the police discrimination towards black people.
There have been so many protests and arguments, but just when is this unfair cruelty towards blacks
going to end?
Texas. Some investigation found that the kid was just trying to leave a house party because he
thought it was getting very dangerous. Police officer Haber reasoned that there was an altercation
with the vehicle towards the police, but later openly accepted that he ‘misspoke’, and that the car
was actually not driving towards the police, but away from them. He also said, “I don’t feel the
shooting met our core values”. This is simply just one of the several unjust incidents black minors
face. In many areas, when black juveniles are arrested, they are put in adult courts. One such state
is Florida, where two-thirds of the juveniles tried as adults are black people. As an example, in 2011,
16 year old Warren Germain, who was arrested on a burglary charge, was tried as an adult. He was
the only juvenile in an adult boot camp that lasted a year. He said how being with adults who
committed crimes was very difficult, because some of them were actually very bad. I personally
feel that, whether black or white, or whatever race, kids should not be tried as adults. Kids,
irrespective of race, are not that mature, and are still in the process of learning the ‘right’ vs. ‘wrong’.
I hate the general belief that black kids are less “innocent” than white kids. I just find it very
shocking that even black “kids” face police discrimination. I’m very confused about whether the
LA riots have actually made much of a difference in the police discrimination towards black people.
There have been so many protests and arguments, but just when is this unfair cruelty towards blacks
going to end?
Links to sources used:
https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/5/1/15499996/jordan-edwards-police-shooting-texas-balch-
springs
https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/5/1/15499996/jordan-edwards-police-shooting-texas-balch-
springs
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