There has been a large discussion around the Black Lives Matter movement and police disproportional excess and lethal use of force against black people. This reality has struck a national (and international) social movement, which has often been met with law enforcement allegedly using excessive and unconstitutional force against people protesting peacefully as spelled out in the US Constitution. Due to the use of these tactics to engage in crowd control, many police agencies and cities are now steeped civil and civil rights in lawsuits. This will cost local taxpayers even more money.
Fundamental to this use of force is law enforcement detaining, restraining, putting into custody, or searching individuals based on a lack of evidence. For example, the Floyd family has filed a Civil Rights Case because the officers used lethal force and were never in fear of bodily harm. In the Breonna Taylor killing the no-knock warrant was based on weak evidence. In the civil case, the family won 12 million dollars and have cased changes to local law enforcement policy and procedure. There have been additional calls for law enforcement agencies to be abolished or to rethink policing altogether.
Imagine that you are on a task force to address local policing. Answer one of the following critical thinking questions:
1. How do you change policing to ensure the fourth amendment rights of all people are equally maintained?
2. How do you change policing to ensure the first amendment rights of all people are equally maintained?
3. If law enforcement officers or an agency use excessive or lethal force incorrectly how should we address it so justice is reached?