Local Context
Living in a community with a majority of black and Latino, unjust treatment from police forces is something we experience often. According to the constitution we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But how can one be happy when you see your people being mistreated. How can one have the right to life but another have the right to take your life away? How can one have liberty when you are constantly being oppressed and treated unfairly with no power to do anything about it? The Chicago police department is said to have a high rate of cases in which the police department has abused their power and nothing's done about it according to an article on the Huff post by Joseph Erbantraut.
Chicago, according to The New York Times, has been found to have more cases of police brutality than the national average. The national average among large police departments for excessive-force complaints is 9.5 per 100 full-time officers. For a department of Chicago’s size (13,500) that would correspond to 1,283 complaints a year. However, citizens filed about 1,774 brutality complaints a year against Chicago officers. From 2002 to 2004 civilians filed 10,149 complaints accusing officers of excessive force, illegal searches and false arrests, and of abusing them sexually or because of race but of those 10,149, enough evidence to charge officers of abuse was 1 percent, 124 of the 10,149. Only 19 led to a suspension for a week or more. How can one fight corruption when literally nothing can be done with little to no evidence?
This illustrates the idea in which many officers can get away with many things that restrict the rights of the people including our freedom of speech. As police forces continue to abuse their power and people continue to get oppressed, our voices become powerless due to the lack of action that is being done to those officers who do wrong. Even when protest are being held, the people are continued to be subdued. For example, in 1968 during the democratic national convention police filled with confusion began to swing their baton at the crowd kicking them out of lincoln park where they later charged at them in the streets using excessive force as the protesters were taunting them.
However, there are instances where the people become the aggressors. For example, in the Baltimore protests, people began to get out of hand as peaceful protest became riots, riots that lasted for days. Violence and anger fled the streets as protesters began to damage property and people, even six police officers were injured. There’s always other alternative though.
Throughout Chicago there are many organizations in which help the minorities and those of people of color that are being abused and help them center their voice so they can be heard. We Charge Genocide (WCG) are a volunteer, intergenerational group of people which brought the topic of Police Brutality in Chicago to the United Nations.
Chicago, according to The New York Times, has been found to have more cases of police brutality than the national average. The national average among large police departments for excessive-force complaints is 9.5 per 100 full-time officers. For a department of Chicago’s size (13,500) that would correspond to 1,283 complaints a year. However, citizens filed about 1,774 brutality complaints a year against Chicago officers. From 2002 to 2004 civilians filed 10,149 complaints accusing officers of excessive force, illegal searches and false arrests, and of abusing them sexually or because of race but of those 10,149, enough evidence to charge officers of abuse was 1 percent, 124 of the 10,149. Only 19 led to a suspension for a week or more. How can one fight corruption when literally nothing can be done with little to no evidence?
This illustrates the idea in which many officers can get away with many things that restrict the rights of the people including our freedom of speech. As police forces continue to abuse their power and people continue to get oppressed, our voices become powerless due to the lack of action that is being done to those officers who do wrong. Even when protest are being held, the people are continued to be subdued. For example, in 1968 during the democratic national convention police filled with confusion began to swing their baton at the crowd kicking them out of lincoln park where they later charged at them in the streets using excessive force as the protesters were taunting them.
However, there are instances where the people become the aggressors. For example, in the Baltimore protests, people began to get out of hand as peaceful protest became riots, riots that lasted for days. Violence and anger fled the streets as protesters began to damage property and people, even six police officers were injured. There’s always other alternative though.
Throughout Chicago there are many organizations in which help the minorities and those of people of color that are being abused and help them center their voice so they can be heard. We Charge Genocide (WCG) are a volunteer, intergenerational group of people which brought the topic of Police Brutality in Chicago to the United Nations.