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Steven Shea
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On June 21, 1964 Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney were
murdered near Philadelphia, Mississippi simply in retaliation for their support of civil rights
through the Congress of Racial Equality. Their disappearance led to a massive investigation
code named MIBURN, short for Mississippi Burning, involving over 200 Federal Bureau of
Investigation agents. Once the group of murderers was identified the State of Mississippi
refused to file charges. Almost six months after the murders, nineteen defendants were
The story of these murders is horrible in itself, but the tragedy is compounded by the
fact that one of the key players in the murders was Neshoba County Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price,
also a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Price originally arrested the three on suspicion of arson, a
crime that was actually committed by members of the local KKK. After releasing the trio, Price
hunted them down and, along with other Klansmen, murdered all three (History, 2015).
There are many egregious examples of abuse of police power over minorities from long
before the civil rights movement continuing to present day. FBI Director James Comey, in his
February 12, 2015 speech at Georgetown University, pointed out that the history of law
enforcement and race relations has not always been pretty. Comey stated, Law enforcement
enforced the status quo. A status quo that was brutally unfair to disfavored groups (Comey,
2015). As law enforcement strives to build trust with minority communities it is imperative to
remember the past, a past that is not easily forgotten by those who were targeted.
On August 9, 2014 Michael Brown was tragically killed in a confrontation with local
police in Ferguson, MO (Buchannan et al., 2015). In the wake of Browns death, and other
perceived injustices, protests and movements have sprouted across the United States. Many of
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the protests call attention to alleged, and sometimes obvious, excessive force by police. The
shooting of Walter Scott in April, 2015 might have gone unnoticed were it not for a bystanders
video of the shooting and of the officer planting evidence (Schmidt & Apuzzo, 2015).
and thirty-seven percent of whites, believe that police are more likely to use deadly force on
blacks than whites. The same poll showed that fifty-three percent of whites and only sixteen
percent of African-Americans believe that race does not play a role in police use of deadly force
(Sussman, 2015). The problem is, as Director Comey pointed out, there is no empirical
information on the subject. The Uniform Crime Reporting system, which is voluntary, fails to
collect information regarding the use of force and race. As expressed by Director Comey, In
the absence of good data, all we get are ideological thunderbolts when what we need are
ideological agnostics who use information to try to solve problems (Comey, 2015).
Without unimpeachable data, society is left with perception, prejudice, and attention
grabbing headlines to form opinions and to work toward resolving issues. Donald Trump states
his position on immigration, in part, The impact in terms of crime has been tragic (n.d.). The
statement resonates with voters, but, in reality, study after study shows that, immigration
has a significant negative association with with-in city change in violent crime (Ousey &
Kubrin, 2009). The message is still difficult to transmit widely to overcome societal bias, but at
Director Comey posits that problems with race relations, will not be solved by body
cameras (Comey, 2015). A New York Times poll found that ninety-three percent of African-
Americans and whites favor the use of body worn cameras by police (Sussman, 2015). A
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Americans favor police wearing body cameras (Ewards-Levy, 2015). While body cameras are
not likely to solve all problems of race relations, polls clearly demonstrate the desire of the
citizens that law enforcement serves to provide more accountability through body worn
cameras. Utilizing available technology, while not likely to solve all problems surrounding race,
will help to improve societal confidence in police use of force and, possibly, prevent unrest as
The deaths of New York Police Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos provided a tragic
reminder of the dangers police officers face daily. Director Comey mentioned, They were
minority police officers killed while standing watch in a minority neighborhood. (Comey, 2015).
The man accused of the murders, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, posted on social media references to the
deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, two black men killed in confrontations with police
(Balz & Clement, 2014). There is no indication that Brinsley was targeting a particular race of
police officer, only that he was targeting police due to perceived injustice.
enforcement. Looking forward, as suggested by Director Comey, the nation must move toward
police use of force incidents. Body cameras will not, as indicated by Director Comey, solve race
relations problems with the police; however, the American public overwhelmingly favor the use
of body cameras. The authority of law enforcement derives from the consent of the people to
be governed and, therefore, building trust begins with listening to the demand for
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implementation of trust building technology. Hiring police officers who approximately reflect
the community in which they serve is important to building trust, but society commands that
law enforcement is accountable regardless of the individual officers race, ethnicity, religion, or
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REFERENCES
History.com Staff. (2015, Ocotber 10) Slain civil rights workers found. A&E Networks.
found
Comey, James. (2015, February 12) Law enforcement and race relations. Speech given at
span.org/video/?c4528067/james-comey-full-speech
Buchannan, L., Fessenden, F., Lai, K.K.R., Park, H, Parlapiano, A., Tse, A., Yourish, K. (2015,
August 10) What happened in Ferguson? The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-town-under-
siege-after-police-shooting.html?_r=0
Schmidt, M. & Apuzzo, M. (2015, April 7) South Carolina officer is charged with murder of
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-officer-is-charged-with-
murder-in-black-mans-death.html
Sussman, D. (2015, May 4) Negative view of U.S. race relations grows, poll finds. The New York
race-relations-grows-poll-finds.html?_r=0
Ousey, G. & Kubrin, C. (2009, August 1) Exploring the connection between immigration and
violent crime rates in U.S. Cities, 1980-2000. The Oxford University Press. Retrieved
from https://ole.sandiego.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-642060-dt-content-rid-
2388214_1/courses/LEPSL-500-MASTER/Ousey-
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Immigration_and_Violent_Crime_Rates.pdf
Edwards-Levy, A. (2015, April 16) Police body cameras receive near-universal support in poll.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/16/body-cameras-poll_n_7079184.html
Balz, D. & Clemet, S. (2014, December 27) On racial issues, America is divided both black and
white and red and blue. The Washington Post. Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/on-racial-issues-america-is-divided-both-
black-and-white-and-red-and-blue/2014/12/26/3d2964c8-8d12-11e4-a085-
34e9b9f09a58_story.html