Ferguson and New York grand jury decisions incites controversy, protests, violence

On Nov. 24, a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for shooting eighteen year old Michael Brown. After this was announced people all around the country reacted quickly, heading to the streets to protest the decision.This wasn’t the first time America has heard of a white man killing an unarmed black man. The Trayvon Martin case from 2012 is still fresh in the minds of many Americans, making the shooting of Brown the final straw for many people.

Since the shooting on Aug. 10, Americans have been letting the world know what they have to say with peaceful protests in Ferguson and other cities such as New York City and even here in Miami after the grand jury decision was announced. The peaceful protests are not covered as much by the media, as it has its lens turned toward small groups of violent protesters. These violent and supposed “protesters” have been looting and burning local businesses and vandalizing police cars and buildings.

Though the First Amendment protects citizens’ freedom of assembly, it does not support violence or inciting violence during protest. Thus violent demonstrators are being arrested, but the violent protesters don’t make up the bulk of the hundreds of people being arrested. The rising number of arrests is also due to infractions of numerous laws set for when protests occur. For example, protesters must have a permit to demonstrate on the streets, so they protest on sidewalks and public areas. There must also be a permit for the use of megaphones because protests cannot be too loud and disrupt the city. Protesters can also be arrested for marching on private property, not following police orders, blocking the sidewalk and disrupting traffic.

Adding more fuel to the flames of anger in the protesters was the chokehold death of African-American Eric Garner in New York by another white officer named Daniel Pantaleo. Now protests in New York City and California have grown dramatically alongside Ferguson protestors with signs that read, “I can’t breathe!” which is what Garner was recorded as saying several times after being held down and handcuffed. Garner was sent to the hospital and announced by New York City’s Medical Examiner’s Office as dead an hour later from due to “compression to the neck, compression to the body, and prone positioning, along with asthma, heart disease and obesity as contributing factors.”

On Dec. 3, the grand jury also chose not to indict Pantaleo for any criminal charges but was stripped of his badge and gun by the New York Police Department (NYPD). Protesters don’t care about facts; they want to see Wilson and Pantaleo behind bars, a “white” man shooting an unarmed “black” man has to be punished. It doesn’t matter whether they resisted or fought against the officer. Protesters also seek what they call “justice” ; they want police officers throughout the United States to have stricter forms of controlling police brutality. After considering everything that has been occurring, it’s as if America is deepening old wounds, where the color of one’s skin classified who a person was. African-Americans are becoming more sensitive as memories of years of oppression and segregation return to them.

In today’s climate, it appears almost impossible to discuss issues of police brutality and racial profiling separately.