Mr. Floyd\u2019s death sent shockwaves around the country, and around the world, in a way not seen since Watts, Bloody Sunday, Detroit, the University of Mississippi, and other violent civil rights protests in the 1960s.<\/p>\n
What this shows us is that something is clearly wrong in America. Before we react, it\u2019s important to take a step back and consider the best kind of change.<\/p>\n
Other recent controversial slayings, such as Michael Brown in Missouri in 2014, Philando Castile in Minnesota in 2016, Eric Garner in New York in 2014 and several others produced considerable anger. Each of these deaths involved a police officer using prolonged excessive force.<\/p>\n
Coronavirus lockdowns, while necessary, disproportionately affected<\/a> minorities. The additional hardships of unemployment and homelessness caused by the pandemic have also led to increased frustrations in most communities.<\/p>\n The criminal justice system still unevenly affects minorities. Nationally, black inmates constitute about a third of prison inmates, yet they make up about a tenth of the population. Closer to home, the NYPD has recently arrested forty individuals for violating COVID-19 social distancing requirements. Thirty-five of those arrested were black.<\/p>\n The disproportionate nature of this affliction against minorities is disturbing and a meaningful remedy is necessary.<\/p>\n Floyd\u2019s death served as another example of the systematic use of excessive force on minorities that has been the standard operating procedure in our country. Our legal system has continually upheld this use of excessive force, which has played a major role in creating the current combative atmosphere between minorities and police officers.<\/p>\n Floyd\u2019s death stirred many different reactions. For some, it opened their eyes to how little progress our country has made over the years. For others it was yet another injustice that served as a call to action.<\/p>\nThe Current and Future Role of Police Officers<\/strong><\/h3>\n