US killing cases by police ignite anti-racism

In the US, demonstration against racism is flaming.

（This photo is not relevant to the content of this entry.)

It began originated in some tragic cases. One incident occurred in July 2014. Eric Garner was selling untaxed cigarettes on the street in New York. The police attempted to arrest him. According to the media, although he was neither unarmed or violent, officers knocked him down. Furthermore, he was chocked by the hands of cops, being likely to lead his death.

New York Post: Man dies after suffering heart attack during arrest

Even he had many criminal records, such deal looked excessively cruel. But, what ignited the fury of citizens was the decision not to charge the officer for making him dead by the grand jury. Thousands of protesters got together in Manhattan, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and so forth.

Mail Online: Protests in New York after officer escapes choking charge

Press TV: Demos condemn grand juries for not charging cops for killing blacks

The US government could not ignore the voice of citizens. Eric Holder. a US Attorney General declared to investigate the case in detail.

USA Today: Top U.S. justice official promises probe after NYC police chokehold death

Similar cases sometimes occur in the US. Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was killed by shot on Aug. 9, 2014 by an officer. The shooter was also not charged.

The Guardian: Grand jury decline to charge Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown

Even after this, similar cases seem to recurrently happen.

The Daily Beast: The 14 Teens Killed by Cops Since Michael Brown

The police brutality has been deemed problematic in the US. Discrimination against black people is also an issue. However, there are some point to be clarified in the sequential cases.

First, are they the cases of racism? Or, the victims were black, and the shooters were white, by chance? I think the existence of racism behind the cases will never be proven with each trial. However, some statistics has shown the bias between white and black regarding criminal justice system. For example, the difference of death penalty rates in race is debated.

Death Penalty Information Center

Second, brutal police can result from brutal crimes. The US marks high rate of crimes among developed countries. If police officers always feel unsafe and frightened, it would be no use to ask them to be polite. The worst fact is that any criminals in the US can equip a gun.

In contrast, Japanese police are extremely calm. It is derived not only from the character of Japanese, but also from the low rate of violent crimes.

Therefore, I think it is difficult to indict the shooters. Even if they are punished, other cops would not hesitate to use a gun to protect themselves. And it seems unrealistic to request the police to be fair, unless the cities become more secure, unfortunately.