Below are the winning essays of the Police Brutality essay competition.
16 year old from Lancaster High School; Lancaster, Texas
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"If I was the Police Commissioner or District Attorney what would I do to stop police brutality" The Declaration of Independence guaranteed everyone life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness. Unfortunately, life has been taken, liberty has been stripped away, and the pursuit of happiness has been destroyed. Presently, power is being abused by those who we look to for protection and justice. If given the opportunity to hold a prestigious position as Police Commissioner or District Attorney, I would institute change in 3 steps. My plan would change the narrative, involve the community, and amend the hiring process. Today, police brutality has changed the hopes and dreams of many youth in our communities. To me, ceasing police brutality would mean living the dream instead of dreaming the dream.
We must first begin to change the narrative of what people are actively witnessing at the hands of law enforcement. This includes all negative aspects that people of color are experiencing such as racial profiling, excessive force & brutality, and disrespect. We must allow people to see the good things that law enforcement is capable of doing. We must visualize police active in our diverse communities working, protecting, and serving the people. People must feel safe inside and outside of their homes. Maya Angelou once said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
The second part of my plan would entail involving the community in the hiring process. I would have an ethnically and culturally diverse citizen board who would hold a peer interview with the candidate. It would include people from all walks of life such as an African American single mom, males and females from the LGBT community, business owners from various parts of the community, and those of other alienated races and religions. The group would organize
and present questions from various topics to the candidates. Citizen involvement and not only politician involvement is a necessary piece to stopping police brutality.
The final piece to my plan would include alterations to the psychological exam process. It is used to show that candidates have the mental strength to handle abusive language, violence, horrifying crime scenes, long hours of work. Currently, the psychological exam is at the conclusion of the lengthy hiring process. This process needs to be re-evaluated and restructured for a better outcome. Candidates should be accessed by being placed in real life scenarios similar to an "escape room" or "hell house" to test their ability to handle the physical, emotional and mental aspects of these intense situations. Changing this process could also assist in ending police brutality.
In closing, people of color were promised the American Dream but are now alienated by the hate we give each other politically, socially, and racially. What we must learn and remember is that we are different not defeated. We are authentic not ostracized, we are powerful not pointless, and we are important not incompetent. Putting plans in place to change the negative narrative, incorporating the community, and changing the selection process will help end police brutality.