Posted: February 14th, 2023

Police Shooting

Police Shooting
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Police Shooting
Police shootings targeted African Americans have caught the attention of the public and caused a widespread outcry. As a result, both violent and peaceful protests have erupted across the country, demanding justice and racial discrimination. At the same time, questions have been raised on the criminal justice system’s integrity and fairness, as suggested by the term the’ color of justice.’ The police shootings are deemed to be directed towards African Americans due to the high numbers of people from this race who have been victims of this form of treatment. According to Barajas (2018), police brutality across the United States has increased the number of deaths among civilians. For instance, 996 fatal shootings were recorded in 2018, 1004 shooting cases were recorded in 2019, and by 2020 June 506, civilians were shot of which 105 of them were blacks. The rate of fatal police shootings among black communities has been the highest compared to other ethnic communities. The police rate of black American shooting as of June 2020 was at 31 fatal shootings per a million.

According to Koepke, Thomas, and Manning (2019), police brutality in the form of unjustified shooting became a hot and contested issue with the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014. The increased fatal shooting of African Americans has resulted in the rise of a powerful movement against police brutality, such as the Black Lives Matter Movement. Terms such as ‘Color of Justice’ have been used to explain the racial and ethnic discrimination in the U.S. criminal justice system affecting African Americans. Different discriminatory practices in the criminal justice system have been experienced from police practices, criminal behavior patterns and victimization, death penalties, court processing and sentencing, and correctional programs. This paper addresses a recent case of a brutal police shooting involving Antwon Rose Junior that raised a lot of controversy on the ethnically and racially motivated shooting and killings among the police (Koepke, Thomas, and Manning, 2019). Police shootings are perceived as racially and ethnically motivated to target African Americans, such as Antwon Rose Junior. This form of irrationality has raised controversy among the members of the society and activist movements as justice is termed as ‘Color of Justice,’ meaning that justice is defined by racism.
Deadly Police Shooting
Police shooting targeting the African Americans and other ethnic communities in America has raised racial controversy since the criminal justice system is vied to be operating selectively. In this regard, the police shooting case of Antwon Rose Jr. raised a lot of racial controversy as the incident is viewed as racially and ethnically motivated (Barajas, 2018 ). Antwon was a seventeen-year-old African American who was fatally shot by a police officer in East Pittsburgh. He was a student at Woodland Hills High School at the time of his death. During the summer holidays, he worked as a volunteer in a community organization tasked with distributing donated goods to society. A review of his background information showed that he had no criminal record before he met his brutal death and, more so, his other worked as a clerk in a police department. Antwon Rose Jr. has earlier been sworn into East Pittsburgh Police Department before the shooting had been involved in three training with the department Koepke, Thomas, and Manning, 2019). He had seven years of experience with different police departments.

On a fatal day, there was a drive-by shooting event in North Braddock in the evening hours. As the police investigated the incidence, police stopped a car with matching witness descriptions with Antwon Rose Jr. aboard. The vehicle involved in the shooting incident was a silver Chevrolet Cruze with bullet holes on the side. The two suspects matched the witness description were together with Antwon Rose Jr. in the car. The police stopped the car and ordered the driver to step out. As the police were handcuffing the third occupant and Antwon Rose Jr., the two decided to run away from the car (Koepke, Thomas, and Manning, 2019). The police ordered them to stop, but they declined, thus encouraging police officer Rosfeld to fire three rounds that got Antwon Rose. He was rushed to McKeesport Hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival. A bystander recorded the whole shooting incident, and a woman was captured in the footage complaining that the police had shot at them too.
Additionally, Antwon Rose Jr. was shot while he was unarmed (Koepke, Thomas, and Manning, 2019). The events surrounding the killing resulted in widespread protests from members of the public. On a deadly day, there was a hit and run assault occasion in North Braddock in the evening hours. As the police explored the rate, police halted a vehicle with coordinating with witness depictions with Antwon Rose Jr. on board. The vehicle engaged with the shooting episode was a silver Chevrolet Cruze with slug openings as an afterthought. The two speculates coordinated with the observer depiction were along with Antwon Rose Jr. in the vehicle. The police halted the vehicle and requested the driver to venture out. As the police were binding the third tenant and Antwon Rose Jr., the two chose to flee from the vehicle (Koepke, Thomas, and Manning, 2019). The police requested them to stop, yet they declined, along these lines urging cop Rosfeld to fire three adjusts that got Antwon Rose. He was raced to McKeesport Hospital and was articulated dead on appearance. An onlooker recorded the entire shooting episode, and a lady was caught in the recording griping that the police had taken shots at them as well.

Also, Antwon Rose Jr. was shot while he was unarmed (Koepke, Thomas, and Manning, 2019). The occasions encompassing the slaughtering brought about far reaching fights from individuals from general society.

Rosfeld, a police officer involved in the death of Antwon Rose, was placed on leave during the investigation. The medical examiner from Allegheny County classified the death as a homicide. Officer Rosfeld was arrested and charged with criminal homicide after the detectives realized that there were inconsistencies in the officer (Balisacan, 2019). Rosfeld was released on bail. He appeared remorseful during the interviews at the court. After the court trial, he was found innocent of criminal homicide. The court decision resulted in outrage from the public members as it was viewed as racially driven at the expense of African Americans. They continue to be exposed to police brutality.
Social Conflict Theory
The police racially and ethnically motivated shootings and killings directed towards African Americans can be effectively explained using the social conflict theory. The social conflict theory explains that the society and its individuals are arranged in classes that are constantly in conflict when there is an imbalance between the different groups. The social classes are in constant interactions, and thus there are increased chances of engaging conflict (Bystrova and Gottschalk, 2015). Changes in the group, in most cases, result in conflict since the classes cannot achieve the required balance through the changes.
The conflict in social conflict theory is eliminated when the conflicting classes and groups reach a consensus. Regarding the brutal police shooting directed towards African Americans, conflict is based on the social classes defined by different races and ethnicities. The American whites and African Americans are different social classes in constant competition, thus presenting an imbalance in the society manifested by conflicts through the police shooting (Bystrova and Gottschalk, 2015). The whites occupy higher social classes than African Americans. Thus, the two classes are in constant conflict with the whites fighting to maintain the status quo while the blacks fight for societal change to achieve high social and economic levels. African Americans use both legal and illegal means to change their fate and occupy high social levels, thus inclining the criminal justice system to get involved in the conflict to achieve a balance between the societies. Many African Americans find themselves being shot or killed as there is a misconception that they are inclined to using illegal means such as crime to attain high social classes.
The shooting case of Antwon Rose can be perfectly viewed from the lenses of social conflict theories. The victim was in the company of African Americans involved in a drive-by shooting. According to Morin (2014), conflict and violence result from the competition element associated with the social conflict theory. The police came in as an intervention to restore the social balance by arresting the suspects and subjecting them to the criminal justice system’s due process. In the process, the victim and one of the suspected criminals defied the orders and run away, and they were viewed as a threat to the social balancing, thus prompting the police officer to shoot them. The social conflict theory in the case of Antwon Rose Jr. is evidenced by the presence of various parties seeking to restore the social balance (whites, African Americans, and the police). In this case, the criminal justice system presented by the police works towards preventing conflict in society by containing the African Americans from attaining balance in society. Protestors and activists such as ‘Black Lives Matters’ come into the picture to protect African Americans from being murdered or eliminated.
Conclusion
Ethnically and racially motivated shootings to the African Americans can be explained through the social conflict theory. A lot of friction exists between races and ethnic communities occupying different structural classes. The conflict between Whites and black minorities has advanced the conflict, thus compelling the criminal justice system. In the case of Antwon Rose Jr., the shooting was racially motivated since the police did not engage rationality and reason in shooting an unarmed teenager. Therefore, balance in the society should be guided by justice, fairness and equality by the criminal justice system for the effective coexistence of social groups and individuals.

References
Balisacan, R. H. C. (2019). Incorporating Police Provocation into the Fourth Amendment Reasonableness Calculus: A Proposed Post-Mendez Agenda. Harv. CR-CLL Rev., 54, 327.
Barajas, J. (2018). What we know about the police shooting death of Antwon Rose Jr. PBS, June, 25.
Bystrova, E. G., & Gottschalk, P. (2015). Social Conflict Theory and White-collar Criminals: Why does the ruling class punish their own?.
Koepke, D. J., Thomas, D., & Manning, A. (2019). Fatal Encounters. Research in Social Sciences and Technology, 4(1), 30-50.
Morin, R. (2014). Conflict Theory. The Encyclopedia of Theoretical Criminology, 1-4.