Opinion: Ferguson decision has ‘everything to do with race’

Chahinaz Seghiri
Wed, 26 Nov 2014 05:31:56 +0000
Area, Campus, Crime, Local, National, News, Opinion, Student Voice, ferguson, Michael Brown, ohio state, opinion, osu, protests, riots

People take to the Oval Nov. 25 in reaction to the events in Ferguson, Mo.
Credit: Elizabeth Tzagournis / Lantern repoter

The decision of the grand jury in the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown has sparked a clear outrage throughout America.

Brown, who was unarmed at the time, was shot during the day Aug. 9 on the streets of Ferguson, Mo. Three autopsies later confirmed he had nine wounds caused by seven or eight bullets. Twelve shots were fired.

The results of the grand jury: the shooter, police officer Darren Wilson, will not face criminal charges.

This is a slap in the face not only to Brown and his family, but to all of America.

We as a nation need to wake up and realize the underlying issue that sparked the controversy from the moment Brown was shot: race.

From the moment Wilson targeted Brown, one can see that there is something deeply wrong about the entire situation.

As an American, I take pride in the fact that our police officers take on a duty to protect us as civilians and to keep our communities safe. But upholding this expectation does not permit an excessive and aggressive use of force.

In the case of Brown, who did not have a weapon at the time of the altercation, was it truly permissible for Wilson as an officer to shoot him multiple times in broad daylight? The decision to shoot Brown was not based on nothing more than Wilson assuming Brown was a threat.

Wilson pretty much took the law beyond what is expected and superseded the power that was given to him as an officer.

Wilson told jurors that Brown was walking down a street with a friend when Wilson told them to move to the sidewalk. Brown responded with an expletive.

Wilson said he noticed Brown had a handful of cigars and had heard a radio report minutes earlier that a nearby convenience store had been robbed. He thought in the moment the two were connected, he testified.

Wilson maneuvered his vehicle in front of Brown and his friend but Brown slammed Wilson’s door shut when Wilson attempted to get out.

After a physical struggle, Brown started to flee the scene and Wilson eventually fired at an unarmed Brown. Brown’s body was found 153 feet from Wilson’s vehicle.

Aside from what Brown was doing before the confrontation and shooting, we must look at the actual time Brown was shot and see if that was justified.

We must question whether there was an immediate threat that justified Wilson shooting Brown multiple times.

Shortly after releasing the decision of the grand jury, CNN released photos taken of Wilson after the shooting of Brown. His face had a bruise on his cheek, but the rest of the supposed injuries he faced weren’t visible from the photos that were taken.

So I ask everyone this: Where is our common sense?

There doesn’t need to be periods of waiting time in order for evidence to be released to know that the situation is so obviously unjust.

The power and the duty to protect civilians does not give an officer the right to profile a person and to use excessive force.

In the case of Brown, not indicting Wilson only means there is a deep issue rooted within our justice system.

The entire situation points to a clear and obvious racial bias within our justice system, which leaves those who are colored or even a minority neglected by a system that claims to be fair to all.

This issue will only allow people who have the mindset of Wilson to plague our nation and further flame the social injustices that so many minorities of all skin types face on a daily basis.

So let’s take a step back from all the mainstream news and realize that what is happening is a cry of injustice that so many have died fighting against.

This is not about a shooting, but rather a systematic corruption that have allowed so many like Wilson to get away with murder.

Crimes committed by white police officers against blacks have once again shown that there needs to be a change within our justice system.

This change must start with those who are given the power to protect us as civilians.

So amidst all of this he-said she-said dialogue, let’s all realize a key part to this whole issue, which is the situation in itself is completely one-sided. At the end of the day, we will only be able to hear the voice of the one who was doing the shooting, not the one who was shot.