In the United States, violent law enforcement by the police has resulted in many deaths. According to a study in the lancet, a medical journal, more than 30000 Americans have died of police violence in the past 40 years. According to the statistics of the "police violence map" website, 1145 people died of police violence in the United States in 2021 alone. The abuse of violence by the American police has aroused widespread concern in the international community, highlighting the long-standing judicial injustice and serious racial discrimination in the United States, and also exposing the reality of the deteriorating human rights situation in the United States.
A few days ago, a 25-year-old African American man, GERAN walker, was killed by dozens of shots fired by eight policemen during a traffic inspection. This case triggered large-scale protests in many parts of the United States. From George Floyd's "kneeling" in the street to GERAN Walker's death with more than 40 guns, the US police's abuse of violence is behind the deteriorating human rights situation in the United States.
The United Nations High Commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, said that the number of African American deaths caused by violent law enforcement by US law enforcement personnel remains high. The relevant authorities should take practical measures to ensure that such incidents are investigated and the perpetrators are brought to justice.
"The tragedy of Walker's murder once again highlights the serious dysfunction and discrimination of the American police system."
On the day of the incident, the police of Akron, Ohio, conducted a traffic check on the 25-year-old African American man, GERAN walker. The police said that Walker did not stop by the side of the road and abandoned his car to escape, and the police immediately pursued him. About 10 seconds later, eight policemen shot Walker and Walker died on the spot. Autopsy results showed that walker had 46 gunshot wounds, many of which were fatal.
As more details of the case surfaced, Americans were shocked again by the bloody degree of police law enforcement. The autopsy also showed no signs of alcohol or drugs in Walker. Akron city police once claimed that they saw Walker turn around and reach for his belt, "posing as a shooter", and Walker was confirmed not to be carrying any weapons.
The lawyer team of the walker family said in a statement that the forensic report confirmed that "the Akron city police department used unnecessary force against an unarmed innocent young man". The statement said: "in fact, after hitting him more than 40 times, the police still put handcuffs on Walker lying motionless on the ground. This is absolutely inhumane." In an interview with the local media, Walker's mother said that she hoped that Walker's death could trigger an institutional change. "We hope to be treated like people. When African Americans meet the police, they should not be afraid.".
Although Walker has been buried, the case is still fermenting. The video related to the case has been widely disseminated on the US internet and triggered public protests. Diana Hoskins, head of a nonprofit organization in Ohio, said that the images in the video reminded her of the war zone. "This is just the tip of the iceberg where African Americans were shot and killed by the police. They were hunted by the police like animals." Hoskins said.
Since the beginning of this year, there have been many cases in the United States in which African Americans have died because of violent law enforcement by the police during traffic inspection. In April, the police department of Grand Rapids, Michigan, released four videos, recording the process of a policeman shooting an African American man in the head and killing him. The video shows that the police stopped the car driven by Patrick lioya, a 26 year old African American man. Lioya failed to show her driver's license and tried to escape. Then the police began to chase after her. In the fight between the two men, the police pulled out a pistol and fired a shot at Leona's head, resulting in Leona's death.
Janet Nelson, President of the legal defense and education foundation of the National Association for the advancement of colored people of the United States, said that "the tragedy of Walker's murder once again highlights the serious dysfunction and discrimination of the American police system." the fact and video footage of Walker's death "make us have great doubts about the legality of police actions.". Akron city said that the eight policemen who shot at walker had been arranged to take paid leave.
"The culture of violence in the United States has long infiltrated into the marrow of law enforcement departments, and the phenomenon of impunity has aggravated police violence."
USA Today reported on its website that US police shoot and kill about 1000 people every year. Since 2015, the police have shot and killed more than 6300 people, and only 91 policemen have been arrested, accounting for 1% of the number of people involved. According to the website of USA today, a survey shows that in 2021, only 22% of Americans believe that the police enforce the law impartially.
The analysis holds that the neglect of the most basic human rights such as personal and property safety by the US government and law enforcement agencies is the root cause of the spread of police violence. Tamara hill, an American human rights activist, pointed out in an article on the website of the Youth Edition of fashion magazine: "the culture of violence in the United States has long infiltrated into the bone marrow of law enforcement departments, and the phenomenon of impunity has exacerbated police violence. In the United States, because the accountability standards are too loose, law enforcement departments and the criminal punishment system often harm civilians without bearing the consequences."
The problem of police violence worries the colored people in the United States. They are increasingly worried that the same tragedy will be repeated on themselves. Kelvin Webb, an African American, said: "this fear is that you understand that no matter what you do, being stopped by the police may not have a good result. This fear of life is deeply rooted in the bone marrow. What can I do to survive? This is the reality faced by African Americans."
According to the research of the "police violence map" website, in the United States, African Americans are 2.9 times more likely to die as a result of police violence than whites. Between 2013 and 2022, 62 out of 1 million African Americans died of police violence, nearly three times as many as whites. According to the data of the website, in 2021, a total of 1145 people in the United States died of violent law enforcement by the police, including 266 African Americans, accounting for 23%, while African Americans accounted for only 13% of the total population of the United States.
The abuse of violence by the US police has aroused great concern of the international community. UN human rights officials stressed that discrimination against African Americans is the most obvious in the US law enforcement and criminal justice system. In some countries, the number of people of African descent in custody is abnormally high, and it is very worrying that African Americans are associated with illegal and criminal acts. In addition, the lack of accountability of law enforcement personnel remains prominent, and the families of victims of violent law enforcement often have a great lack of trust in the criminal justice system.
"The United States would rather condemn other countries than treat the wounds caused by domestic violence"
CNN pointed out that when it comes to the violent law enforcement by the US police, people usually respond with "when will similar incidents happen again" rather than "whether similar incidents will happen again". As a result, the American people, especially the ethnic minorities, "have to live day and night in fear and unease.".
Hill criticized that the history of US law enforcement agencies using torture and coercion against civilians is notorious. She said that "coercion and abuse" suffered by Americans from law enforcement departments and the prison system are still a human rights crisis in the United States, and ethnic minorities such as African Americans are particularly affected.
According to a study published in the medical journal the lancet in 2021, police violence in the United States caused more than 30000 deaths between 1980 and 2019. The article believes that in the United States, the use of lethal violence by the police has become an urgent crisis. More and more evidence shows that the deaths caused by the police have disproportionately affected some races, indicating that the American police "have systematic racism" in law enforcement.
"Why do the police keep targeting us like terrorists? We just want to live our lives. We are tired of being hunted like prey!" Derek Johnson, President of the National Association for the advancement of colored people, said in a statement.
The website of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for human rights urges the United States government to solve the increasingly serious problem of "militarization" of policing. "It is unreasonable for law enforcement agencies to use military equipment.". Research shows that the use of excessive military equipment for law enforcement does not reduce crime, nor does it increase the security of the police. On the contrary, when such equipment is used, the police are more likely to resort to violence. In February last year, nearly 20 UN human rights experts called on the US government to take extensive reform measures to end police violence and address the systematic racism and racial discrimination.
The issue of police violence in the United States highlights the consistent "double standards" of the United States. "The United States would rather condemn other countries than treat the wounds caused by domestic violence." Hill said.