Personal Stories
There are all too many real life stories and testimonies about racial profiling that have been documented, both in the United States and the United Kingdom. Attached below are just a few examples illustrating the severity and commonality of this issue.
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United States:
Trayvon Martin Case:
In 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. Martin was unarmed. Zimmerman claimed self-defense as his excuse for his actions. In court, this claim is what got Zimmerman acquitted for his murder charges. The Department of Justice went on to review this case for potential civil rights violations, but filed no additional charges due to what they believed was a lack of evidence. Zimmerman's lack of punishment was largely due to the state of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which states that if someone is under physical attack that they can respond in kind. However, many argued that this was an invalid use of this law, as Martin was not actually being aggressive or violent towards Zimmerman until Zimmerman attacked him. Many people believed that Zimmerman was not at all actually acting out of self-defense, but instead out of racism when he chose to become aggressive with Martin. Many are also quick to point out that if the roles were reversed and it was a black man attacking a non-black man, the court would be far less likely to allow the attacker to walk away without punishment, or allow the Stand Your Ground law to be a valid excuse for his actions.
In 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. Martin was unarmed. Zimmerman claimed self-defense as his excuse for his actions. In court, this claim is what got Zimmerman acquitted for his murder charges. The Department of Justice went on to review this case for potential civil rights violations, but filed no additional charges due to what they believed was a lack of evidence. Zimmerman's lack of punishment was largely due to the state of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which states that if someone is under physical attack that they can respond in kind. However, many argued that this was an invalid use of this law, as Martin was not actually being aggressive or violent towards Zimmerman until Zimmerman attacked him. Many people believed that Zimmerman was not at all actually acting out of self-defense, but instead out of racism when he chose to become aggressive with Martin. Many are also quick to point out that if the roles were reversed and it was a black man attacking a non-black man, the court would be far less likely to allow the attacker to walk away without punishment, or allow the Stand Your Ground law to be a valid excuse for his actions.
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Freddie Gray Case:
In 2015, 25-year-old Freddie Gray was arrested by Baltimore, Maryland police officers for possessing a knife. While being transported in a police van, Gray sustained injuries to his spinal cord that are believed to be the cause of his subsequent death. All six Baltimore police officers linked to the incident were either acquitted, experienced a mistrial, or simply had their charges dropped. Where race comes into play here is that many argued that if Freddie were a white person instead of African American that he would have not been arrested for such a minor offense in the first place or been injured so severely. Additionally, the police officers involved may have been investigated more or subsequently punished more if this were the case.
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Michael Brown Case:
In 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown Jr. was shot six times and subsequently killed by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson. Although there was a sizable amount of evidence pointing to Wilson committing manslaughter, in the end Wilson faced no charges. There was no official trail for this case, and instead it was elected by the St. Louis County prosecutor's office to present the evidence to a grand jury. The argument of racial inequality comes into play here because with how much evidence there was against Wilson, it is shocking that he was not investigated further and walked away with out any charges or without even having to go on trial.
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United Kingdom:
Sean Rigg Case:
In 2008, 40-year-old Sean Rigg died as a result of cardiac arrest while in police custody in South London, England. Protests erupted due to this incident as many believed that the officers involved in Rigg's arrest did not treat Rigg appropriately, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. This case sparked protests demanding improved police treatment of subjects with mental health issues in addition to a conversation about racial inequality, seeing that Rigg was black. The argument arose that if Rigg were white and did not have schizophrenia, he would have been handled in a much more appropriate, careful way by police. In the end, five of the police officers involved were cleared of misconduct charges over Rigg's death while in custody. This ruling came after a very long, drawn-out trial where, as it seemed like to many, substantial evidence was presented pointing towards unnecessary violence on behalf of the police officers. However, in the end, the charges were still dropped.
In 2008, 40-year-old Sean Rigg died as a result of cardiac arrest while in police custody in South London, England. Protests erupted due to this incident as many believed that the officers involved in Rigg's arrest did not treat Rigg appropriately, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. This case sparked protests demanding improved police treatment of subjects with mental health issues in addition to a conversation about racial inequality, seeing that Rigg was black. The argument arose that if Rigg were white and did not have schizophrenia, he would have been handled in a much more appropriate, careful way by police. In the end, five of the police officers involved were cleared of misconduct charges over Rigg's death while in custody. This ruling came after a very long, drawn-out trial where, as it seemed like to many, substantial evidence was presented pointing towards unnecessary violence on behalf of the police officers. However, in the end, the charges were still dropped.
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Christopher Alder Case:
In 1998, 38-year-old Christopher Alder died while in police custody in Kingston upon Hull, England. Police negligence and brutality were cited by many as contributing factors to Alder's death. Five police officers were put on trial, but all were acquitted on orders of the judge. It was not until 2011 that the government formally apologized to Alder's family in regards to this case and admitted to not carrying out the case to the fullest of their capabilities. This leads to the question of why, if the government itself was aware of the disproportionate mistreatment Alder faced, nothing more was done for him or why all the police officers chose to act in such a violent manner in the first place, and then were subsequently not at all held accountable when put on trial. In this case, it appears due to the government's judicial actions, that there was definite racial bias surrounding this case, and that justice for Alder was not as much as a priority in the eyes of the law as the defense of the police officers involved.
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Sarah Reed Case:
In 2016, 32-year-old Sarah Reed passed away while in Holloway Prison in London, England. The final cause of her death was ruled by the court to be a denial of medical treatment, although at first the cause of death was ruled as suicide. Reed had suffered for years with mental health issues. However, her assault by police officer PC James Kiddie in 2012 was a major escalating factor in the decline of her mental health. This case sparked a conversation about the unjust treatment of those with mental illnesses within the country's judicial system, as well as a conversation about racial injustice, seeing as Reed was not white, and Kiddie was. The argument here was that if more had been done to help Reed from the start, especially following her assault by Kiddie, that she would have never found herself going down such a dark path. One of the main reasons that people pointed to as to why she was not assisted more or was so violently targeted by Kiddie in the first place was her race.
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Citations are available on "Sources" tab.