On January 7th, 2015, Conor Friedersdorf from The Atlantic writes an analysis shedding light onto an issue that isn’t talked about much when it comes to racial bias within our country’s police force. Friedersdorf collects articles and reports written by others on the topic and explains the hardships that colored officers-specifically in the NYPD- go through once being faced with this ultimatum: Listen to your superiors or lose your job.
As if colored officers being “passed over for promotion” and being “unfairly targeted” by supposed colleagues isn’t enough, Friedersdorf points out that they are forced to perform active racism on the job.
The article gives us a deeper look into the issues with specific stories, including the case of Officer Pedro Serrano, who has experienced racial profiling by the police himself “[a]s a Hispanic walking in the Bronx”. He now is forced to do the same to others who are just as vulnerable to racism as he was, under the command of his superiors (his reaction is shown in the title above).
Friedersdorf further emphasizes this absurdity with records of those of high positions in the police force freely expressing racist language, not excluding the N-word and voicing tactless contempt to people of color. Take a look at this quote obtained from the testimony of an anonymous retired detective.
“They are fucking animals. You make sure if you have to shoot, you shoot them in the head. That way there’s one story,”
These revelations make us question: Should we put our trust into these institutions that allegedly enforce justice and protection, but act upon their own prejudiced opinions and ideas?
Automatic Suspect 