Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Crime in the Media Fall 2020

The Media I Chose was a documentary called Crime+Punishment. That has to do with New York police officers. There are many in a graduating class of officers. So, they come out fresh officers. The main problem in the documentary is what they are only worried about, which is just numbers. The people that they are after are African Americans and Latinos. There was a police officer that lived in the South Bronx. His name is Sandy and Latino. There have been a few issues with how he was doing his job that the head officers did not like. They said that his numbers were low and that he had the worst activity of the year. The officers give the other officer numbers that they must complete each day. They told Sandy that he needed to catch up with others. Multiple police officers had mentioned that they had to have a certain number to complete. Drew was another officer that said his numbers were low, and they expect them to be more because he is a black male with dreads. Another officer is a private investigator named Manny “Gomez. He used to be a police officer, but he stopped. The reason for that is he said what the police officers do is keep their mouth shut, so if an officer does an act that they should not then they don’t say anything that they have done. So, they do not confess their wrongs. Manny was not doing that; he was going to speak about whatever he felt that was wrong. He is a private investigator, and he is helping a young male that had been accused several times by the police. He was accused of a shooting that the police accused him of just because of his race. Including another young Latino male that has been harassed by the police. There were kids that the private investigator Manny was talking to, and they mentioned that they were harassed by the police and what the officers did to them. They began to talk about the police reporting other police because they were not doing what they were told. Sandy is a Latino officer and he got in trouble because the CEO police officer said he was not dressed right. It is cold outside, and he had a hat on. The other officer got in trouble because the CEO officer told him to only go after African Americans that are between the ages of 14-21. He did not do it, so they suspended him. It goes to show what the police are most concerned about. They only care for numbers and the many summonses they get for more money. Their targets are blacks and Latinos, and that is why they patrol their neighborhoods. Many kids get arrested with no case, they go into court, and it gets dismissed. It costs money when they make an arrest, and the citizen arrested must pay. Officers would face consequences if they did not have good numbers. There were people out protesting because they are angry and tired of being treated the way they are getting treated. They also pick on their partners that are not white. The investigator was doing interviews for the man Pagero that had been arrested falsely. Issues that are going on with other officers that are causing corruption. It got to the point the police officers told him to step down.  

This documentary goes with a story about Emilio and Tremaine as discussed by Henning (2018). They were two boys who were harassed by the police. The young male Tyramine was charged with a felony for really no reason. All he was doing was playing with his friend. The police decided to pick. The young male Emiliano, he was beaten by several police officers for that young male over a crosswalk. The offense was so unnecessary for him to be beaten. It shows what the police’s intentions are is just to hurt them and how officers treat blacks, and Latinos. The legal socialization is more intense for young black males and Latinos as well (Henning, 2018). Legal socialization is someone who has to understand and appreciate the law. It’s for blsck boys also who are in school with police officers. They cannot ask the police officers without getting hurt. They must stay cautious when it comes to the police and are sad because whites do not. Parents having to instruct their kids when it comes to the police is to not speak, follow instructions, and to avoid any movement (Henning, 2018). If they do any of the sorts, they end up killed or severely injured.  

A key point in the documentary is that police officers are only worried about numbers and they are not concerned about helping the citizens. The fact that the CEO police officer told the guy to only go after black people goes to show who their targets are. They see African Americans as a threat. They already assume that they are criminals just by the color of their skin, and that is wrong. They are not protecting anything but trying to harass others and have the highest number. It’s more as if it’s competition. It is wrong for them to suspend the guy because he did not want to pick on African American kids. Their job is to protect, but their main concern is numbers. The police officers are locking young kids up for no reason. They do use force so they can resist, but the kids try not to because they know what can happen. African Americans and Latinos must be extremely cautious when it comes to the police. The fact that they must pay whenever they get arrested and some people do not have the type of money to pay for the police officer’s false assumptions. They will hurt them for no reason or getting sent to jail because they question “why”. They are supposed to reduce crimes, and they have not. They make problems worse. There are protests even today that people are doing to seek justice.  

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