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Fifth Amendment Definition

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As reported by Max Kutner a senior writer at Newsweek, Nakia Jones, a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio, was hastily awakened by her teenage son exploding into her bedroom on the verge of tears. “Did you see the shooting?”, he asked. “Mom not only am I afraid of being shot by another black male, do I also have to be afraid of somebody who wears the same uniform as you do?”. Two days prior, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 37 year old Alton Sterling was fatally shot numerous times by two law enforcement officers after ostensibly threatening an individual with a gun. A firearm was recovered from the scene and did belong to sterling; however, there was no evidence that Sterling had indeed threatened an individual with the firearm. This goes to show …show more content…
For instance, Law Enforcement exist to prevent crime, protect people form criminals, maintain order and public safety, and enforce laws. The powers police are granted are constrained by the state constitutions and the United States constitution. Amendments exist to ensure the protection of American citizens. Specifically corresponding with the police force, the fourth amendment gives citizens the right to be secure in their own persons. This protects individuals from unlawful seizures as well as searches. Meaning, a police officers must obtain a search warrant before performing the task. The fifth amendment protects against self incrimination. This indicates that no person is required to testify against himself or herself in a criminal investigation and that no individual be administered to a second trial for a previously tried case. With these amendments, the act of unlawful invasion is being avoided, keeping both citizens and law enforcement safe. Just last year in the United States 1,129 people were killed by police officers, and only 1% of those police officers were charged with crime according to William Dudley, the President of Federal Reserve Bank in New York. The abuse of police powers has existed for decades; however, this issue tremendously increased after the shooting of Michael Brown in St. Louis, Missouri, in the year of …show more content…
Because there is an extensive amount of overused force, the tension level between the people and lawmen is at an all time high. According to Steven Greenhut, “tension between law enforcement and citizens hasn’t been this high since the 60s and 70s when riots and targeted cop killings were common”. Just last summer it was found that the amount of confidence people had in police was at it’s all time low since the beating of Rodney King in 1991, which led to massive riots in Los Angeles, California. Citizens look to cops for the protection of their communities and now that the confidence in police is at an all time low, the nation is not sure whom to look to when in need of safekeeping. It’s crucial that the US nation, as a whole rekindles trust back into law enforcement; however, it’s critical that police officers are stipulated to comply with obeying these rules. To ensure that police officers are following these strict policies of power use, it’s crucial that each and everyone receive the proper training and guidance as well as individuals who are truly compassionate about providing protection for the individuals in the community. “It has been found that some go into police because of family tradition or because they want to provide for the community that they grew up in...some because there is a low chance of

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