Profiling By Steven Rodriguez: Article Analysis

All throughout America, individuals are taught at a young age that police officers are always the “good guys.” Police officers are painted to be trustworthy, honorable, and advocates of justice. This idea is often displayed in the media through television shows, movies, and news specials. For some, this idea still holds truth, however there are many, particularly individuals of color, whom would quickly disagree. Numerous persons of color have been subjected to racial profiling by officers resulting in stops, searches, and false accusation of crimes. In the Coloradoan’s article entitled, “Profiling happens right here in Fort Collins,” Steven Rodriguez expresses his frustrations and personal experiences with being racial profiled by police officers

Rodriguez explains, “I was pulled over… in southeastern Colorado. I was asked to vacate my vehicle, then thrown onto the hood of my car… I was frisked and told to place my fingers behind my head… The officer kicked my legs apart and bent me backward while reading me rights” (Rodriguez, 1). This frightening encounter experienced by the author is similar to the stop and frisks individuals of a color residing in New York are commonly subjected to. Neither Rodriguez nor the majority of the individuals who are stopped and frisked are responsible of any illegal behavior, yet are forced by police officers to comply with their orders (Lecture, Role of Police). During lecture, it was mentioned that, “Because police engage on an individual level, we must investigate the police as a group to determine if they have biases.” (Lecture, Role of Police). This statement requires society as a whole to evaluate whether or not police officers are justified in their actions. There are several questions members of society should ask themselves when contemplating their evaluation. For example, why is it that police officers across America are guilty of racially profiling individuals? Are these biases learned through a corrupt justice system or are they biases police officers have been conditioned to believe through various mediums such as the media? These are only a few of the many

These racial biases are detrimental to society because it leads to many innocent individuals becoming incarcerated. Though officers appropriately released Rodriguez, many others are not as lucky, thus creating a large population of colored individuals in prison. The disproportional ratio of whites to colored inmates perhaps only feeds racial biases because individuals of color are the ones who understood to be criminals. Another important aspect worth investigation is whether or not racial profiling by police officers is a result of the corrupt views of racist officers. A video shown during lecture displayed interviews with officers whom admitted to seeing racism in some of their fellow officers, and often turning a blind eye towards it. How can society tell their children that police officers are the “good guys” if many of them are in fact, racist or cowardly individuals that frequently ignore the