On Friday a Texas deputy was shot dead at a gas station. Today Shannon J. Miles is charged with capital murder after shooting Darren Goforth, a deputy in the Houston area, while he was stopped at a gas station to refuel. Miles reportedly walked up behind Goforth and shot him in the head, Goforth fell to the ground but Miles continued to shoot Goforth relentlessly, eventually being forced to stop after emptying the clip. Shannon J. Miles, age 30, has a record dating as far back as 2005 and has been sent to a mental hospital for several months in the past. The motive behind the shooting is still unknown but authorities believe that Goforth was targeted because he was in uniform. Deputy Darren Goforth, age 47, has left behind a wife and two children, his funeral is scheduled for Friday.
Lately the tensions between the Police and the public have been high with all the recent shootings and hostile treatment of people of color. This shooting is another horrible incident where someone who is supposed to help and protect the public was killed because of his job and what his peers have done recently. People seem to get this picture in their head of others and begin to stereotype and judge people like them, they think, "If one cop is like this than all cops must be like this," or, "All black people are the same," etc, but that's not the case. Every person is an individual and it's neither right nor fair to go around having these thoughts already in your head of people before you have even meet them. Unfortunately, Miles acted rashly on his opinion and a good officer was lost.
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It's sad that Deputy Goforth is dead. Especially when this issue can be resolved peacefully. The police force has gotten a bad reputation recently, but there are a few bad apples in every profession. A medical student who graduates last in their class is still considered a doctor. Police officers have a job only because they want to protect people in their community and anyone who attacks them is hurting the community as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you said about being stereotyped into a certain category based on what others have done. It is unfair and cruel to the innocent individuals who were harmed because of other people's choices.
ReplyDelete-Victoria Garza