The U.S War on Police; Lauren Bush; 9th

On August 28, Deputy Darren H. Goforth was putting gas into his patrol car when a man identified as Shannon J. Miles approached from behind and shot him 15 times, officials said. Last month, a Birmingham, Alabama police officer was “pistol-whipped” unconscious, claiming he hesitated to use force because he didn't want to be accused of killing an unarmed citizen.

This year, three officers have been killed because they were law enforcement as well as nine officers in 2014. U.S law enforcement officers say they feel, “under siege” after a series of hostile attacks toward police. "A lot of officers are being too cautious because of what's going on in the media, I hesitated because I didn't want to be in the media,” said one anonymous officer. The controversial killings by officers in Ferguson, Missouri and other places have caused a distrust toward police, officers say.

Defense attorney and former prosecutor, Harris, states that, ”Any fatality, any shooting, any murder of a police officer is a tragedy for that officer, the family and society -- and any one of them is one too many. But there's no evidence of an open war on police. In fact, the evidence is to the contrary.” Police gun related deaths are down 16% this year nation-wide, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. There have been 26 firearms-related police deaths this year, and 31 in 2014.

Despite the drop in police shootings this year, Goforth’s death has drawn national attention to the issue. Critics of the Obama administration blame the White House for what they say is a rise in “anti-police rhetoric”. President Barack Obama has said, "Targeting police officers is completely unacceptable -- an affront to civilized society.”

I think that this unproved war on police is going to backfire on the citizens eventually. The fear of being targeted is lowering police force numbers nation-wide. If officials are scared to enforce the law, then we’ll have all kinds of criminals running through the streets. Although I do believe these recent police-caused killings are immoral, citizens should choose to fight back in more effective ways.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/04/us/us-police-feel-under-siege/index.html