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Blog #3: Current Event


Detroit police: 127 arrested amid protests Tuesday night

Freedom of Speech Being Denied by Police Force

While we have seen protestors swarm the streets the country, in small suburbs to big cities, the police have met peaceful protestors with violent forces such as teargas, rubber bullets, and arrests. It is undeniable that destruction was done by looters and rioters as well, but when people peacefully protesting are being stripped aware of their First Amendment rights, more anger began to stir in these communities. Peacefully protesting is protected by the First Amendment in the following lines: "abridging the freedom of speech...or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." In this scenario, protestors are having their voices heard; they are doing so peaceful. And they are asking for change within our police and law enforcement systems after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

This specific article gives light to a situation that took place in my home town area of the San Francisco Bay area regarding the issue of protestors being met with violence from law enforcement. A personal friend of mine who was an 18-year-old girl was met with force herself. Due to the inability to breathe and her vision becoming impaired because of the teargas and smoke bombs, she ducked her head and squatted instead of running. Moments later, she described to us being pushed onto the hot concrete freeway with zip ties forced around her wrists. She was then transferred to the local police station where she was handcuffed and shackled, later to be sent in a van to a detention center (jail) 30 minutes further down the road where she was treated as a criminal, held overnight, and then released on no bail for exercising her First Amendment right.

Image above found here

Comments

  1. Prof. SmithJuly 5, 2020 at 4:45 PM

    WOW! That is a very powerful, frightening story about your friend. I hope she is all right! Great job on this blog, too!

    ReplyDelete

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