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    Topic Proposal

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    This document is a topic proposal written by Karleigh Tate for a university writing course. The proposed topic is to research what justifies police-related shootings and how the race of the officer and suspect impact these situations. Tate plans to analyze popular and less known cases to determine if race was a factor or if the officers' actions were truly in self-defense. The proposal outlines Tate's interest in the topic as a criminal justice major, and the plan is to research media coverage of shootings, speak to a father in law enforcement, and review police training materials. The goal is to address whether officers generally shoot for the right reasons or if race influences these decisions.

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    Topic Proposal

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    This document is a topic proposal written by Karleigh Tate for a university writing course. The proposed topic is to research what justifies police-related shootings and how the race of the officer and suspect impact these situations. Tate plans to analyze popular and less known cases to determine if race was a factor or if the officers' actions were truly in self-defense. The proposal outlines Tate's interest in the topic as a criminal justice major, and the plan is to research media coverage of shootings, speak to a father in law enforcement, and review police training materials. The goal is to address whether officers generally shoot for the right reasons or if race influences these decisions.

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    This document is a topic proposal written by Karleigh Tate for a university writing course. The proposed topic is to research what justifies police-related shootings and how the race of the officer and suspect impact these situations. Tate plans to analyze popular and less known cases to determine if race was a factor or if the officers' actions were truly in self-defense. The proposal outlines Tate's interest in the topic as a criminal justice major, and the plan is to research media coverage of shootings, speak to a father in law enforcement, and review police training materials. The goal is to address whether officers generally shoot for the right reasons or if race influences these decisions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    21 views3 pages

    Topic Proposal

    Uploaded by

    api-383378474
    This document is a topic proposal written by Karleigh Tate for a university writing course. The proposed topic is to research what justifies police-related shootings and how the race of the officer and suspect impact these situations. Tate plans to analyze popular and less known cases to determine if race was a factor or if the officers' actions were truly in self-defense. The proposal outlines Tate's interest in the topic as a criminal justice major, and the plan is to research media coverage of shootings, speak to a father in law enforcement, and review police training materials. The goal is to address whether officers generally shoot for the right reasons or if race influences these decisions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Tate 1

    Karleigh Tate

    Professor Malcolm Campbell

    UWRT 1104

    29 September 2017

    Topic Proposal: Justifying Police Related Shootings

    Introduction/Overview

    The topic that interests me is finding what makes a police officer pulling the trigger

    justifiable and how it correlates with the suspect/officers race. Recently, the United States has

    been facing major racial issues, many of these issues involving police related shootings. A

    movement labeled Black Lives Matter was one of the major uproars caused by these shootings.

    I come from a family involved in law enforcement and when these movements and

    protests began, it sparked my interest in what justifies a police officer shooting a suspect. Race

    came into play due to the many African American suspects/victims being a part of these

    shootings.

    My plan is to search in depth on several popular and nonpopular shootings involving a

    minority race and a police officer or person of authority. I want to determine if these cases are

    truly based on the officer acting in self-defense or based on their own race and the way they view

    other races. I want to consider the statistics of race involved with crime and how it correlates into

    these shootings. Many people took these shootings strictly as a racial issue, when it could

    possibly be more than that. Some officers could be justified in pulling the trigger, while others

    are doing it for all the wrong reasons.


    Tate 2

    Resources that were beneficial in helping me conduct some research on the topic include

    sites such as the New York Times and CNN. These sources are news coverages of many

    shootings that took place, stating basic information coming from a variety of inside sources. I

    also got in touch with my father who served in law enforcement for 28 years. He gave me his

    standpoint on the issues and an insight on what actions the officers are taught to use in the line of

    duty. Having a source who experienced these situations first hand is very beneficial when

    conducting research on this proposal.

    This is a highly controversial topic right now in the United States. Many people of the

    minority race claim that officers are targeting these suspects based on their race, not their crime.

    People in the majority race claim that officers are doing their duty and bringing people to justice

    the way they should be. Though not as common, many people of the minority race have made

    statements claiming that these officers are justified in what they are doing. The riots that have

    arose have gotten out of hand, and many people disagree with these riots. Looting was a major

    result of these riots, which is inhumane. Some have claimed that these riots are necessary to

    make a statement. I would like to further research on what is the appropriate way to protest and

    why these people see the need to protest.

    Initial Inquiry Questions:

    The overall question I am wanting to address is whether officers are shooting for all the

    right reasons, if not, does their race and the suspects play a factor? Though not as important, I

    would like to understand the relation between race and crime rate. Is it coincidental that most

    victims of a police shooting are a minority in the United States?


    Tate 3

    My Interest in this Topic

    This topic strikes a major interest because I am currently majoring in Criminal Justice

    and plan to pursue a career in a law related field. My dad served in law enforcement, giving

    many opinions on these situations since they began taking place. I know that there are good and

    bad officers, though I would like to believe there is only good ones. This assignment will allow

    for me to take the time to learn more about the different cases and how they are similar or differ.

    I am also interested in how the Black Lives Matters movement became into effect and if it was

    solely because of the shootings that took place.

    Next Steps

    The next steps I plan to take include viewing multiple stories from The New York Times, giving

    overviews and reports on the shootings and racial issues involved with them. I would also like to

    talk with current serving officers to get their opinion and understand more form their side of the

    controversial issue. I am going to search some officer hand books or rules they must learn and

    obey involving situations where their life may be in danger and the steps they must follow when

    drawing their weapon and shooting a potential suspect.

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