Discrepancy In Police Shootings: A Case Study
On July 6th, 2016, Philando Castile was fatally shot four times by a US officer. His name was the 99th name of black males who were victims of police shootings in 2016. In 2015, 249 black males were shot. Since the start of 2017, 178 black males have been shot. (THE WASHINGTON POST DATABASE). A reoccurring trend is the disproportionate number of black males that are involved in police shootings, compared to their white counterpart. It is estimated that blacks are about 2.5 times more likely to get shot than whites (The Washington post article). There has been an ongoing scientific investigation into why there is such a discrepancy in police shootings, despite being only 13.3% of the United States population (US CENSUS).
The Philando Castile …show more content…
It is expected, for example, that a parent would preferentially treat their own child, over another, however implicit biases present a problem when they result in the disadvantage of members of another group, or outgroup members. Implicit bias would also be viewed as challenging when they are applied against outgroup members of larger societal groups, such as race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Most importantly, implicit biases pose a dilemma due to their unconscious nature (Implicit Bias – A scientific Foundation). An individual, fully endorsing the American liberal, democratic ideals, might yet have racist implicit biases. When confronted with a particular series of events, this individual might react instinctually, basing his or her actions on their implicit biases rather than their endorsed …show more content…
Philando Castile, called Officer Yanez “sir”, waited to be asked to produce his license and registration, and warned the officer that he has a gun on him (Youtube video). This is the point where Philando Castile’s implicit bias drove his actions. It is possible to imagine Philando Castile acting with the utmost respect, and following all directions because he is afraid of the interaction with the policeman. It is plausible that this negative implicit bias based in fear of offending the policeman and therefore putting himself in a dangerous situation, caused Philando Castile to tell Officer Yanez about the gun that he was carrying. This sentence was a catalyst that set into motion Officer Yanez’s implicit
The Philando Castile …show more content…
It is expected, for example, that a parent would preferentially treat their own child, over another, however implicit biases present a problem when they result in the disadvantage of members of another group, or outgroup members. Implicit bias would also be viewed as challenging when they are applied against outgroup members of larger societal groups, such as race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Most importantly, implicit biases pose a dilemma due to their unconscious nature (Implicit Bias – A scientific Foundation). An individual, fully endorsing the American liberal, democratic ideals, might yet have racist implicit biases. When confronted with a particular series of events, this individual might react instinctually, basing his or her actions on their implicit biases rather than their endorsed …show more content…
Philando Castile, called Officer Yanez “sir”, waited to be asked to produce his license and registration, and warned the officer that he has a gun on him (Youtube video). This is the point where Philando Castile’s implicit bias drove his actions. It is possible to imagine Philando Castile acting with the utmost respect, and following all directions because he is afraid of the interaction with the policeman. It is plausible that this negative implicit bias based in fear of offending the policeman and therefore putting himself in a dangerous situation, caused Philando Castile to tell Officer Yanez about the gun that he was carrying. This sentence was a catalyst that set into motion Officer Yanez’s implicit