Essay On Relate Article To Civil And Criminal Law

Newsweek’s “White Police Officer in South Carolina Charged in Fatal Shooting of Black Man” dated 4/8/15 highlights the challenges and some of the discriminations faced by the blacks. The article was written by STAV ZIV on 4/8/15 at 12:24 AM presents the plight of a police officer who killed a black man in South Carolina. The article depicts some aspects of criminal law, which is the law that regulates various criminal offences. According to the article, a white police officer was charged with murder in what appeared as a fatal shooting in South Carolina. The police officer killed a black man by shooting an incident that never went well with the residents who went on a demonstration championing for their safety and rights. The mayor of North Charleston, Keith Summey announced the charges pressed on the police officer after the issue of a video shot by a bystander showing the police officer, Michael T. Slager fire many times at the Walter L. Scott as he ran away. The fateful incident took place on Saturday and South Carolina’s The Post and Courier, and The New York Times reported the news of the charge against the police officer.
The angry mayor was heard quoting many times that when an individual is wrong, they are wrong, and they should not search for any scapegoat. At the Tuesday press conference the mayor stated that when someone takes a bad decision, he does not care if he is behind the armor or a civilian on the street, and he has to live with that choice. The shooting comes after several incidents of police brutality witnessed against the black men. The incidents of brutality against the black people included those that led to the death of Tamir Rice and Eric Garner in Cleveland and Staten Island, New York respectively, and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The deaths of the blacks prompted nationwide demonstrations and issues of racial disparity in the US. According to the reports stated by the police, Slager, 33, stopped Scott on Saturday for driving with a wrecked taillight in his Mercedes Benz. When the victim, Scott tried running away from the scene, the police officer chased him and fired the Taser before shooting. The police officer then turned his radio on stating, “Shots fired and the subject is down. He took my Taser.” According to the reports stated by the police officer, he was protecting his life, however; the video produced to the Times by the lawyer of the victim showed a different version of what happened. The victim’s family spokesperson responded to the questions asked by the press stating, in that circumstance an African American was killed. It showed that minorities do not have the same official power to state what affects them, but it goes to the power itself. The spokesperson further stated that the family would file a civil lawsuit.
Criminal law controls communal men and recommends what poses a threat to the safety, health, and the welfare of the people. It also includes punishing individuals who break the laws. The case of the police officer who murdered the black man is a criminal law since the act threatened the moral welfare of the man and the safety. It is the duty of the police officer to protect the citizens and by killing the citizen, he committed a crime. Criminal law also aims at rehabilitation, which is important as that helps prevent further offense by making the offender know that their action was wrong. Civil law on the hand focuses on dispute resolution and compensation of the victim. According to civil war, the dispute between the police officer and the victim’s family will be solved after which there will be compensation.