Police officers are faced with various situations that require a quick discernment of what is right and what is wrong before taking the necessary action. In most of the incidences where the police officers combat with the criminals, some innocent members of the society are affected negatively. Such an incidence that depicts poor discretion is the shooting that occurred in Harlem one evening in 2005 (Baker, 2010). The incidence occurred when an armed robbery suspect opened fire on the police officers. The officers fired back but caused more damage than intended when it was realized that two bystanders were hit by stray bullets. The shooting occurred near Sylvia restaurant (Baker, 2010). This case depicts the poor use of discretion since the police did not weigh the available options efficiently before taking action mentioned. As such, opening fire in a public place more so a restaurant that they were aware to accommodate several people was a risk to the general public. I think that discretion was poorly used because the police officers could choose to use a more efficient approach rather than firing that cost the life of two innocent citizens. Besides, firing near public amenities such as restaurants which accommodate several people is unethical. The police officers would choose a more effective approach such as arresting the suspect in a less crowded place. In such an incidence, the suspect was not aiming at shooting the innocent citizens but rather defending himself. Therefore, it would be better to allow the suspect escape and arrest him when no danger was posed to the public through the arrest operations.
Another shooting case occurred in 2005 when a suspect, Richard Gooding, ignored the orders from the officers to drop the gun and started shooting (Baker, 2010). Five officers shot back, and three bystanders were injured by the stray bullets. Although no one was killed, the bystanders were injured. Upon interrogation, the onlookers said that they did not realize the presence of any of the bystanders during the shooting. When the police officers opened fire, there was no one on sight, hence, nobody was at risk based on the shooting as stated by Ms. Paulson (Baker, 2010). Based on the situation, the police officers made the right decision since the suspect posed a threat to both the police and the public. Since the defendant failed to adhere to the police instructions, it is evident that he was ready to continue with the criminal activities. Therefore, the only way to protect the public was to fire back. The police officers were not aware of the bystanders hence depicting good discretion. They shot upon realizing the need to take action after evaluating the situation. None of the police officers was either disciplined internally or arrested.
The operation Hammer is one of the programs under Police Chief Daryl Gates that instituted the arrest of all gang members in a crackdown aimed at stopping cocaine business. This operation pointed more racial discrimination cases since the blacks were the primary target. Black teens in the streets were frisked for cocaine what appeared to be an intrusion of the personal life of the blacks. This mistake would possibly lead to further unrest since it seemed to target only the blacks hence portraying racial discrimination. Arresting Rodney King is an incidence that led to further unrest. Previously, the community was aware of the violent and indiscipline actions of the police officers. This situation triggered the response from the community of unrest in protest of the action. Discretion should have been used in this situation to handle the arrest of Rodney King. The police officers would weigh the repercussions of using violence in arresting Rodney. As such, he did not pose any physical threat to the police officers thus there was no reason to opt for a physical engagement. Besides, he did not engage in the fight even after receiving the fifty-six strokes of the metal baton. As such, the police officers would use a more appropriate approach in arresting him rather than arresting him violently which raised issues regarding racial discrimination and police officers incompetence. This serves as a lesson to other law enforcers to act soberly and conduct the operations based on the departmental regulations even without supervision or watch from the public.
References
Baker, A. (2010). Police discretion is issue in injured woman’s suit. Nytimes.com. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/nyregion/21bystander.html
