Mississippi officer charged with forcing prisoner to lick urine off floor
NBCMAR 2024
Mississippi 'Goon Squad' Police Officers Sentenced to Prison
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The Spin
Narrative A
This is the latest example of law enforcement's longstanding culture of discrimination in Mississippi and throughout the US. These officers should have been fired long ago, but their boss, allowed it to go on. While these individual officers were rightly convicted and sentenced, those at the top should be held accountable for the role they played by turning a blind eye to racism and violence.
Narrative B
Everyone agrees these officers' crimes were horrific, which is why they're going to jail for a long time. But their acts weren't necessarily racist alone. Currently, the country is dealing with a subsection of law enforcement that's over-aggressive and victimizes people of all races — giving law enforcement as a profession a bad name. This is a broadly systemic issue that must be addressed.