What happens when protectors turn into predators?

Anyone who vaguely follows the news will know that in recent years, the issue of police violence and accountability has intensified enormously. With a large number of high-profile cases involving white police officers shooting black civilians, the question arises … what happens when protectors turn into predators?

People who enforce the law should not be above it.
Having a gun, a uniform, and a badge doesn’t mean the world is your playground, where you can do whatever you want without consequences. Law enforcement must be there to protect the law and make sure it is safely enforced. This does not mean that they are exempt from obeying the law themselves. The same rules that apply to you and me should always apply to law enforcement as well. This does not mean that “self-defense” can be used with reckless abandon.

Police are the modern executioner of people of color
You only need to look at the cases of Manuel Loggins Jr., Sean Bell, Michael Brown, and much more to realize that there is a growing trend of white police officers executing black men and women for no reason or cause. The police are there to protect all citizens, not to make rash decisions based on someone’s skin color or their own biases. The white police assumption that black men and women are rowdy and dangerous only leads to more executions and unfair stigma around young black men.

Law enforcement and hit men
Two black men were shot and killed in July 2016 in Dallas, Texas. Philander Castile and Alton Sterling were unarmed, but were still killed by the police. Due to this, 5 policemen were later shot dead. There are some conspiracy theories that both incidents were planned by law enforcement officers. Some people believe that the killing of five police officers was a planned attack to downplay the Black Lives Matter movement that was gaining ground. If this is so, then this just shows how much power law enforcement has, even against its own men when it comes to controlling society.

White Supremacy in Law Enforcement
As confirmed by The Intercept, the FBI officially recognized that white supremacists have infiltrated and influenced law enforcement agencies in the US This means that within the agencies that are charged with protecting citizens There are people in power who can make decisions with white supremacist intentions. With the presence of white supremacists in law enforcement, this means that the execution of people of color is likely to continue.

The police have a lot of power, but not a lot of responsibility.
Matthew Ajibade was killed by 2 policemen. Only 1 of these men was convicted and he was only sentenced to 1 year in prison, and only on weekends (mappingpoliceviolence.org). The law favors the police. This is dangerous when considering that the police have access and rights when it comes to weapons and defense. What prevents a police officer from acting violently if the law is not going to punish and reprimand them? With a lot of power comes a lot of responsibility, but this responsibly can be greatly abused if there is no one above to impose penalties and keep the law in line with their own rules and expectations of civilians.