KANSAN.COM
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KANSAN.COM/OPINION MONDAY, JULY 11, 2016
Clough: Killings and body camera failures proof of a broken system
Illustration by Roxy Townsend
▶ MATTHEW CLOUGH
@mcloughsofly
When I woke up Thursday morning and began my routine of scrolling through a news app on my phone, my heart sank. Nearly every other story that appeared on the feed was about one of two police shootings of black
men this week - one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the other in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. I was horrified and sad after reading the circumstances of the killings, but I wasn't surprised.
There's something chilling and traumatic about waking to these same types of stories so regularly. We're living in a country where a
demographic making up 13 percent of the population was the victim of 30 percent of police killings in 2015, according to the BBC. Perhaps even more haunting is that these killings are often met with few, if any, repercussions.
These killings affirm how ineffective our society's progress has been in developing justice for those killed by police. Issues of surveillance and recording are perhaps fuzzier now than ever.
As police departments nationwide began adopting body cameras in the wake of unjust killings protests, I became more optimistic about the possibility of change. I thought that definitive evidence of encounters between
law enforcement and civilians would surely increase accountability.
But what's the point of such a step forward if the cameras aren't actually being utilized? Reports from Alton Sterling's death in Baton Rouge indicate that the body cameras of both officers involved in the altercation were somehow knocked loose, making even the shoddy video recordings from witnesses more reliable. Law enforcement experts claimed it was rare for such cameras to fail. So why did they?
When officers shot and killed Philando Castile in Minnesota, a live video of the events was uploaded to Facebook by his girlfriend, who was in the car at the time. The horrific clip is the only documentation of the killing, and Castile's girlfriend later said that she did it "so the world would know that these police are not here to protect and serve us. They are here to assassinate us." Obviously there's something wrong when a woman who
has just witnessed the murder of her boyfriend feels she must record the events to have any chance of public rectitude.
Coupled with the most recently available data that police academies spend, on average, 60 hours on firearm training and a measly eight on conflict management and de-escalation tactics, these shootings are harrowing reminders that things in America are not improving.
We must do better. If we're going to insist on using body cameras, we need to be absolutely sure they're working properly. We can't turn away from video evidence and witness reports, we can't continue to operate under current police training methods, and we've got to find a way toward progress in the midst of these senseless killings.
Matthew Clough is a senior from Wichita studying English and journalism.
Liston: Kansas sacrificing residents' health to push anti-choice agenda
► RYAN LISTON
@rliston235
Living on a low income and trying to find quality health services can be a daunting task on its own, yet the Kansas government is willing to make it even more difficult.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment was prepared to cut off Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood
Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood covers services such as family planning, health exams and cancer screenings and is not used for abortions. Cutting this funding would limit access to affordable
last Thursday, until US District Judge Julie Robinson blocked the action with a temporary ruling in a lawsuit filed by two local Planned Parenthood affiliates.
healthcare for nearly 500 Kansans.
Deciding to get an abortion is a personal issue that should be considered by those involved, not the government. Deciding which healthcare provider to use is a likewise personal decision, and also should not be restricted.
The state government is willing to risk the welfare of low-income Kansans simply to undermine Planned Parenthood, a pro-choice organization.
Additionally, defounding Planned Parenthood would likely lead to more unwanted pregnancies and a subsequent rise in abortions, since Planned Parenthood offers sex education courses. Providing sex education has been correlated with decreased numbers of unwanted pregnancies, whereas abstinence-only education seems to be ineffective.
For those who are against abortion, contraceptive use or premarital sex, you can adhere to that in your personal lives. Trying to impose those beliefs on the rest of society, especially at the expense of low-income Kansans, causes more harm than good. People throughout time have had premarital sex and unwanted pregnancies; that will never change.
However, with modern health services and knowledge, we can prevent many unwanted pregnancies and allow those who do become pregnant to choose an option that fits their situation.
Ryan Liston is a sophomore from Lawrence studying journalism.
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