Disciplinary Power through Police Violence

This Friday there were widespread protests over the execution style shooting of an "unarmed black man" by a member of the Oakland California police force. The policeman was sentenced to 2 years for involuntary manslaughter. Last weekend in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez a peace activist was shot in the back by police forces. In both incidents the police forces claimed that the shootings were accidental. In Oakland, the officer had the suspect face down when he "accidentally" pulled his pistol instead of his taser and shot Oscar Grant in the back of the head. In Mexico the official statement is that a "shot got away" during the police response to an anti-militant university protest.

Both of these incidents exhibit Foucault's, "disciplinary power to create docile bodies". The Ciudad Juarez shooting shows how governments monopolize violence against those in their midst whom they deem to be a political threat. While the heavy police response to the protests in Oakland shows how police forces often see political threats through a racial lens. This is clear because the Oakland protests were immediately compared to race riots following the Rodney King decision. Even though the recent protests were first and foremost about abuse of police power, with both white and black individuals participating. Furthermore, doesn't an incident as egregious as this warrant a strong public response to highlight the racial and class biases of our justice system? Incidents such as these are always one sided. If someone, accidentally shot a police officer it would be life in prison or the death penalty.

Needless to say police officers have always used racial classifications to determine criminality. It was surely no different in this case, than as in historical cases. Such as the case of my friends grandfather who was killed by a police officer in the Bronx because he, "looked to be a Hispanic that was robbing a car" really he just forgot his keys. If it had been a "white" man in a wealthier neighborhood it would not have happened, most likely this is the same with the Oakland shooting and response.

Oscar Grant Shooting
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/06/national/main7029257.shtml

Ciudad Juarez Shooting
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2010/11/20101131033622877.html