In 2012, George Zimmerman fatally shot an African-American student; however, this case quickly gained controversy because of many circumstances. During interrogation at the Sanford Police Station, Zimmerman stated that Martin had attacked him and that is why he had to shoot him in self-defence. In other words, the gunman used the “State Your Ground” law. However, the victim was unarmed, which created a number of heated discussions relating to police brutality.
This issue is deeply connected with racist stereotypes and biases that are still present in police work. For instance, this case can be related to the Broken Windows theory because Zimmerman was a policeman who claimed that the victim was dangerous to him. According to the researchers, “at the community level, disorder and crime are usually inextricably linked, in a kind of developmental sequence” (Wilson & Kelling, 1982, p. 2). In other words, in a neighborhood where a broken window has not been repaired, all windows will be broken soon. Therefore, the overall crime rate will grow very quickly. At the sight of even the slightest violation of generally accepted norms, people cease to behave in a civilized manner and also tend to violate rules. It is possible that the factor about the victim’s skin color as well as his gender was “a broken window” for Zimmerman because he chose to harm without any reasonable explanation.
As for other controversial police practices, “Stop, Question and Frisk” also relates to this case. Even if a citizen abides the law, in the case where he or she falls under the suspicion of an officer, the citizen will be stopped, interrogated and searched. This law allows the police to conduct such acts without any warrants, witnesses, and even without providing an intelligible explanation. It can be safely assumed that the feeling of impunity that this practice provides also tempted Zimmerman to commit his crime.
Reference
Wilson, J. Q., & Kelling, G. L. (1982). Broken Windows: The police and neighborhood safety. The Atlantic. Web.