A Murder In The Streets
...beautiful bloom, the kids in the neighborhood were riding their bikes and playing and laughing. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze in the air. It had the makings to be a perfect day. That is until I got the call. It was time to go to work. The call was a drive by shooting in the east side of town, a known drug neighborhood. The victim was a teenage boy coming out of the corner store.
When I first arrived at the scene of the murder, I carefully noted my surroundings. I noticed that I was one of the first responders to the scene. I also noticed that chaos was about to ensue. I began looking at the people around me to determine possible witnesses. I saw a child who was playing, a man who was visibly shaken, and I also noticed a group of young men who were known to be local gang members. They appeared very upset and I knew that I had to talk to them first. I told the man to stay with the child and I asked for another officer who was at the scene to talk to them. The police should use tact and courtesy when dealing with civilian witnesses and crowds. This approach serves several purposes. It will gain as much cooperation from people as possible under the circumstances and it may result in a witness, who is an onlooker, coming forward with valuable information. This is especially important in areas where past experiences indicates that the hostility of onlookers is easily aroused, like the gang members that I was about to talk to.
As I began to talk to the gang members, I knew that I had to convince them that I was on their side, I had to show compassion and at the same time, remember they have violent tendencies. I talk to them, and they provide me with some information regarding the shooter, they stated the car involved belonged to a rival gang member and that the shooter was also a member of the gang. I thanked them for their cooperation...
View Full Essay
