the movie “The Glass Shield,” Research Essay

J.J., a police officer in the movie “The Glass Shield,” is anxious to win over his coworkers so they will accept him (“The Glass Shield 1994 || Michael Boatman, Lori Petty, Erich Anderson”“, 2017). He recently graduated from law enforcement school. His efforts to appease her coworkers even reached the point where he was able to give false evidence against another black man’s son so that he could get that chance. This film raises some difficult questions about racial, gender, and ethical prejudice that show how harassment and discrimination are not always acceptable and are not allowed in society. Synopsis

In the movie, John Johnson was also known as JJ is a fresh and new officer from law enforcement school who is posted to the Edgemar County Sherriff’s Office. He was eager to take down criminals in the county, and he did not mind being a black deputy in Edgemar. Nonetheless, they pick on him together with Deputy Fields who happened to be a woman for minor mistakes. After a murder has been committed in the state by a black person as Mr. Greenwall had reported, Deputy Bono who is a white officer stops a black man, Teddy Woods, to question him regarding the case.

However, he finds nothing that could tie Woods to the murder case but decides to arrest him because of a gun under the seat. The deputy later claims that he decided to question Woods because he was black. Under pressure of impression, JJ agrees to testify against Woods to back up her deputy accusations. After that, JJ discovers that the man they had sent behind bars is innocent and there is something wrong with his place of work (”The Glass Shield 1994 || Michael Boatman, Lori Petty, Erich Anderson“, 2017). Together with Fields, they commence an investigation into the murder, and later on, they proved their suspicion to be true. They also discovered that most of the officers in their department were corrupt too.

Several sub-plots in the movie make it hard to follow the whole plot. However, the movie is enjoyable, full of suspense, and exciting to watch. It has moral lessons against sexism and racism in the society, especially within the police department. However, the movie cannot be viewed by people of all ages due to some scenes containing vulgar words and little violence instances that are terrifying but with no gun or blood involvement. The director and scriptwriter should have omitted such words to make it universal.

What could have been done to prevent the issues from occurring?

Regarding the sexism issue, Commander Clarence Massey who was in charge of Edgemar County police station could have implemented laws that restrict gender bias in the office. He could have imposed heavy punishment on chauvinist officers who did undermine their female counterparts (Kristian, 2014). Through this act, Deputy Fields would have felt any biasedness toward her, and mutual respect between men and women officer regarding their roles and responsibilities would have been maintained.

Regarding the racism issue, Massey should have imposed strict punishment to officers who would practice racial discrimination in the workplace and investigations together with making arrests since he was in charge (Stringer, 2016). The judge could have also participated in a fair hearing and scrutinizing of Woods and the Deputy’s evidence to confirm the evidence if it is true or not without basing their judgment on color and the deputies’ sides only. Johnson also could have followed his initial goal of bringing down bad guys by being truthful and let go his impression desire thus without him testifying against Woods. He would have been arrested.

Concerning ethical bias, it was the duty of the commander to ensure all his or her officers follow the good moral of the police force, which is to protect citizens from injustice and to serve them. He could have created stringent rules that pose strict punishment on those broke the rules and rewards for officers who promote good moral ethics (Stringer, 2016). Through the measures, the officers would not have been involved in corruption and other discrimination cases due to fear of facing the law.

Why does it matter for this incident to be repaired and prevent it from occurring again?

As a police officer, the recommendation is to ensure the incidence is stopped from happening again since it always leads to a wrong conviction of offenders who later turn their turmoil into hatred of the other race, i.e., whites. The escalating of the situation among the black community might lead to a permanent hate that cannot be erased from their hearts due to the pain of losing loved ones in the hands of the racist officers or being victims themselves (Donohue & Levitt, 1998). The hate could lead to rivalry later revenge whereby victims can end up taking the law into their hands by shooting the police who wrongfully accused them. The pattern can go on and on until forever, and this is the reason why it should be prevented from occurring again.

Press release statement

Edgemar County Sherriff’s Office

Clarence Massey

Commander

560 Blvd., Suite 100

Edgemar, CA 97689-9875

(916) 708-0986

www.edgemar.org

NEWS RELEASE AND MEDIA ADVISORY

For Quick Release No. 27632310

Thursday, February 24, 1994

County Sherriff’s Office Concludes a Review of a Deputy Officer involved in Racial Discrimination in a Murder Case

Edgemar County Sherriff’s Office has officially released their investigation regarding the arrest of Teddy Woods as the main suspect in a murder case of the wife of an affluent Mr. Greenwall. The arrest was made my Deputy Bono. Based on the investigation of the facts by Deputy Fields and John Johnson, it has been determined that the Deputy wrongfully incriminated Woods in a murder case, which he was not involved due to Mr. Woods possession of a gun. The deputy’s actions have been found to be illegally justified.

The Edgemar Police Department comprehends the enormity that this case has had on Wood’s family, the entire community, and the officers in the department in our County. With that mentioned, the department has cracked its weapons on those involved in the case that made an innocent man a victim of injustice, which he did not deserve get apprehended by the law. It has also placed measures to ensure that our jurisdiction will go through a thorough review and investigative process to make sure that an accurate and transparent investigation into the case is completed. With the new review, we as law protectors take this chance go through the full totality of situations and reflect on all sectors, which the department needs to improve on to serve the interest of the people. Our mission is to offer people of Edgemar the highest level of service and to protect them.

Teddy Woods’ incident shows what discrimination cases are being handled in our society. As the law enforcers, we will not let anyone free who uses biasedness against another person no matter what position he or she holds in office. This is a good example to everyone; we need to practice equality for the betterment of our society. The Edgemar County Police looks forward to working with the people and elected leaders in curbing this vice and promoting fairness in our community.

”The Edgemar County Police remains very much committed to joining hands and working with every person no matter their ranks in the society to find solutions to problems of those facing crisis“-Commander Clarence Massey

Edgemar Police Media Relations · 1-824-541-11-61 · [email protected]

References

Stringer, K. (2016). We Already Know How to Reduce Police Racism and Violence. YES! Magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2017, from http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/cities-have-the-power-to-reduce-police-racism-and-violence

Kristian, B. (2014). Seven Reasons Police Brutality Is Systemic, Not Anecdotal. The American Conservative. Retrieved 24 February 2017, from http://www.theamericanconservative.com/2014/07/02/seven-reasons-police-brutality-is-systematic-not-anecdotal/

The Glass Shield 1994 || Michael Boatman, Lori Petty, Erich Anderson. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 24 February 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=114EMpExTiE

Donohue, I. & Levitt, S. (1998). The Impact of Race on Policing, Arrest Patterns, and Crime. NBER. Retrieved 24 February 2017, from http://www.nber.org/papers/w6784