Based on what I have read and researched, the Ferguson Police Department’s policies and actions best reflect Immanuel Kant’s moral philosophy.

Based on what I have read and researched, the Ferguson Police Department’s policies and actions best reflect Immanuel Kant’s moral philosophy. According to Heather Wilburn of OSU Library, she defines Kant’s ideology as “Morality is defined by duties and one’s action is moral if it is an act motivated by duty.” Following the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in 2014, the citizens of Missouri wreaked havoc upon cities with protests and marches avenging the death of Brown. Some of these protests led to the looting and destruction of many stores and structures which prompted the Ferguson Police Department to unleash rubber bullets and tear gas amongst the crowds, which only further enraged the protestors and created more chaos. The violence brought upon the crowd by the police department reflects Kant’s theory by reflecting on his philosophy of believing one is doing the right thing no matter the circumstances. In this case, the police believed they were mediating chaos and crime but were actually doing the opposite. This eventually created great distrust between the citizens of Ferguson and the police department. “The lack of trust between a significant portion of Ferguson’s residents, especially its African-American residents, and the Ferguson Police Department has become, since August 2014, undeniable. The causes of this distrust and division, however, have been the subject of Debate.” (Ferguson Police Report)

Herbert Packers’ crime control model best represents the Ferguson Police Departments’ actions. The OJP states “The crime-control model emphasizes the standardized, expeditious processing of defendants through the court system and the uniform punishment of offenders according to the severity of their crimes.” When punishing protestors the Ferguson officers believed that these people needed to be controlled and tamed, which is what prompted the rubber bullets and tear gas. If the FPD followed the due process model and provided fairness and justice under the law, they would find a way to control a grieving crowd without the use of violence and revenge.