#pbme

This is a new series we are doing called Palm Beach Most Expensive or PBME. Our PBME series for November 2019 will highlight Palm Beach Most Expensive Home Sales to date. We take into consideration sales and listings reported in MLS and off market transactions. Off market transactions are common in the luxury markets of Palm Beach County. Our appraisers are constantly performing market surveys to track these type of transactions. We hope you enjoy this months Palm Beach Most Expensive Home Sales post with 2 sales and 1 listing highlighted.

If the victim in any of these 3 cases were white, none of these situations would have happened. 

The police officer would have been more careful in ensuring that the victim was unarmed and not jump to assumptions as quickly compared to when the victims were black. If the victim was white, the police officers would not treat them with deep sense of prejudice and there would not be the sense of unease and suspicion that prompted them to immediately be defensive which would lead to them using violence as a solution. 

In these cases, if the victim was white, the police would also have provided medical support almost immediately if the victim was injured, however, this clearly was not the case when the victims were black.

In a policeman’s eyes, there is a world of difference between a white man driving an Audi at night with an old, black woman sitting next to him; and a black man driving the same car with an old, white woman sitting next to him. In the case of the white man, the policeman would think nothing of it and continue on his way; however, in the case of the black man, the policeman would immediately assume that the black man had intentions to harm the old woman and would stop him for questioning.

Such is the nature of racism in our society today; we already have negative mindsets and stereotypes pre-formed in our minds - that black people are criminals, that black people are dirty, that black people are unprofessional. Hence, in order to erase these mindsets, we must work together to make a difference. 

ERIC GARNER

This is yet another case of police brutality where the police officers were able to get off with a jail sentence. The main reason for why the officers harassed him was because they suspected him of selling illegal cigarettes. However, they did this without substantial evidence to back up their claims and even continued harassing him after he told them that he was not doing anything illegal. 

The police officer did not have the right to attack Garner and even worse, he did not have to take it to the extent where Garner was beat to unconsciousness. Garner had 3 children, and 6 grandchildren. 

Even before then, they were unconcerned when Garner said that he couldn’t breathe, even though this should already have been an indication that something was seriously wrong, and that they should let him go. The whole way they handled this case shows how little importance they placed on his life, just because of his skin colour, just because he was a black man, just because his life was seen as less worthy of protection than a black man’s.

TAMIR RICE

The shooting of Tamir Rice, to me, has even more tragic consequences than a normal shooting would have, due to the fact that he was only 12 years old, and had his whole life and education ahead of him. The severity of police brutality is such that the two policeman fired at a 12 year old boy who appeared to be carrying a gun without even checking to make sure the facts were true, and attempting to clear up the situation at hand. 

If they had, they would have discovered that he was nothing but a child who was playing with a toy gun that posed no harm at all. 

The more outrageous thing is that while in most state laws an act of this sort is considered murder, the two policeman got to walk off without any charges being pressed against them. Can you imagine? A twelve-year old boy, murdered and slaughtered for no good reason, by the very people that were supposed to protect him? What’s more, his family got no form of compensation or apology whatsoever - and they did not see justice rightfully served.

The scariest thing about police brutality is the amount of prejudice they must have inside of them that could cause them to fear and not trust black people, so much so that they would not hesitate to fire openly at a young boy, who was obviously not a threat, simply because of his skin colour. Due to their discrimination and unnecessary violence, a child, who had not even completed his education or had a chance to experience life in all its glory, was robbed of his right to live. His right to be a child. His right to be a human.

MICHAEL BROWN

The shooting of Michael Brown is one of the more controversial and publicly known cases of police brutality against black people. Although evidence varies with different accounts, the debate is mainly focused on whether Michael Brown did have his hands up and if Officer Wilson had indeed shot in self-defence. 

In my opinion, this could all be avoided if there had not prejudice against the black people in the first place. Inside Officer Wilson, and most other white people, there is the underlying suspicion that because Michael Brown was black, and his profile matched the description, that he was automatically a criminal and that he had the right to shoot. However, Officer Wilson did not even conduct any further investigation or any implement any other methods to ensure that he was correct before he made his assumption. 

There might also have been some unease or fear that he felt because Michael Brown was black that prompted him to take out his gun. From what we have read, 12 shots were fired in total, which is excessive for the scenario, in which Michael Brown was walking towards him on a street unarmed.