Blue Bloods is a show about a family that lives in New York city and is heavily embedded into the justice system of New York. The father of the family is the current police commissioner, while his two sons serve in the NYPD. His daughter is also a very prominent attorney for the city. The show is fictional but has a very realistic feel as relates back to injustices we see today. This show does a very good job about talking about racial injustices in society and the relationship between minorities and police.
In an episode during season 5 we follow along as Danny, the police commissioner’s son, chases a robbery suspect. The suspect ends up in an apartment complex and once he realizes that Danny has him cornered, he hurls himself through a 3rd floor window and breaks his leg. This then led to a massive riot, as the young man being chased was black and he claimed it was police brutality and they pushed him out of the window. These large riots were led by a black man by the name of Reverend Darnell Potter. There is a large push for the idea that the NYPD is bad and that Danny should be fired. We later find out that there was boy who saw the whole thing go down but he was scared to testify as his family moved to the US illegally. In the end he ends up testify and the truth comes out that the man jumped through the window and it had nothing to do with race or police brutality.
To me this relates back to our posts about systemic injustices. This is because since there are instances where race caused discrimination, we just assume that to be true of every instance. In this case without the boy giving his testimony Danny would have had no proof that he did not shove the man out the window and would have been labeled as a racist that partook in police brutality. I believe this is injustice in our society as it can be used against people in certain cases like these. If Danny had not been able to prove his story his life would have also been ruined as he would have had to face legal punishment, lost his job and would never be accepted in society again. I believe that in today’s society we are quick to assume a racial injustice without looking at all of the facts. This seems to take credit away from the instances where a racial injustice is truly the case.
