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The cause and effects of police brutality
Causes of police brutality essay
The cause and effects of police brutality
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The Worm in the Apple: Brutality in the Police Force
Police brutality has wormed its way into almost every major American city, becoming intrinsic in pockets of the police force. Simply turn on the television and see a seemingly endless list of victims’ names: Amadou Diallo, Robert Davis, Timothy Thomas, Javier Ovando, Michael Brown—and even more unnamed. Although proponents of the police force are correct to argue the right of self-defense, they exaggerate the bounds of such rights in the face of unarmed victims and excessive profiling. What is most startling though, is the ever-rising increases in police brutality over time as depicted in John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath where the Joad family faces persecution. Americans must band together to change the status quo as depicted in Steinbeck’s novel in order to prevent further brutality in the future and restore balance to Lady Justice’s unequal scales.
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Casey dodged down into the swing. The heavy club crashed into the side of his head with a dull crunch of bone, and Casey fell sideways out of the light” (Steinbeck 495). Although it is verities that Casey was leading a strike at the time, he was not protesting violently, nor did he attack the police. As a result, the use of merciless violence by the policeman was unnecessary since he did not kill him in self-defense. Furthermore, Casey did not wish to fight, he wished to speak with the police about the reasoning behind the strike, stating, “Listen… You’re helpin’ to starve kids” (Steinbeck 495). Thus, it is clearly evidenced that Casey simply wanted the police to listen to him and was not seeking to provoke a fight. Ergo his death is a definitive case of police brutality peaking to a new height in the
Happening in today’s society, there have been countless number of citizens being killed by law enforcement. Some situations may not cause for force and others may. This case can be a reference in regards to making sure that the force you use is appropriate for the situation. As for the justice system, it is all about being fair and listening to both sides and issuing out the right punishment if there is any. Many people in today’s time needs to get educated when it comes to the reason behind why law enforcement uses force to handle the situations they have to deal with. But in the end it all comes down to right and
...is novel with an outstanding salute to those who serve in law enforcement saying, “And so I tip my hat to all the good cops throughout our nation who risk their lives and strive to do the right thing when facing split-second decisions about life and death every day in the kill zone” (Klinger, 2004, page 274). Pulling the trigger of a gun can cause a variety of issues both within and outside of a police officer’s life, but it could also potentially save another human being from harm and keep the safety of our society intact.
The beating of Rodney King from the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991 and the Los Angeles riots resulting from the verdict of the police officers on April 29 through May 5, 1992 are events that will never be forgotten. They both evolve around one incident, but there are two sides of ethical deviance: the LAPD and the citizens involved in the L.A. riots. The incident on March 3, 1991 is an event, which the public across the nation has never witnessed. If it weren’t for the random videotaping of the beating that night, society would never know what truly happened to Rodney King. What was even more disturbing is the mentality the LAPD displayed to the public and the details of how this mentality of policing led up to this particular incident. This type of ethical deviance is something the public has not seen since the civil rights era. Little did Chief Gates, the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, and the LAPD know what the consequences of their actions would lead to. Moving forward in time to the verdict of those police officers being acquitted of the charges, the public sentiment spiraled into an outrage. The disbelief and shock of the citizens of Los Angeles sparked a mammoth rioting that lasted for six days. The riots led to 53 deaths and the destruction of many building. This is a true but disturbing story uncovering the ethical deviance from the LAPD and the L.A. riots. The two perspectives are from the Rodney King incident are the LAPD and the L.A. riots.
In today’s society, police officers are very cautious on how much force they can use on a suspect due to the police brutality going on right now. Police brutality is defined as the use of force exceeding what is necessary, many people argue that there should be new policies to determine how much force a police officer can use and also have laws that will convict officers who have killed people by using too much force, so that there is less incidents in the future.
... To read the story as either accepting or resisting an ethical dilemma is perhaps debatable. The point of the story may be to state man's need to punish and retaliate with injury through means that may be befogged. The reader may be upset with the death of Billy Budd not for the seemingly unjust killing of a sympathetic character, but for its illustration of a society coming apart at the seams; one which doesn't necessarily make sense considering human nature, but one that is so closely linked to social systems, it is doubtful that it could ever be changed.
Holmes, Malcolm D. "Minority threat and police brutality: Determinants of civil rights criminal complaints in US municipalities." Criminology 38.2 (2000): 343-368.
Police brutality has been an apparent mark on the struggles, trials, and tribulations of people of minorities for years, primarily Black people. From the times of slavery to the present unlawful targeting and murders of black citizens with no justification, police brutality has been an enema in Black American culture for hundreds of years. Seen both in James Baldwin’s “Going to Meet the Man” and in the current happenings of the United States. The hashtag “#BlackLivesMatter” has been a focal point in the current struggle for equality of the races. The current outpouring of support for black lives and
There has been controversy in the world about police brutality and whether police have used excessive force to apprehend a subject is increasing. Police brutality has been around for a long time, but it just now televised. In the late 19th century, the issue of police brutality was often tied to business owners’ efforts to break up strikes by workers attempting to organize and form labor unions, also on a day known as Bloody Sunday where a group of peaceful protesters were literally beaten to the ground, sprayed with tear gas, and water hose by the police (“Police Brutality”). Even in 2015 in Baltimore Freddie Gray, 25-year-old African-American male, died while in police custody due to injuries in the spine and in some parts of Baltimore the
When the narrator was walking, he saw an old friend that used to work for the same group that he worked for selling toys illegally, and the authorities were able to see what Clifton was doing. Since what Clifton was doing was illegal, the authorities tried to catch him, but Clifton began to run and pushed the authorities buttons, then the narrator describes the cruel situation he just witnessed, “He fell forward on his knees, like a man saying his prayers just as a heavy-set man in a hat with a turned-down brim stepped from around the newsstand and yelled a protest. I couldn’t move. The sun seemed to scream an inch above my head. Someone shouted. A few men were starting into the street. The cop was standing now and looking down at Clifton as though surprised, the gun in his hand” (Ellison 436). After Clifton was shot, the narrator wanted to help his friend out; however, he was not allowed to do so which affected him. Not only was this scene brutal for anyone to see, but watching someone you knew die in front of you is even worse. The officers would not allow the narrator attempt to do something in efforts to save his friend’s life, and this caused a big scene. Being in this situation may cause people to feel guilty about not being able to do anything because the narrator actually had the chance to attempt to help someone who was close to him, Clifton, but he was not allowed
In today’s society, the excessive use and abuse of force is still an existing controversy. In this project the main adjective was to look at two incidents that have occurred in past years and pinpoint if there was any indication of abuse of authority. One which was the controversial Rodney King case that caused uproar in the civil rights activist community and a case that many are not so familiar with such as the Andrew Meyer case. In both cases, it appeared that there was evidence of abuse of authority. In both videos, it showed people of different ethnicity, settings and predicaments that set the tone for each video. Each video can be argued; “Well they should not have resisted”; while others can argue “it was just too excessive for there
Background and Audience Relevance: According to the Human Rights Watch 2012 report on Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States; police brutality has become one the most serious human rights violation. As citizens of the United States it is our duty to make sure that those with authority don 't take advantage of their power.
There was a shooting outside Philadelphia Pierce Elementary school. A 3rd grader there named Faheem Child was shot by a man with tan boots and a red and white shirt on. Parents, neighbors, and everyone who passed by witnessed the shooting and were in shock. The neighborhood used to be a pedestal for power in the city until one day in August of 1964. two police officers, one black and one white tried to remove a woman named Odessa Bradford from her car. the next morning a rumor went around that two white cops had beaten a black pregnant woman to death. This news created an angry mob that outnumbered the police that were assigned to patrol the neighborhood. Residence smashed windows and looted stores while police just stood aside. Once the anger of the neighborhood calmed down the commercial strip in North Philadelphia was ruined. The Phillies magical season had suddenly folded with a 10 game losing streak. The riots of 1964 in North Philadelphia had opened a breach between residence and police who stood powerless. There is a “no snitch” rule in the community that makes
In this essay, I will attempt to analyze law and crime through the lens of Marxist analysis. "Common sense" tells us that police officers are the "good guys" attempting to preserve society against the chaos and disorder that the criminals represent. Nobody will agree that this general rule is universally true, as the incidents in the Rampart Division of the LAPD illustrate. The Rampart division shot unarmed people point blank and then put guns in their hands. They behaved much like gang members, with their own hazing rituals of "beating people into the gang." Another telling example is the Louima incident, wherein a Haitian immigrant was anally raped by a NYPD police officer with a plunger. Obviously, all cops are not saints, and some are worse than some criminals.
Police brutality is an act that often goes unnoticed by the vast majority of white Americans. This is the intentional use of “excessive force by an authority figure, which oftentimes ends with bruises, broken bones, bloodshed, and sometimes even death” (Harmon). While law-abiding citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been revealed that they must also keep an eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve.
Deviance is described as behavior that is not part of the norms in society. Police officers today are held to high standards due to their motto " To protect and Serve," however, not all police personnel live up to that standard. Due to police officers being held at such high standards, as authority figures some of them tend to abuse their power and engage in police deviance. Police officers have the widest range of deviant acts. These acts of Police Deviance include, police brutality, police gratuity, police shakedowns, police perjury, police profanity, police misuse of confidential information, and police drinking and abusing drugs on or off duty, just to name a few (Policecrimes.com, 2015). However, Police Brutality has to be the most