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Essay on examples of injustice today
Excessive force by police
Poverty and living conditions
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The LA riots were justified due to the awareness it brought to the issues of police brutality, unfair racial discrimination and lack of social programs. Americans took to the street and rioting spiraled out of control for days, fueled by anger and the intention to prove that the beating of Rodney King would not be acceptable. On March 3, 1991, LAPD officers stop King, an African American man, after a high-speed chase through Los Angeles County. Police removed him from his car and struck King with batons more than 50 times, all while being filmed from a citizen on his apartment balcony. When it was all said and done King was left with 11 fractures and various other injuries (“Los Angeles Riots Fast Facts.”). It was later noted that there was …show more content…
For years, there has been many instances of police officers going above their jurisdiction and applying excessive force when not necessary and most of the time it is when minorities are involved. It would be wrong to classify every police station as racist or violent because the real truth is many of these police officers are great people, but it is the rotten ones that always give them a bad reputation. In certain areas, based on research, it is seen that police brutality occurs in low income communities. Specifically, 95% of police killings in 2015 occurred in neighborhoods with incomes under $100,000 (Jilani). With that being said, some areas had it much worse than others, which makes it hard for some Americans who don't experience this sort of treatment based on their location, wealth or even skin color. Therefore, those who witnessed the LA riots considered these people participating as thugs, criminals and other derogatory terms but in reality, these men and women were tired of being mistreated, pushed around and even killed. Surprisingly, the LA riots are often remembered as African Americans being solely involved in the act of civil disobedience, but according to a Smithsonian documentary, only 36 percent were African Americans, while 51 percent of the arrested rioters were Latino Americans (Mock). Now for the reason the media decides to depict the rioters as African American can mean many things, but remains unknown to most besides the media themselves. One can infer that the media tried to stir up more racial tension between African Americans and police officers in hopes of more drama and views to their station, but if that is the case, it goes to show that there is still injustices in our system today from the media to the police. Therefore, the need to protest
The activating occasion of the Los Angeles riots occurred one spring evening when Rodney King was driving, neglectfully and inebriated, on the Foothill Freeway. At the point when two officers timed King speeding, and started to seek after him, a fast auto pursue followed. Rodney King was on parole, and was concerned a speeding ticket, joined with his blood liquor level, would cost him his opportunity. When King was at long last cornered, numerous squad cars were included. After one officer let go two tasers into King, King professedly opposed capture and four cops started utilizing their rod to beat King into accommodation. The battle that took after included a severe beating, more than 50 hits from the cudgel, kicks from the
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.
To illustrate, majority of blacks are stop by police more than any other racial groups. Police brutality is base on ethnicity. Officers seem to target black communities for many reasons. Racist cops might view blacks as less innocent compared to whites. Growing up as an African American you witness hearing your parents telling your male siblings to respect officers and to interact with them differently than they would do their families and friends. After the fatal shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The public wanted justice because the incident was not handled properly. The people wanted to express their concerns. After this incident I remember more allegation from black communities begin surfacing that the police use excessive force against them,
This incident would have produced nothing more than another report for resisting arrest had a bystander, George Holliday, not videotaped the altercation. Holliday then released the footage to the media. LAPD Officers Lawrence Powell, Stacey Koon, Timothy Wind and Theodore Brisino were indicted and charged with assaulting King. Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg ordered a change of venue to suburban Simi Valley, which is a predominantly white suburb of Los Angeles. All officers were subsequently acquitted by a jury comprised of 10 whites, one Hispanic and one Asian, and the African American community responded in a manner far worse than the Watts Riots of 1965. ?While the King beating was tragic, it was just the trigger that released the rage of a community in economic strife and a police department in serious dec...
An analysis of the first 5,000 arrests from all over the city revealed that 52 percent were poor Latinos, 10 percent whites and only 38 percent blacks. They also know that the nation's first multiracial riot was as much about empty bellies and broken hearts as it was about police batons and Rodney King (Urban).
On the night of August 11, 1965 the Watts community of Los Angeles County went up in flames. A riot broke out and lasted until the seventeenth of August. After residents witnessed a Los Angeles police officer using excessive force while arresting an African American male. Along with this male, the police officers also arrested his brother and mother. Twenty-seven years later in 1992 a riot known as both the Rodney King riots and the LA riots broke out. Both share the similar circumstances as to why the riots started. Before each riot there was some kind of tension between police officers and the African American people of Los Angeles. In both cases African Americans were still dealing with high unemployment rates, substandard housing, and inadequate schools. Add these three problems with policemen having a heavy hand and a riot will happen. Many of the primary sources I will you in this analysis for the Watts and the LA riots can be found in newspaper articles written at the time of these events. First-hand accounts from people living during the riots are also used.
Throughout history there has been many problems involving racial profiling and police misconduct. Very rarely do police get the proper punishment for their wrong doings. One of the most recent cases was the Oscar Grant case. Oscar Grant was 22 years old when he was killed because of police misconduct. He was killed on New Year’s Day 2009 by Ex-BART cop Johannes Mehserle. This misconduct made the people of Oakland extremely angry because they lost one of their own. After the shooting many people around Oakland started protesting. This lasted for months on end because people were very angry. Bystanders videotaped the incident. This has been one of the most racially polarizing cases in California (Ravindhran).
Police brutality has been a significant issue for many years.. The people affected by this most of all, are people of color. They are subject to racial inequality by the police and the justice system every day. They are being killed everyday simply for existing. The excessive force used by the police specifically towards African Americans is continuous; with the justice system doing close to nothing to change that. This is one of the reasons they continue to kill and harass African Americans. According to Propublica, young black males are about twenty times more likely to be shot and killed by the police than their white peers are. Murderers are walking free, and innocent lives are being taken. Over the past couple of years, thousands of people have been killed on the hands of the police, both black and white.
While the L.A. riots were far larger, and the effects are still being felt, I still feel that the Watts riots had more of an impact. I had known about the riots previously, as I had been interested and looked into it on my own, but I had not looked into the economic at the time. Seeing that there were not any real economic effects from the riot, and in-fact some things may have gotten even worse, changes how I think of riots reported on in the media. Although there has been little in empirical studies done on the impact of the Watts riots, which is odd due to their importance in recent American history, especially now, it is clear that the riots started a trend of misguided racial tension that continues to this day, one that has prolonged the suffering and disenfranchisement of Blacks in the United States. While I do not believe another riot is the answer, researching this riot has shown me that while the riots can be considered important, the reality is that their effects on society are quite minimal, and only the political discussion of the riots is what has lasted to today. The failure of any real reform since then of the treatment of Blacks in general, let alone in the criminal justice world, shows to me a real lack of justice in the United
Police brutality is hypocrisy; as the police are meant to protect society from harm, not cause further damage and stress. Police should be trained properly so they do not resort to violence and abuse of power. Many cases of police brutality and not sanctioned and are undertaken by a group of police as a form of "mob mentality". Police are placed on a pedestal of authority and respect by the rest of society. To maintain this image, rules and codes of ethics within the police force should be maintained at all possible times. If police are using brutality to resolve issues, it doesn't set much of an example of dispute resolution between individuals. Over the past decade police abuse remains one of the most serious human rights violation in the United States. Police officers are trusted and expected to respect society as a whole and enforce the law. There is a time a place for aggressive force if needed, apprehending a suspect, however the environment and situation might influence the moment thus resulting in the brutal and barbaric behavior from the cop. The important thing to do is to understand the circumstances when excessive force can be used and times where the use of force has to be abstained. Police officers follow a strict guideline in how to handle encounters from escalating into something much more serious. The use of excessive force, in this case police brutality brings liabilities that cannot be taken lightly with the department and the community. Usually the high crime rates tend to revolve around low-income minority areas and officers tend to assume that minorities living in the areas are guilty. Police brutality that does exist is most likely result of emotional exhaustion.
Police Brutality Police work is dangerous. Sometimes police put in situations that excessive force is needed. But, because some officers use these extreme measures in situations when it is not, police brutality should be addressed. The use of excessive force may or may not be large problem, but it should be looked into by both the police and the public. For those people who feel racism is not a factor in causing the use of excessive force, here is a startling fact. In Tampa Bay, Florida, five men died while in the custody of the
The documentary Los Angeles Riots that occurred in 1992 is a great example of what happens when a race gets angry at the justice system for inequality. African Americans have always been getting unjust treatment from Law enforcement and from The Justice System in general. This still goes on Now the only difference is that now everyone has smartphones and there are cameras everywhere to record the kind of treatment that African American get from police and others. The Los Angeles riots sprung from years of rising tensions between the LAPD and the city’s African Americans, highlighted by the 1991 videotaped beating of the taxi driver, Rodney King. On April 29, 1992, anger boiled over after four LAPD officers were found not guilty of assaulting
The "1992 Los Angeles riots occurred on April 29th, 1992 at the intersection of Florence and Normandie in South Central Los Angeles"12, shortly after the acquittal of the four accused officers. The public was in awe after the acquittal of the officers, despite blatant video proof in defense of Rodney (George Holliday recorded video). The citizens revolted as a result as it was evident that the justice system was biased towards law enforcement. In other words, it "showed that African Americans could not rely on the mainstream media press to change their public stance on theories about race and civil society"13. The horrific violence outbreak lasted several days and as result "53 deaths, 10,000 arrests, 2,300 injuries more than 100 buildings
Police brutality is one of the most serious human rights violations in the United States and it occurs everywhere. The reason why I chose this topic is because police brutality happens all the time in the United States and still remains unrecognized by many. Additionally, the public should be knowledgeable about this topic because of how serious this crime can be and the serious outcomes that police brutality can have on other police officers and the public. The job of police officers is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crimes. They are involved in very dangerous and stressful occupations that can involve violent situations that must be stopped and controlled by any means. In many confrontations with people, police may find it necessary to use excessive force to take control of a certain situation. Sometimes this makes an officer fight with a suspect who resists being arrested. Not all cops in communities are great cops. At least once a year, the news covers a story about a person being beat by an officer. The article “Minority Threat and Police Brutality: Determinants of Civil Rights Criminal Complaints in U.S. Municipalities” by Malcolm D. Holmes from the University of Wyoming, uses the conflict theory to explain why officers go after minorities sometimes causing police brutality. It explains the police’s tension with African American and Latino males. Those minorities are the ones that retaliate more against police officers which causes the officer to use violent force to defend themselves.
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. According to the National Police Academy, in the past year, there have been over 7,000 reports of police misconduct; fatalities have been linked to more than 400 of these cases (Gul). Police brutality is often triggered by disrespect towards the police officer.