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The new world of police accountability
Research on police brutality
Police brutality in the united states
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Each year, thousands of reports occur involving some sort of police brutality. Police brutality has been in the media for some time now. Police brutality is when in any situation a civilian is harmed due to force by a police officer. Police brutality is continuing to be questioned because police officers are continuing to abuse their authority. Police officers are acting in brutal manners to control detained suspects. Police brutality can happen anywhere but statistically happen in fourteen of America 's largest nations. Including, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Boston, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Portland, Providence, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. These cities have tried to stop police brutality, but, unfortunately, have failed. Police have a civic duty to protect and serve individuals. Although, sometimes their power can ultimately be abused and cost innocent people their lives. The media has continued to publicly show police brutality and get answers for these innocent victims. The Mint Press News Desk reported that “776 people have been killed by police so far in 2015” (Mint Press). This study was published on September 1st, noting an average of about three people are killed per day by unlawful police violence. “The data was compiled by The Guardian for a project called The Counted a continuously updated, interactive database of police killings in the United States” (Mint Press). According to the statistics, police have killed white people than any other race with a total of 385. Also, reported that 161 of 776 were completely unarmed at the time of their death. So the question still stands, are they protecting the community or being excessive? ... ... middle of paper ... ...l minorities, false arrests, and excessive use of force” (Elliott). With the help of the media and higher officials, police could be focused on even more. Police officers need to know that they are being watched and consequences will be addressed of wrongdoing. Police brutality might not ever stop and it won 't be easy to do. “If police brutality was just a matter of a few bad apples, it would be a lot easier to solve. But it isn’t. Protecting bad cops are built into the fabric of police culture and is a structural issue that has to be corrected with structural solutions” (Starr). Police brutality might not ever be fully dissolved, but the community needs justice. The families of loved ones who died because of police brutality need justice to be served. Police brutality should not go unnoticed and must be stopped before more innocent lives are taken way too early.
Firstly, even after government advancement, the integration of a democratic society, and a greatly improved justice system, individuals still feel threatened by police officers. When police training was created, and guidelines/ penalties were and laid out, they were expected to have a large impact on minimizing incidences of excessive police force. Yet, this is not the case. It is often said that prevention is better than cure, this statement can be applied to police brutality by preventing it befor...
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
There are quite a few cases involving police brutality going on today. The reason it is such a hot issue is due to the violence against minorities, but especially the African Americans. Police brutality is defined as “the unnecessary force by police officer against citizens, resulting in injury” (Peak, 1947, p. 162). That is the most worldwide view of police brutality because a lot of individuals are either injured or killed while the police are trying to apprehend them. The way this issue can be addressed if we look at, is it excessive force or acceptable force and what can be done to prevent people dying by the hands of the police.
Police brutality and racial profiling dates back to the 1700’s in the United States(Rushing). Unfortunately, such treatment by police continues today when police are expected to hold the civic duty to protect and serve. Mistreatment by police is just the start in most cases, when citizens fight back it becomes “brutal”. Police brutality by definition means “The use of any force exceeding that reasonably to accomplish a lawful police purpose.” Police brutality can occur in many different ways with the most common being physical harm. Although that is a big problem, there are other cases of Police brutality that involve acts of false arrest, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, intimidation, etc. An act that can be seen as police brutality could be a criminal running from the cops and an officer shoots a victim with a taser. Many cases of physical harm are police using excessive force to contain and arrest any individual. Since many accounts of police brutality have been directed towards minorities, these cases turn into acts of racial profiling. Racial profiling is the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense. Let 's say for example Trayvon Martin, a simple 17 year old black male walking home from a gas station was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch member. This being one of the many
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.
A great deal of society views law enforcement officers as heroic and honorable individuals, whose main purpose is to protect and serve the community. For many officers, this description is accurate, however for others; violence and brutality against innocent citizens is part of getting the job done. For years, minorities have fallen victim to police brutality based on racial profiling, stereotypes and other unjustifiable reasons that has cost innocent lives. The involvement of officers in police brutality against minority groups causes tainted and negative views on policing. This reduces their ability to protect and serve the community. Police brutality is a violent incident involving an officer and a victim, usually including excessive force, unnecessary violence and sometimes resulting in a senseless fatality. Minority groups such as African Americans and Hispanics have often been the victims of this form of abuse by officers, however little justice has been done in order to protect these individuals from this form of cruelty by the hands of those with the most power.
Jet,”NAACP’S Wade Henderson Testifies On Capitol Hill About Police Over reaction”: v.80 May 20,1991 p.32
All the African American women and men that have been killed by a police officer should be brought to justice. However, this is not the solution to the problem of police brutality in America. The solution to police brutality is the proper training and certification of police officers, so they understand how to handle various situations without using lethal weapons. For instance, Moore states that “extensive training for several weeks in patrol and observation, narcotics activities and community relations” (Moore, 2010) will lead to the solution of police brutality. Also, in order to dissolve the police brutality in America, America must recognize race as more than just one complexion and accept that people of color shouldn’t be dehumanized, but equal to their counterparts.
Police brutality among all races needs to stop. Movements like Black Lives Matter focus in on only one race; however police brutality happens among all ethnic groups. Police brutality can sometimes shut out people who are not of the African American race. If more people supported the all lives matter movement, this could truly bring the discussion of police brutality to the table. It can be more difficult to do this when we focus on just one community of individuals. The only way to fix the downside that we face is requiring all police officers in the United States to wear body cameras. This solution would create less he said she said and more facts in situations where people are killed by police officers no matter what color they are.
Research Paper Rough Draft: Police Brutality Police misconduct is as rampant as ever in America, and it has become a fixture of the news cycle. Police brutality is the use of any force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose. The media is inevitably drawn toward tales of conflict, hence why there are so many crime and police stories on the news. Despite the increasing frequency of misbehaving cops, many Americans still maintain a high respect for the man in uniform. Still, police misconduct is a systemic problem, not just an anecdotal one.
The United State is one of the worst of the countries that experience police brutality. 90% of complaints for police misconducts were not investigated. Over 10,000 police brutality complaints against the US police departments only 19 of them were inflicted by police brutality. Most police departments say “we don’t need a few bad apples or a few rogue cops damaging the good police name that was once there for the police to help the needed people and to keep the communities safe. Police brutality us a nation problem and it is
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
When hearing the phrase “police brutality,” many people imagine batons cracking skulls, tasers electrocuting bodies and bullets penetrating innocent teens. While police officers have been known to use violence, police brutality does not occur as often as many believe. In many situations, officers have to act on impulse and curiosity, despite the backlash the media may create.
Chaney and Robertson, (2013) stated that “The Department of Justice office of Civil Rights has investigated more than a dozen police departments in major cities across the country on allegations of racial discrimination or police brutality”. Police brutality is defined as the use of excessive physical force or verbal assault and psychological intimidation. White police officers who grew up in the south and were raised to see African Americans in a negative way have a lower opinion of them. However, not all white police officers are from the south, some say that police officers are just abusing their power. When we look at what is going on around the country, it appears racism plays a part in police brutality. Even during this new digital age, there are video cameras in police cars facing the front of the vehicle, but that still does not hinder police using excessive
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. The most noticeable form of brutality is physical, where Chemical gas, batons, tasers, and guns, can be used for physical intimidation or to actually hurt people. Police brutality can also take the form of verbal abuse or psychological intimidation. It seems reasonable to understand that sometimes the police are put into situations where excessive force may be needed. But, because some officers use these extreme actions in situations when it is not, police brutality should be addressed and looked into by both the police and the public. For instance, a police officer who beats a nonviolent protester with a baton would probably be accused of excessive use of force, under the argument that the police officer probably could have dealt with the situation less violently.