Over the years, this country has witnessed many cases of police brutality. It has become a controversial topic among communities that have seen police brutality take place in front of their homes. Officers are faced with many threatening situations everyday forcing them to make split second decisions and to expect the worst and hope for the best. Police officers are given the power to take any citizens rights away and even their lives. With that kind of power comes responsibility, that’s one major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is when to use force or when to use lethal force. The use of excessive force may or not be a large predicament but should be viewed by both the police and the community. Police brutality is hypocrisy; …show more content…
Cops have to use physical force on criminals but is excessive force needed for unarmed criminals. Is it necessary to shoot at an unarmed man 41 times because he made a suspicious move? I know police officers have their reasons, sometimes you have to be in their shoes to understand what they are facing that might be a threat to their life or others around the scene. Its understood, force is sometimes necessary to refrain criminals when they get out of line, or put the police officers life endanger. Inherent criminality; the belief that people who commit crimes are animals and incapable of rehabilitation, leads police to treat people brutally. . Recent statistics published by the Stolen Lives Project estimate that the number of cases in the United States relating to police brutality has reached the thousands, but these statistics come with a disclaimer many, if not most, of these instances are never reported due to fear of reprisal. The fact is there are many cases of police brutality and corruption. Some are not good enough to make it to the front page of the newspaper or to the news. Not enough is being done; lack of community efforts are being made to help. Justice has to be served and the code of silence needs to be broken. Some cops need to be put behind bars. The only way to clean up the city or community is to clean up all the dirty cops. Police brutality is a cruel, inhumane injustice that can be prohibited. No one needs to be afraid or be worried about being intimidated by police and about coming foward with information. Without a doubt we have the good cops and bad cops, about a fraction of those cops still go abusing their authority to innocent people. If it were not for bystanders witnessing the brutality cops put on people many cases wouldn’t be what they are today. Fresno Police Department
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.
Over the years, our nation has witnessed countless cases of police brutality. It has developed into a controversial topic between communities. For instance, deindustrialization is the removal or reduction of manufacturing capability or activity can lead to more crimes when people are laid off. Police officers are faced with many threatening situations day-to-day gripping them to make split second decisions; either to expect the worst or hope for the best. The police are given the authority to take any citizen away for their action that can ruin their lives. With that kind of power comes great responsibility, which is one main concern with the amount of discretion officers have is when to use lethal force. The use of excessive force might or
Police brutality is becoming more and more apparent in the news today because it seems to be occurring more than before. In 2012, the NYPD killed 21 people that year which was an increase by 7 from the previous year (W.A.T.E.R, 1). The numbers are rising in the big cities where more crimes are likely to happen. Toronto isn’t as big as New York City, but it comes to show that police officers are killing more individuals each year. In 2009, in the little city of Cabbagetown near Toronto, two Toronto officers severely beat a man who was allegedly drunk in public. The two police officers were later found guilty of assault causing bodily harm, which shocked much of the public because rarely do police officers get charged after incidents like this. This case ended up bringing up the ethical issue of whether police officers use excessive force on people because they are law enforcements. Police officers seem to usually get away with the actions they do, which sometimes result in death, because they are law enforcements and they’re just looking out for their own safety and of others. I believe that police officers do sometimes use excessive force on people and that they get away with the consequences because they have a free pass because of their job title. To defend this judgment, the arguments that I will use are the statements of both police officers, the test results that proved that the police officers attacked a man who didn’t deserve it, and the decision of the SIU.
There are many ethical violations that can occur when excessive force occurs some of them are unnecessary injuries or death, abuse of authority or entitlement, lack of integrity, and corruption. There are many cases in which the police must use excessive or some kind of force to control a situation and protect citizens but only a small fraction of all police encounters each year involves force (Alpert, 2010). Depending on what kind of equipment was used by the police to control the situation the injury can vary, some of the equipment that the police uses to control a situation in addition to their handgun are pepper spray, batons, or conducted energy devices (Alpert, 2010). An abuse of authority ethical violation from a police officer can be a serious nightmare for a police department because these incidents usually receive a lot of media coverage and can damage the reputation
Over the years, this country has witnessed many cases of police brutality. It has become a controversial topic among communities that have seen police brutality take place in front of their homes. Officers are faced with many threatening situations everyday forcing them to make split second decisions and to expect the worst and hope for the best. Police officers are given the power to take any citizens rights away and even their lives. With that kind of power comes responsibility, that’s one major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is when to use force or when to use lethal force. The use of excessive force may or not be a large predicament but should be viewed by both the police and the community.
Police brutality is a very real problem that many Americans face today. The police carry an enormous burden each day. Police work is very stressful and involves many violent and dangerous situations. In many confrontations the police are put in a position in which they may have to use force to control the situation. There are different levels of force and the situation dictates the level use most of the time. The police have very strict rules about police use force and the manner in which they use it. In this paper I will try to explain the many different reason the police cross the line, and the many different people that this type of behavior effects. There are thousands of reports each year of assaults and ill treatment against officers who use excessive force and violate the human rights of their victims. In some cases the police have injured and even killed people through the use of excessive force and brutal treatment. The use of excessive force is a criminal act and I will try and explore the many different factors involved in these situations.
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. Here are some reasons why it is a problem. First, many departments do not provide adequate training in nonviolent solutions. With this, police are unfamiliar with what to
For many years in the past, police action particularly police abuse, has come to be unclear. Citizens are worried about protecting them from criminals. In fact they need to me aware of the corrupt police officers that are in the streets today as well as the criminals. There are many examples that make police brutality the worst as it is today. This one is one of them. Police Officer Daniel is in the choke hold death of Eric Garner, come in the wake if November 15th by the channel 24 news in Ferguson Missouri, police officer would walk free after killing 10 year old Michael Brown. (www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32740523) In the present police brutality does exist in the mist of us in the time and age we live in everyday. We just haven’t seen it yet. There are people that think if a police
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
Furthermore, many individuals believe that the police officers are misusing their power by taking extreme measures when situations arise. In shootings for example, we see that many police officers claim that their lives were in danger and the individual displayed threatening behavior that required them to fire. Many people contend this as they think that the police officers did not have sufficient discretion in firing their weapon and used their deep rooted, or even subtle, racism in handling the situation. In other words, had the individual been White the situation would have ended differently, and not with a dead African American person. The fact that in each of these cases of police brutality the individual ends up dead and unable to tell their side of the story is extremely alarming to
Police violence remains a dire human right violation, especially in the United States. Over the last decade, police have applied force and aggression in ways that leave people wondering if they are discharging their duties. Recently, law enforcement seems to have taken a different turn characterized by aggression and violence when dealing with the public. Cases of unjustified shootings, physical assault, fatal chokings and violent treatment have contributed to the ongoing problem of police brutality in the America. Worse still is the fact that a greater proportion of these cases go unreported and undetected. This has partially encouraged violent police officers to continue applying force when dealing with the public. This new law enforcement
Although police officers sometimes accidentally take lives, more lives are saved than those mistakenly taken. If officers did not apply some force when opposed, people would have no reason to listen and obey the laws they enforce. Police would gain no respect from civilians, and many officers would end up dead. In many cases, such as Tyron Lewis in 1996 and Michael Brown in 2014, minorities believe that police are targeting certain races when they use a gun as a means to protect themselves. While many people without any law enforcement training think that an officer is only supposed to injure the suspect to stop them, officers are actually trained to use lethal force to stop a threat (Mitchell). Numerous cases of police brutality exist, but just because an officer uses lethal force does not mean it qualifies as brutality. Police brutality is when there is proof that an officer or officers meant to bring harm upon a suspect in custody or anyone in general (Champion). Many cops exist that have bad intentions, but for the most part, law enforcement officers join the force to help protect their communities and families. Lately, it seems that cases are always in the news about some sort of police brutality or riots caused by an officer shooting someone. In reality though, police hardly ever use force; the International Association of Chiefs of Police found that officers use force less than one percent of the time or less than four out of every ten-thousand calls they go out on (Champion). Law enforcement should be commended for their efforts of keeping their communities safe from harm, instead of being under constant attack. Most do this duty while still preventing harm of the
We rely on the Police force to keep the community safe, but what price do we pay for that security? The job of a police officer is one of constant danger and threat. When an officer must engage with a belligerent and confrontational individual, there is a decision that must be made at the individual level. An officer must detain this person, while staying safe and keeping those around the scene safe. The officer has been trained in the appropriate use of force. The officer may have felt that use of force was warranted and used with discretion. The bystanders often don’t understand the complex situation that is unfolding before them and are quick to assume the officer has crossed the line. If you peruse through the internet you will see a myriad of reports covering police brutality that range from racial profiling to murder. Every time an officer uses force during an incident involving a minority group there is public outcry for justice and reform. When an officer chooses to use force, when does it become excessive? Who is the responsible unbiased entity to make that
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.