Police brutality has been a major human rights violation in the United States and those who experience these events are a majority of the minority community. Police use authority as an advantage to hurt certain people they claim are a threat to society. Many people ignore this violation because they believe that the police are just doing their job but are they really doing their job if it results in the violence of innocent civilians? Keith Childress, Miguel Espinal, Tiara Thomas, Rayshaun Cole, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and much more are all victims of police brutality. There have been 4,861 cases on police misconduct involving 6,613 law enforcement officers and 6,826 alleged victims. Police brutality isn’t
something that we should ignore and brush off, it has been here for over 100 years and there hasn’t been a stop to it. Even though, police officers are rarely taken into consideration for killing and brutalizing unarmed black men, like the ones I said before, and are often absolved if they do have their day in court. Think about Rodney King. That case was one of the major reasons why it is so challenging to end police brutality because police officers are still held in such high regard by the public. A recent poll showed that 52 percent of white Americans believe that police officers are treating black people fairly but only 12 percent of black Americans think that. By denouncing the Black Lives Matter saying that it only brings violence towards police officers and are a hate group is not going to solve anything. The Black Lives Matter movement has actually brought us one step closer, by holding protests it brings Americans together to stand up and speak about the injustice there is in our own backyard. We should test our institutions, our government, our criminal justice system, our police forces, our schools and universities to consistently examine their policies to promote diversity and subsumption, to call out discrimination and reduce implicit bias; should be included in police training.
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.
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 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
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
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 is the considered use of unnecessary force, usually physical, carried out during law enforcement activities with the population. This type of behavior also includes verbal attacks and psychological intimidation by a police officer. Police brutality has an adverse effect on society, and it has lead to critical injury and even death. There are three different was to explain police brutality: the history, the reason, and the solution for it. The history, including the beginning or the first case of police brutality, the different police brutality through the times, and present day police brutality. The reason, including laws for police brutality, the cause of personal emotions or reaction of officers. The solution, involves protests,
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
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.
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.
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
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.