Are the Police really “helping” people? Recently in America, there have been many controversial issues towards police and how they try to stop the violence, specifically towards African Americans. For example, Alton Sterling, a man who lived in Louisiana was shot several times after being tackled by two police officers for trying to sell CDs outside a local convenience store. A few days later there was one black man who was a military soldier by the name of Micah Xavier Johnson who was so furious with the issue that he ended up taking matters into his own hands by shooting five police officers. This is not right on both sides and the tension between African Americans and police is rising due to these recent incidents but, can be changed by
The police culture is very aggressive and they use a lot of force even when it’s uncalled for. Police officers are expected to do things on their own and not call for backup due to the competitivity which could be a reason why officers end up killing people on the spot and in this case innocent black males. An article states the following cities Seattle, Washington, California, Oakland, and much more are “Overhauling tactical training to focus more on de-escalation and emotional intelligence.”(Zak Cheney Rice) The police recognize their mistakes and now are slowly making changes in their departments. An example of how they are changing it is in an interview with the Las Vegas police chief Kirk Primas in which he says, "Our sheriff recognized that we had to change, and that included a change in the department’s culture. So we revamped our policies, and we put 'respect for the sanctity of human life' in the first paragraph of our use-of-force policy."(Zak Cheney Rice) With these changes hopefully police brutality will come to an end. In conclusion, the issue between the African Americans and the police has gotten way out of hand due to recent events, however, there are many ways to neutralize police brutality. They can ban police officers who are biased towards black people, train officers in certain areas such as communication, and crisis intervention, and to make the community more involved and make an impact. The tension between African Americans and the police force can easily be resolved with the right ideas and mindset throughout the
The Baltimore City police have faced a myriad of problems in the last year. The riots following the Freddie Gray arrest were reported around the country and created a situation where the Governor was forced to call in the National Guard to protect the city. Community leaders report that African American’s are stopped, searched and arrested at a far greater number than Caucasian’s. The Baltimore city police are at an impasse with the community at this time, it is up to the city leaders and the police officials to come up with some real solutions to the issues that can no longer be ignored.
African American’s still are thought to be discriminated against by law enforcement, according to recent scenarios which have occurred. For example, Eric Garner was seen to have been physically abused by police and many of the public believe this is because he was African American. Though racism is less common today, it is still relevant and apparent in society. Violence is still used by both individuals and law enforcement, as well as as a form of protest in some circumstances. Though there is still some violent-protests present today, for humanitarian reasons this form of protesting has become less common throughout all of the ethnic
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...
Police are supposed to maintain the law, but how can you differentiate a police officer from a criminal when they themselves are breaking the law and killing innocent people. Police are not just killing people randomly, they are targeting African Americans. African Americans die at the hands of police more than white which proves that U.S. policies are discriminatory. In “Chicago police shot and killed 70 people, most of them black, in five years period ending in 2014” (Peter Katel 2016). Additional African Americans death by police is not just criminal but also innocent and unarmed African Americans. According to the article, African Americans account for only 6 percent of the U.S. population. Africans Americans are a small group, therefore, Africans American death should be small, but statistics have proven otherwise. As noted in the article 40 percent – 37 percent of the 90 unarmed deaths by police are African Americas males. This statistics shows that the deaths of Africans Americans are less than whites but when you compare the population of Africans America against whites in the U.S. it proves that African Americans are dying faster than white. Additional that proves that police are killing African Americans more than
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.
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.
The New York Police Department has a mission to "preserve peace, reduce fear, maintain order," and protect its civilians in their communities (NYPD, 2016). On the contrary, civilians do not see the police officers as individuals who are there to protect them because they do not trust the police officers or the justice system. In the past few decades, police officers have not been held accountable for their actions in a few incidents where a few unarmed young black males were killed by the police. Communities responded to this issue with the Black Lives Matter movement with protests nationwide to show support for the unarmed young black men who were killed by police. In response to the aggressive policing, methods of using body cameras and detailed incident reporting ...
If people choose to stand behind the police force, an understanding between the public and police force will occur, reducing tensions. In order to resolve the tension between citizens and the police force, America must be optimistic that change is possible. Police must get involved with the communities they are protecting in order to build trust and reduce the crime. The public has to understand that the police force is truly trying to do their job and may make mistakes on occasion. These mistakes can be prevented through endless support and honor from America. If people choose to respect the police force and the ideals that they protect everyday, police brutality will surely
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
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.
African Americans and law enforcement have never had a cooperative, dependable relationship throughout the history of this country. Throughout the United States, from coast to coast, various police departments have officers who have participated in the unarmed killings of black men. While most of the police officers have had a trial, many of them have not been convicted of their crimes. Mothers will never be able to see their children again, their futures will never have their intended result.
According to the website, CopCrisis, in 2014 the police brutality rates were 1,297, in 2015 it was 1,307, and as of April 18, 2016 there has been 368 cases and 6,613 cops were involved in the cases. That is only the number of cases that has been reported, there is most definitely more cases that has not been reported to the media yet. As a result of the many deaths and abuse to citizens by the police officers, the body cameras and dash cams came into effect. The cameras came into effect after the death of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin and it has been a requirement to the police uniforms since
Police officers are supposed to bring an aura of safety wherever they go, as they are supposed to protect everyone. There is a problem when there are people who see a police officer and immediately fear for their life. Police brutality in America has always been an issue, but it has been getting worse and worse. It also is becoming more well known. In order to put an end to police brutality, America must first recognize the problem and work toward a solution.
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.