The Abuse of Power

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Recommended: Literature Review On Police Brutality

The Abuse of Power
“Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power;” as President, James Madison knew the imperfections of the people he governed. As it is with many things in life, there can always be too much of something; therefore, there is a certain degree to how much freedom and power a person can have. A police officer, or any other powerful authority can abuse the power that they have. Police brutality occurs when an officer uses “extreme physical force, verbal attacks, and threats” against a person without a fair reason for doing so. (Ostrovskii 3) It is a very serious problem that occurs worldwide. Every police department experiences a case of misconduct at some point in time. Unfortunately, many of the officers responsible for these acts often face no consequences. Police brutality, which is growing in cases every year, is a crime that generally affects certain nationalities, often goes unpunished, and is a controversial topic that plenty do not understand but want to stop.
While there is an ever-growing number of police brutality cases being reported each year, little to none of the police officers responsible for these acts are held accountable. Since the cases are rising so much, there are more news stories and broadcasts covering this national problem. There are entire websites designed just to see the number of police brutality cases taking place on a specific day. As of March 20, 2014, there have been a staggering eight cases of police misconduct recorded on one of the websites. (Lynch) There are many forms of police brutality; some include false arrest, sexual misconduct, and racial profiling. In 2009, between the months of April 2009 and June 2010, 382 people lost their live...

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... [Naples] 31 Oct. 2013, Naples ed.: n. pag. EBSCO. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Lynch, Tim. "The Cato Institute's National Police Misconduct Reporting Project." Cato Insitute. Cato Institute, 21 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Ostrovskii, Mikhail. Police Abuse of Power Have You Ever Been a Victim? Police Abuse of Power Have You Ever Been a Victim? N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Phakathi, Bekezela. "Calls for Action after Video Shows Apparent Cape Police Brutality." Business Day 7 Mar. 2014, South Africa ed.: n. pag. EBSCO. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Roberts, Paul Craig. "Police Are More Dangerous To The Public Than Are Criminals." IPE Paul Craig Roberts Institute for Political Economy. Paul Craig Roberts, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Rucke, Katie. "US Police Have Killed Over 5,000 Civilians Since 9/11." Information Clearing House. World News Daily, 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

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