Why Do Police Officers Use Excessive Force

In the year 2015, 1,086 people have died in police related shootings in the U.S according to Vice News (2015). More and more minority deaths are occurring each year at the hands of law enforcement. Although the police swore to protect and serve, their disproportionate shootings of minorities indicate otherwise; which is why police officers need more cultural training, non-lethal force for apprehension training, and should be subject to harsher punishments for the officers with a history of excessive force.

Over the past decade, there have been many cases dealing with the police using excessive force. Excessive force is the violation of a person’s constitutional rights (US Legal, 2016). Although there is not a precise definition, it occurs

when police use “greater force than necessary” (US Legal 2016). An example of police using excessive force is the Laquan McDonald case in Chicago, Illinois. Laquan McDonald was a black 17-year-old boy who was suspected of breaking into vehicles on October 20, 2014. McDonald was also wielding a knife when police saw him. The teen was seen on the dashcam of a police car walking at a distance from the squad cars. As a police vehicle arrived to the scene, Officer Jason Van Dyke shot at McDonald within seconds of getting out of the vehicle. After Laquan was already on the ground, Officer Dyke repeatedly shot at him a total of 16 times (Cable Network Broadcasting 2015). According to international law, the law enforcement officers are not supposed to use force that is unnecessary and to respect and preserve human life (Amnesty Internatiol.2015).
The police have killed many minorities by assuming that their appearance means that they are a threat, which can be considered racial profiling. Even though the U.S is a predominately white country with 63% of the population versus blacks who make up only 12%; statically speaking, the percentage of blacks killed is more than whites. Police brutality can be defined as an irrational or immoral punishment conducted by law enforcement officers (US Legal 2016). Police brutality towards minorities can be considered a nationwide epidemic that in most cases causes a death by the hands of an officer. In many cases, there has been some type of misconduct made by those who are supposed to protect life. Eric Garner, a 43-year-old male, was a victim of police brutality on July 17, 2014. Garner had just finished stopping a fight when police approached him, accusing him of selling untaxed cigarettes. An officer then puts Garner into a chokehold and a few more officers force him to get on the ground. After Garner is detained he repeatedly says “I can’t breathe,” to the officers but they did not respond and continued to press down on him.
Cultural training can help improve the actions of police and create better relations with minorities.

Around the country, there are said to be numerous amount of law enforcement officers that are bias and discriminatory towards citizens. In many communities there is a lack of trust between people, specifically minorities and the police, due to racial profiling as seen in Missouri. In Ferguson, Missouri, as of 2010, almost 70% of the city’s population is black and yet whites make up 94 percent of the police department (Politifact, 2014). An officer who has not been exposed to a community with a different culture may not be able to work proficiently because they are unaware of the cultural norms. Cultural training is a way for police to grasp a better understanding of how to deal with people from different cultures; “… law enforcement officials need understanding, respect, and a willingness to communicate with all segments of the population (ADL 2016).” Cultural training can assist in the improvement of police departments all over the nation. According to Kwintessential, there are benefits of cultural training such as building trust within communities, understanding different cultures, as well as preventing stereotyping and discrimination, (Kwintessential 2014). The expansion of cultural awareness leads to better communication through the acceptance of the values and beliefs of others. (Kwintessential

2014).