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One of the many ways people have been fighting against police brutality is by protesting. There have been many people that have protested because of an incident that happened in their state, city, or community. This strategy has been used many times to achieve the results wanted by the people protesting. Protesting is not easy, but with enough people it can be effective enough so that the police department will act on the issue at hand. There have been many cases where protesting encouraged or forced police departments to do something to ease the pressure that was put on them due to police brutality. In the book Police Brutality Opposing Viewpoints by Helen Cothran, Cothran mentions a case in which the U.S. Justice Department proposed reforms
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
Freddie Grey, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, John Crawford, Eric Gardner, Jordan Baker.These are just some of the many, many African American people that were killed by the police, all unarmed, all mistreated by the police, all shot and killed, without a crime.. Every twenty-eight hours a life is lost. There are hundreds of innocent lives that are being taken away from their families. Police officers, who are meant to protect and serve, are instead killing and abusing civilians. These outrageous crimes would be avoided through accountability of the police, use of body cameras at all times, and the use of social media.
In America, police brutality affects and victimizes people of color mentally and socially. Social injustice has become a major issue, which involved the principle of white supremacy vs minorities. The current police brutality that has been occurring is culturally disconnecting ethnicities from one another. According to Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell, “…the cultural disconnect is very real; you have the weight of generations of abuse on African Americans,” (Flatow, 2016). For example, over the past four years, there have been countless acts of police brutality. The three key deaths of Eric Garner, Philando Castile, and Alton Sterling have become the face of police brutality in the year 2016. People knew that it was unequal treatment of black people by police in the United States and they made it known by creating #BlackLivesMatter.
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
a country who is trying to strive to be better, we must first start with making everyone an equal. This will start once we look at everyone the same. If we continue to look at everyone’s differences, then we aren’t being fair or true to one another.
Attention Getter: Are all the officers who are intended to "Protect and Serve" really following through with that?
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 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.
Holmes, Malcolm D. "Minority threat and police brutality: Determinants of civil rights criminal complaints in US municipalities." Criminology 38.2 (2000): 343-368.
Nowadays how many people remember the story of Rodney King? The Rodney King beating was the incident that really brought to the public eye the extremes some police take their brand of justice. Every day now you hear more and more stories of the increasing amounts of police brutality at it does not seem to be stopping. We can always argue that the police are justified in their sometimes questionable methods in stopping criminals, but they do not all fall under this category. As Terry Mark once said “Thinking before acting is wisdom, but acting before thinking is regret.” Most cops could be said to embody the latter portion of that quote. There must be more done to curb the amount of cases that get reported. There are many ways to address this
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 and racism are an ongoing problem in our country. It goes back hundreds of years with no sign of it stopping. Police officers have been abusing their power since they have been around. Abuse against African American males by white police officers is getting out of hand. Most officers face no punishment at, and all there is a special code that they follow. Officers follow The “Blue Code of Silence”, which is a code that means they look out for one another. Even with video recording devices, the news, and social media, these events still go on. African Americans take most of the abuse and it looks like there is no end to this. This is a reflection on our society, and it makes us look ignorant to what is going on around us.
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.
The phrase justice for all seems like it doesn’t pertain to everyone. I have seen so many cases of police brutality where they have actually killed someone for no reason and got off with the crime. In my opinion murder is murder and regardless of the position you have, if you do the crime you should have to do the time. Just because you wear a badge, doesn’t mean that you have the right to kill someone. I feel as if its time for the government to start enforcing more laws for police officers and it time for officers to have to have more harsh consequences for their actions.
According to (Kristian, 2014) police brutality is a thing of the policing system, not circumstantial. She points out one of the most obvious reasons, which is the lack of training that officers receive to identify what is the appropriate amount of force. Kristian also identifies the lack of training officers receive in regards to domesticated pets. The most important part of Kristian’s argument is that the policing system is targeting minorities, with some city police’s procedures explicitly stating that. What constitutes brutality is also not a widely outlined thing and this causes most cases of police brutality to go unpunished. Those who are punished receive a very small punishment. Her reasoning and examples leads the reader to conclude that police brutality is systematic and not anecdotal.