Police Brutality Case Study

Effective Training Methods to Mitigate Police Brutality

Law enforcement officers hold a unique position within society. Granted by laws, police officers are given authority to use force at their discretion to keep the communities they serve peaceful and safe. The severity of force at the disposal of law enforcement officials can range from minor actions such as restraint, all the way to terminal force with the use of an officer’s service weapon. It is this authority and the responsibilities that come with it that make the law enforcement profession highly visible and often scrutinized. This scrutiny and criticism has increased in the last 15 years, in large part due to an increase in police power and authority, as well as to social media (Waxman, 2009). For instance, technological advances in cell phones, citizens have the ability to video record their and others’ interactions with police. It is often the instances of force used by police that end up on the evening news or distributed through social media. One such example is the use of pepper spray and bullying tactics by University of California, Davis police during the Occupy movement in late 2011. These acts were inflicted on non-violent, peaceful protestors and could be viewed not only on television, but through the internet as well (Rodriguez, 2012).

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The emphasis on training, as opposed to tactics, occurred during the early stages of reviewing the literature. An increasing number of studies were found that examined tactics and behavior of officers as they related to training received. Scholars point to COPS training as the best answer to police – community conflict and crime prevention. COPS training has shown to be successful; however, it has not been implemented across the board by law enforcement agencies in the United States (Chappell,