What’s Behind the Force of Authority?
BY SOPHIA WILSON
When you think of a police officer, you think of a hero, someone that will serve and protect your community. Police officers should uphold the law and maintain order for a stable society. They endure rigorous training to obtain this authority, and agree to put their own lives in danger to protect and serve. In recent months, this authority has been abused and has turned into extreme police brutality that is quickly turning deadly. Police brutality can be defined as the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians (Danilina). This excessive use of force includes police assaults, abuse and even killings.
In recent months we 've seen numerous news reports
…show more content…
The Police Side of Shooting Deaths and Other Trauma. Journal of Law Enforcement, 2010. www.jghcs.info [ISSN 2161-0231 (Online)] 17 April 2015
Williams, Joseph P. When It Comes to Police Brutality, Fear is Also a Factor. U.S.News, 5 December 2014. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2014/12/05/when-it-comes-to-police-brutality-fear-is-also-a-factor. 17 April 2015
Lind, Dara. How do police departments train cops how to use force? Vox, 5 September 2014. http://www.vox.com/2014/9/5/6105373/police-allowed-to-force-shoot-taser-training-policy. 17 April 2015
Danilina, S. What is Police Brutality? The Law Dictionary, n.d. http://thelawdictionary.org/article/what-is-police-brutality/. 17 April 2015
Barrabi, Thomas. Who Is Daniel Pantaleo? NYPD Officer Who Killed Eric Garner Was Accused Of Misconduct Before Chokehold Death. International Business Times, 3 December 2014. http://www.ibtimes.com/who-daniel-pantaleo-nypd-officer-who-killed-eric-garner-was-accused-misconduct-1733094. 17 April 2015
Fermino, Jennifer. De Blasio on lack of indictment in Eric Garner case: 'This is based on centuries of racism '. Daily News, 4 December 2014. http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/de-blasio-called-eric-garner-death-unnecessary-blog-entry-1.2032884. 17 April
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreInto the Kill Zone: A Cop’s Eye View of Deadly Force, by David Klinger, explores the effects that shooting a deadly weapon will have on law enforcement officers. The author interviews over eighty men and women from a number of police agencies spread across four states. He conducts these interviews to note the pre and post mental conceptions police officers have after shooting a gun in the line of duty. Klinger shares his interviewees’ stories in the novel to show readers how pulling the trigger of a gun can cause a variety of issues both within and outside of a police officer’s life.
Early in the 17th century was when the first modern day policing was expected to have begun. Ever since the 18th century begun, incidences of police using excess force by abusing their power have been quite common. As time progressed, these wrongful actions by police have been entitled as police brutality. Police brutality is defined as" the use of excessive force used by police dealing with public... excessive force can be either physical, verbal, and/or psychological". According to this definition, whether it be arresting someone with too much force or even uttering certain statements, can all be classified as police brutality. No individual should be victimized by police officers who use excess force that in no way deters crimes. It does nothing but bring a dire unjust society in which innocent people can feel afraid; and give those officers who are correctly doing their duties a bad reputation. Due to the dispensable, unscrupulous nature of police brutality; several measures including disciplining police officers, stricter laws(and stringent penalties), integration, as well as educating the general public about their rights, must be applied in order to extirpate the misconduct citizens should not have to face.
When law enforcement officers use excessive force when making an arrest or dealing with the public, this is known as police brutality. As one of the biggest police departments in America, the New York Police Department often finds itself in the midst of police brutality cases. Officers are allowed to use some force to restrain a suspect, make an arrest, prevent an escape, or defend themselves. However, there is a fine line that cannot be crossed when it comes to using force. Landing on the other side of that police brutality line can potentially put an officer in trouble, and may even cost him his job.
Shepherd, Gail. "Police Brutality Rarely Ends With Punishment for the Cops." - Page 2. N.p., 08 Apr. 2010. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
To identify a problem it must first have a name. Police brutality is a problem that is steadily growing in both occurrences and awareness. Police brutality is the use of excessive force that can result in the death of its victims and quite possibly a violation of the victims right. In most cases, these acts
When hearing the phrase “police brutality,” many people imagine batons cracking skulls, tasers electrocuting bodies and bullets penetrating innocent teens. While police officers have been known to use violence, police brutality does not occur as often as many believe. In many situations, officers have to act on impulse and curiosity, despite the backlash the media may create.
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.
Police brutality is a very real problem that many Americans face today. The police carry an enormous burden each day. Police work is very stressful and involves many violent and dangerous situations. In many confrontations the police are put in a position in which they may have to use force to control the situation. There are different levels of force and the situation dictates the level use most of the time. The police have very strict rules about police use force and the manner in which they use it. In this paper I will try to explain the many different reason the police cross the line, and the many different people that this type of behavior effects. There are thousands of reports each year of assaults and ill treatment against officers who use excessive force and violate the human rights of their victims. In some cases the police have injured and even killed people through the use of excessive force and brutal treatment. The use of excessive force is a criminal act and I will try and explore the many different factors involved in these situations.
“But they didn't have to beat me this bad. I don't know what I did to be beat up." Rodney King, March 3, 1991. Police Brutality has been a long lasting problem in the United States since at least 1903 when police Captain Williams of the New York Police Department said the phrase, "There is more law at the end of a policeman's nightstick than in a decision of the Supreme Court." In the 1920's the Wichersham Commission had a number of instances of police brutality. Many of these included the use of the "third degree" (beating to obtain a confession). This is a very effective way to get a confession out of somebody. However, beating the accused could easily elicit a confession from a scared and innocent person. Also, this puts the accused person's life in danger. Police officers must make snap life and death decisions daily. Officers' work in an environment where death (theirs, their partners, and an innocent or guilty person) is one decision away. How does that constant fear effect an officer's perception? Unfortunately, many that are attracted to law enforcement are aggressive and prone towards violence as a solution. Police officers have a lot of power. With this power comes responsibility. Police brutality can be defined as the excessive or unreasonable use of force in dealing with citizens, suspects and offenders.
For many years in the past, police action particularly police abuse, has come to be unclear. Citizens are worried about protecting them from criminals. In fact they need to me aware of the corrupt police officers that are in the streets today as well as the criminals. There are many examples that make police brutality the worst as it is today. This one is one of them. Police Officer Daniel is in the choke hold death of Eric Garner, come in the wake if November 15th by the channel 24 news in Ferguson Missouri, police officer would walk free after killing 10 year old Michael Brown. (www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32740523) In the present police brutality does exist in the mist of us in the time and age we live in everyday. We just haven’t seen it yet. There are people that think if a police
Background and Audience Relevance: According to the Human Rights Watch 2012 report on Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States; police brutality has become one the most serious human rights violation. As citizens of the United States it is our duty to make sure that those with authority don 't take advantage of their power.
By teaching police officers alternatives to shooting to kill, they experience higher risks with their lives. Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly, said, “It would be "very difficult" to train officers to shoot to wound” (Jacobo, 2016). Police officers are viewed as “predators” and “an occupying army” rather than allies (Valey, 2016). This is a perception that needs to change because it counteracts the mission of police officers
Mesloh, C., Henych, M., & Wolf, R. (2008, September). Less lethal weapon effectiveness, use of force, and suspect & officer injuries: A five-year analysis. Retrieved Nov. 22, 2014, from National Criminal Justice Reference Service: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/224081.pdf
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
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.