Police Brutality: A Stain on American Society

The examples above are very solid examples of police brutality. The real question is what actually is considered police brutality? Many people think police brutality is only when a police officer hurts a civilian while being arrested. However it is more complex than that, Police brutality is the use of excessive physical force or it can come in the form of verbal abuse/intimidation by a member in the police force. Police brutality began to become more noticed after a major riot that changed the complete o... ... middle of paper ... ...rstand that these principles are universal though, and the bottom line is that they trump departmental procedures and custom every time” (White).

Police violence remains a dire human right violation, especially in the United States. Over the last decade, police have applied force and aggression in ways that leave people wondering if they are discharging their duties. Recently, law enforcement seems to have taken a different turn characterized by aggression and violence when dealing with the public. Cases of unjustified shootings, physical assault, fatal chokings and violent treatment have contributed to the ongoing problem of police brutality in the America. Worse still is the fact that a greater proportion of these cases go unreported and undetected.

America as a people gloat when it comes to our freedoms we think we have it better than every other country out there but the protectors of our freedom are becoming fear and hated because of the injustices committed by certain officers. Some say life of an officer is hard because they do not know if they will ever see their family again after they drive out of their house in the morning, others might say every officer knows what they were signing up for so they should not be pitied. Police officers face dangers everyday but profiling and racially motivated brutality is not justifiable and officers should be severely punished for committing these crimes. To begin with police officers faces more dangers than the average American citizen, “generally police are about three times as likely to be killed on the job as the average American” (Blako). “Some of the most important hazards police face are assaults, vehicle crashes, being struck by vehicles, stress, overexertion, and falls” (LaTourrette).

“Police throughout the United States have been caught fabricating, planting, and manipulating evidence to obtain convictions where cases would otherwise be very weak. Some authorities regard police perjury as so rampant that it can be considered a "subcultural norm rather than an individual aberration" of police officers. Large-scale investigations of police units in almost every major American city have documented massive evidence of tampering, abuse of the arresting power, and discriminatory enforcement of laws. There also appears to be widespread police perjury in the preparation of reports because police know these reports will be used in plea bargaining. Officers often justify false and embellished reports on the grounds that it metes out a rough justice to defendants who are guilty of wrongdoing but may be exonerated on technicalities.” ― Dale Carpenter, Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas Serve and Protect are common words associated with police officers, however some law enforcement officers taint the honor and integrity of the job.

Chief Gates instituted the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums or CRASH anti-gang program. These officers were under little supervision, were the roughest and most aggressive officers that LAPD had, and seemed to think that they were above the law. It is well known that a major cause of corruption in these specialty units is lack of supervision. Coupled with the lack of supervision and the temptation of dealing with drugs and money the CRASH unit get into a lot of trouble when the thin blue line was broken by Officer Rafael Perez. Perez was brought in after being caug... ... middle of paper ... ...an also affect the integrity of a department.

The real question is who or what is responsible for all of the mishaps that consequently seem to follow police officers in America daily, and what can we as a country do to put an end to the injustice? Police Brutality has always been around, mostly targeting minorities, and the people from poor communities. Police brutality is when they 're unnecessary force used on an unarmed individual seriously hurt

Fatal chokings, unjustified shootings, severe beatings, etc. all revolve around the ever-present problem of police brutality nationwide. According to Merriam Webster, police brutality is the use of excessive force, physically or verbally, by a police officer. Recently, in the United States, statistics show that there have been over 2,500 incidents against people of color. Even though there have been multiple reported incidents through all kinds of platforms such as videos and pictures showcasing these brutal police encounters, it is clear that the efforts to stop this are yet to be effective.

Consider for once how lucky one is for not having the physical appearance of a criminal, and even tough such thing does not exist, America 's Police Department seem to have a pretty good idea of what a criminal should look like. As Benjamin Spock once said: "Most middle-class whites have no idea what it feels like to be subjected to police who are routinely suspicious, rude, belligerent, and brutal.” Thus, unfortunately, being victim of police 's power abuse is a reality that many people have been suffering from in the past years. The abuse of power by police officers is a known fact, and the government should address it by improving the selection processes of new officers, increasing monitorship, and implementing punishments. Police officers abuse the authority given to them in many ways. First, physically, by brutally beating up individuals that they identify as "suspects."

The polic... ... middle of paper ... ...n the investigations. In most if not all the cases the victim of the excessive force is charged with resisting arrest and or assaulting a police officer, When in fact they are the ones who have been assaulted and victimized themselves. They are now fighting two uphill battles that are very difficult to win in any situation. A lot of the time the victim is from a poor or low income area and may have already been perceived to be a criminal by the police. The police have a great deal of power and they sometimes manipulate situation to make it look like or to hide what may have happen in an arrest situation.

A lot of the stories portray police officers as harmful beings, but a lot of times the news only tells one side of the story, which usually makes them out to be the villains. If the police were really abusing their power, wouldn’t there be more deaths? Police have the right to stop and question an individual if they suspect that individual or circumstance seems suspicious. Police are criticized everyday for the judgement they make. When something happens, police