Are the Police really “helping” people? Recently in America, there have been many controversial issues towards police and how they try to stop the violence, specifically towards African Americans. For example, Alton Sterling, a man who lived in Louisiana was shot several times after being tackled by two police officers for trying to sell CDs outside a local convenience store. A few days later there was one black man who was a military soldier by the name of Micah Xavier Johnson who was so furious with the issue that he ended up taking matters into his own hands by shooting five police officers. This is not right on both sides and the tension between African Americans and police is rising due to these recent incidents but, can be changed by The police culture is very aggressive and they use a lot of force even when it’s uncalled for. Police officers are expected to do things on their own and not call for backup due to the competitivity which could be a reason why officers end up killing people on the spot and in this case innocent black males. An article states the following cities Seattle, Washington, California, Oakland, and much more are “Overhauling tactical training to focus more on de-escalation and emotional intelligence.”(Zak Cheney Rice) The police recognize their mistakes and now are slowly making changes in their departments. An example of how they are changing it is in an interview with the Las Vegas police chief Kirk Primas in which he says, "Our sheriff recognized that we had to change, and that included a change in the department’s culture. So we revamped our policies, and we put 'respect for the sanctity of human life' in the first paragraph of our use-of-force policy."(Zak Cheney Rice) With these changes hopefully police brutality will come to an end. In conclusion, the issue between the African Americans and the police has gotten way out of hand due to recent events, however, there are many ways to neutralize police brutality. They can ban police officers who are biased towards black people, train officers in certain areas such as communication, and crisis intervention, and to make the community more involved and make an impact. The tension between African Americans and the police force can easily be resolved with the right ideas and mindset throughout the
Today police officers are trained to kill. Steven Rosenfeld, a journalist in civil liberties for Alternet said, “The militarization of local police has been growing...They face few consequences for making mistakes, such as maiming or killing people” (Rosenfeld). This shows that the local police officers are trained with military tactics and receive no penalty for their wrong actions. Not only is there an increase in police brutality, it seems as if they are targeting specific nationalities. Tony Brown, a writer for Raw Story agrees by saying “young black males in recent years were at far greater risk of being shot dead by police than their white counterparts”(Brown). Brown is blantly saying that the police seem to target one group to discriminate against. According to Brown it is 21 times greater chance for a black male to be killed over other
Police are supposed to maintain the law, but how can you differentiate a police officer from a criminal when they themselves are breaking the law and killing innocent people. Police are not just killing people randomly, they are targeting African Americans. African Americans die at the hands of police more than white which proves that U.S. policies are discriminatory. In “Chicago police shot and killed 70 people, most of them black, in five years period ending in 2014” (Peter Katel 2016). Additional African Americans death by police is not just criminal but also innocent and unarmed African Americans. According to the article, African Americans account for only 6 percent of the U.S. population. Africans Americans are a small group, therefore, Africans American death should be small, but statistics have proven otherwise. As noted in the article 40 percent – 37 percent of the 90 unarmed deaths by police are African Americas males. This statistics shows that the deaths of Africans Americans are less than whites but when you compare the population of Africans America against whites in the U.S. it proves that African Americans are dying faster than white. Additional that proves that police are killing African Americans more than
Police brutality has been a significant issue for many years.. The people affected by this most of all, are people of color. They are subject to racial inequality by the police and the justice system every day. They are being killed everyday simply for existing. The excessive force used by the police specifically towards African Americans is continuous; with the justice system doing close to nothing to change that. This is one of the reasons they continue to kill and harass African Americans. According to Propublica, young black males are about twenty times more likely to be shot and killed by the police than their white peers are. Murderers are walking free, and innocent lives are being taken. Over the past couple of years, thousands of people have been killed on the hands of the police, both black and white.
How, besides protesting, can we truly make sure that there will be no more black people being killed, beaten or tortured by police officers? And how can we promote justice and equality in the law enforcement more often? Step 1. Body cameras on every officer will show a huge decrease in police brutality. Body cameras are not going to make everything stop but it will definitely help instill some fear in those who believe they are invisible and can do whatever they want. Step 2. Establishing a "use of force" policy. Letting police officers know that they have boundaries and failure to do so will result in extermination will also help decrease police brutality cases. Step 3. Training police to be kind and not just scripted. Training police to actually become a member of the community and not just a member of the local police
The New York Police Department has a mission to "preserve peace, reduce fear, maintain order," and protect its civilians in their communities (NYPD, 2016). On the contrary, civilians do not see the police officers as individuals who are there to protect them because they do not trust the police officers or the justice system. In the past few decades, police officers have not been held accountable for their actions in a few incidents where a few unarmed young black males were killed by the police. Communities responded to this issue with the Black Lives Matter movement with protests nationwide to show support for the unarmed young black men who were killed by police. In response to the aggressive policing, methods of using body cameras and detailed incident reporting ...
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
Ultimately, the problems of police brutality and racial profiling may be alleviated by race-sensitive police training, requiring officers to be from the neighborhoods they police, and most importantly, decentralizing the police department. This would include holding police officers accountable to an effective community-elected review board that would take the place of ...
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...
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 strict guidelines on 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 a result of emotional exhaustion.
Police brutality is a very complex incident that has been occurring for many years. It is not an easy task to address, but there are a few techniques being implemented to decrease the number of cases of police brutality. There is no way of completely eliminating police brutality, but there are ways to help condense the act. In order to understand how to prevent police brutality, one must first understand the importance of preventing it. Black Americans are more likely to be a victim of police brutality than any other race. It is a controversial topic that needs to be aggressively addressed; some of the most effective techniques is the use of body cameras, dash cams, and protests by the citizens. All police officers should be required to wear
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.
If people choose to stand behind the police force, an understanding between the public and police force will occur, reducing tensions. In order to resolve the tension between citizens and the police force, America must be optimistic that change is possible. Police must get involved with the communities they are protecting in order to build trust and reduce the crime. The public has to understand that the police force is truly trying to do their job and may make mistakes on occasion. These mistakes can be prevented through endless support and honor from America. If people choose to respect the police force and the ideals that they protect everyday, police brutality will surely
Police officers are supposed to bring an aura of safety wherever they go, as they are supposed to protect everyone. There is a problem when there are people who see a police officer and immediately fear for their life. Police brutality in America has always been an issue, but it has been getting worse and worse. It also is becoming more well known. In order to put an end to police brutality, America must first recognize the problem and work toward a solution.
Police brutality is an act that often goes unnoticed by the vast majority of white Americans. This is the intentional use of “excessive force by an authority figure, which oftentimes ends with bruises, broken bones, bloodshed, and sometimes even death” (Harmon). While law-abiding citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been revealed that they must also keep an eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve. 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.
African Americans and law enforcement have never had a cooperative, dependable relationship throughout the history of this country. Throughout the United States, from coast to coast, various police departments have officers who have participated in the unarmed killings of black men. While most of the police officers have had a trial, many of them have not been convicted of their crimes. Mothers will never be able to see their children again, their futures will never have their intended result.