The Use of Pepper Spray in Police Brutality

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 has always been an occurring action throughout history. There has been occurring events from the beginning with the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965 as to now. To elaborate on the subject of police brutality is the act of using excessive physical force upon a citizen when it is not needed. This act occurs both in the United States and multiple countries and unfortunately many of these cases go unreported. This has been a major problem that has been occurring throughout history.

The use of deadly force by police officers is a very important subject in today’s society. Many consider the use of deadly force excessive in most cases. However, there are many aspects to look at when considering this topic, such as: Why was deadly force required? When did the officer feel it necessary to apply deadly force? What will be the implications for the officer after the fact? How does the use of deadly force affect society as a whole?

a). However, if the deaths were caused entirely from the stun guns, tasers and it was a common occurrence, than it should be considered lethal. If it is an anomaly, it was not a common occurrence. The police need some tools to help take down or control suspect who are fighting them. Anytime the police officer physically assault another person, there is a strong possibility that death can occur.

Annotated Bibliography Holmes, Malcolm D. "Minority threat and police brutality: Determinants of civil rights criminal complaints in US municipalities. " Criminology 38.2 (2000): 343-368. This article was on research or study on police brutality using the conflict theory and analysis.

This fact finding study is concerned with the investigation of factors related to injuries that occur to officers and citizens during use of force incidents. Prior studies have shown that 1-2 percent of police-citizen contacts involve the menace or application of physical force by police, while 15-20 percent of arrests may result in the use of force by police to control a violently resistant suspect. Most applications of force are low level, and usually involve the use of an officer’s hands, arms, and body to to gain control of a suspect. But, not all force is minor and officers are trained and equipped to use a gamete of varying force techniques and weapons to overcome resistance. These include less lethal devices such as pepper spray, batons, Tasers, as well as firearms in the event of threats of death or serious bodily injury. There are various legal and independent departmental policy restrictions that govern the use of force by officers. In most law enforcement agencies, the use of force is tightly controlled by policy, and more serious applications of force are reviewed and investigated by supervisory personnel, internal affairs units and use of force review boards.

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.

Police brutality against minorities has been a problem over the years. Police brutality is the use of excessive physical force including beating citizens with hands or batons stun guns, teargas and even lethal weapons (Walter, 2014) Police brutality has caused severe physical harm over the year but it may also involve psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned police procedures. Police brutality has been a major problem in many areas among law enforcement officers through the mistreatment of unarmed citizens. Although police brutality is illegal in many areas, many incidents of police brutality go unreported and prosecuted. The Police Misconduct Provision

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"FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin: A History." FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 81.12 (2012): 1-2. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.