5 Facts About Police Brutality

-By definition the term police brutality is “applied in the context of causing physical harm, it may also involve psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned police procedure.” In today’s society we have police known as riot police, who are known throughout the world to use extreme force. Statistics show almost every time the riot police are involved in crowd control, there is at least one fatality and multiple injured. This is why I believe this is one of the most important issues in the World today. Police are there to protect us but from April 2009 to June 2010 in the United States there were 5986 reports of misconduct from police officers. Police brutality has today’s citizens doubting the police department, and how they go about their arrest. Police brutality is an everyday occurrence, especially in cities where there are large communities of Blacks, Latinos and Asians.

Although I should know by now, I cannot help but think that there has been an overwhelming amount of police brutality in recent years. Police brutality can be defined as, when a police officer uses more force than necessary. This issue has spread throughout the United States of America, and is putting the lives of our citizens in great danger. Police brutality is not only physical, but it can also be verbal attacks; and, in most cases, it is caused by false arrest and racial profiling due to police corruption. Police brutality has been and continues to be a major concern in society and it is used very loosely to any and all forms of police misconduct. Whereas, in reality, excessive force of police misconduct is what defines police brutality. The jobs of a police officer are too calmly resolve public disturbance and disputes. Police officers are supposed to protect citizens; instead they are hurting and using excessive force. It is not right and it is unjust for a police officer to hurt a citizen due to an assumption without any actual proof of criminal activity.

As of September 1, 2015, in the United States police officers have killed 776 people and 161 of those people were unarmed at the time of their death (MintPress). There have been too many incidents where police officers have injured or killed someone that could have been prevented. Using maximum force with a suspect has become a routine in many confrontations. Officers have not been given the proper training to deal with individuals and how to handle them without using a weapon. If they were given more training on how to deal with situations resulting in using a weapon to stop an individual during certain scenarios police brutality situations would decrease, lives would be saved, and police would get their good reputation back. However, police departments would have to spend more money on re-training. Some people agree with police brutality and think that a civilian deserved their punishment, which is not right because no one deserves to be beaten or killed. Situations involving police brutality have been increasing throughout the years, which is a problem that must to be solved.

Too many lives are being taken because some officers dramatize the extremity of their situations and immediately result to excessive force in order to maintain their hierarchy. The insecurities, fears, and personal justifications of an officer should never condone the murders of several unarmed individuals. If excessive force laws became more rigid, Trayvon Martin’s mother would’ve been able to see him graduate high school, and Eric Garner would have been able to make it home in time to have dinner with his family. Our country must stop rationalizing murder and put an end to police brutality by starting with the laws that conserve the use of excessive

Recently police have come under fire for the deaths of many unarmed African American males. This has broken the trust between civilians and police and torn our country apart. People are frustrated about the killings of unarmed citizens and how it seems every officer can get away with killing an unarmed suspect. Back in 1994 a law was passed that required the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to record date on police involved shooting and deaths by police officers. Except where are the numbers that would show there is an increase in unarmed African American deaths from police officers?

Police brutality is defined as the use of excessive or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians ("What Is Police Brutality?"). Recently, there have been a surplus of incidents involving police brutality. Cases like Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice are examples of police brutality. All three of these victims ended up dead at the hands of police. Statistics show that, just this year alone, 1,013 Americans have been killed by cops (Cop Crisis). Social media has made it remarkably easy for cases like these to gain and raise awareness. Many hashtags and movements have begun because of the new-found awareness about police brutality. The public is finally recognizing it as a problem and movements are trying to remedy the system. Unfortunately, police brutality is not easy to fix. Some suggest we need to institute several laws, others think we need to get to the root of the problem and revamp the way police officers are trained.

The heated issue of police brutality and police officers violating civil rights has extensively covered media headlines for several years. Hundreds of people are killed every year by police officers, and many of these cases bring up issues of police brutality. More often than not, it is usually a white police officer and an african american offender encounter that sparks media attention. The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri is just one of these cases that has caused a major divide in the United States. Michael Brown was fatally shot by Officer Wilson after an unfriendly encounter in the streets. Those who believe that Officer Wilson made the right decision in shooting Michael Brown, point to the fact that the grand jury chose not to indict him. Although Darren WIlson was not charged after the shooting of unarmed Michael Brown, some people believe that his actions were unlawful and he should have received some sort of punishment for his wrongdoing. Acknowledging all of the facts of the investigation, Officer Wilson did not act properly in the circumstances of the time.

     Ms.Cheng, a member of the Oct 22 Coalition say that as of 1990 more than 2000 deaths have resulted because of police brutality. In more than 30 cases suspects have been shot, killed or injured by NYC police officers in questionable circumstances in recent years. There are serious doubts about whether the suspects had

"Police brutality is an officer that uses excessive/ unnecessary force when dealing with civilians" (what is police brutality). Police killed 964 people in 2015. Black people were 25% (242) of those that died in the hands of police officers. (Chaney) Black people are two times more likely to be killed than white. Also, in 2015, 70% of those that were killed was unarmed(Chaney). The U.S. Department of Justice shows that 61% of officers do not always report such violence. (The United States Department of Justice)

Police shootings are unfortunate events but whenever there is a shooting, the topic of race emerges. Police shootings have always been the highlights on news channels and there is always the racially biased narrative that keeps repeating itself yet no one seems to dispute this narrative. However, did you know that studies show a police officer is eighteen and a half times more likely to be killed by a African American male than an unarmed African American male is to be killed by a police officer? In fact, a recent “deadly force” study by Washington State University researcher Lois James found that police officers were actually less likely to shoot an unarmed black suspect than unarmed Caucasian or Hispanic suspect in simulated threat scenarios. Some would argue that there are still police shootings all over America and they occur when police officers

Ever since the case of Trayvon Martin being shot in 2013, dozens and dozens of cases of injustice have been brought up to the eyes of the media and the law. Lately, the majority of those cases have been about police brutality, and it’s taken such a strong effect on the public that movements have been born out of it, such as the BlackLivesMatter movement. The situation has reached a point to where President Obama stepped out and addressed the issue at hand. The central issue here isn’t only the barbaric tactics that law enforcement resorts to, but the fact that the power police officers have as enforcers of the law is and has been abused over and over.

Police brutality is a very controversial topic in America. Some people think that the police are protecting their community and are doing whatever it takes to keep them safe. On the other hand, a lot of Americans feel that the police are choosy, prejudice, and overall just unfair. Personally, I think it depends on the situation at hand. I have read up on some cases that I felt that the police took advantage of their powers. I have also read a couple of situations where I felt that their actions of brutality were justified.

Discuss whether you believe there is a problem with police brutality in America. What are potential solutions to reducing police use of force and brutality?

However, Ferguson’s important political leaders such as the mayor and their police force are 97% white. In a city that should have more African-American’s being in power since their race is more popular, it is not. This shows the stigma towards black people and how they are treated inferior to white people because people believe they cannot take care of a city. Additionally, according to city-data, Ferguson has a higher crime rate than the United States average. Since Ferguson has many black people, this makes others believe that African-Americans are the main cause for murder, rape, and other crimes that occur in America. This shows the stereotypes that occur in the world for black people. Michael Brown’s incident caused a riot in Ferguson resulting in night curfews. However, the police force only went further with their insensitivity by using tear gas, dogs, rubber bullets and other weapons to stop the protest. The reason to Michael Brown’s death was stereotyping him to believe he was the one that stole the items because of his skin colour. Darren Wilson fired a total of 12 bullets and articles have said that he kept shooting because Brown was coming towards him.

There is no concrete definition of excessive force, but it is generally referred as police force that is unnecessary or unreasonable. Since Police use force frequently in order to restrain a suspect who may cause harm to the public or the officer him or herself, the amount of necessary force can be perceived differently by anyone watching. Officers have to make quick and clear decisions every time they encounter a possible offender. In the