Black Police Officer Research Paper

“The African American community is not making this up. It’s not something that’s being politicized. It’s real”

Police officers have played a major role in society by protecting us from crime. Their responsibilities include not only preserving the peace, preventing criminal acts, enforcing the law, investigating crimes, and arresting those who violate the law but also directing traffic, community relations work, and controlling crowds at public events.

Starting In 1829, Sir Robert Peel began developing his theory of policing. These nine principles are as relevant today as they were in the 1800's. Peel established the Metropolitan Police when he served as Home Secretary of England. Since Sir Robert Peel introduced his principles of policing in the early 1800's, our country has continued to follow his ideas of effective policing. Community policing is based on Peel's concept of prevention.

Over the last two years in the United States the African-American people have been fighting a war within our own backyards. The Washington Post reports that since January 2015, the police have shot and killed over 175 young black men ranging from ages 18-29; 24 of them were unarmed. On the flip side 172 young white men were killed, only 18 being unarmed. With these statistics there are similarities in the numbers but, blacks were killed at rates disproportional to their percentage of U.S population (1.Washington Post). Of all unarmed people shot and killed by police in 2015. With 40% being black men make up just 6% of the nation’s populations. In the wake of the killings of Mike Brown, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, and many more the world has been made more publicly aware of injustices black people have to handle when dealing with law enforcement. Crime in the black community is nothing new in the black community or should I say black on black crime. There is a bad stereotype that has been put on black people since slavery times that I believe has help fueled the violence between the police and my people.

African Americans in modern America have bound together in unity against inequality to help end the unnecessary murders and unjust police beatings. However, where did these tensions between police and African Americans begin? This question can be answered by looking at the history of police in America and why they were originally established. Police first came on to the scene in 1704 when Carolina established the nation’s first slave patrol that would turn into what we know today as the modern police. The slave patrol had the duty of searching for runaway slaves and returning them to their masters. Therefore, the original reason the police force was established was to deal with black slaves and it seems as if some officers today still hold that as their job title. However, this was just the beginning to the negative police encounters that many African Americans would have to endure. With the ratification of the 13th amendment and the freeing of the slaves the slave patrol became what is known as modern day police. During reconstruction the police began a war to create a new form of slavery, this form of slavery was known as convict leasing. Although, the 13th amendment legalized the enslavement of anyone convicted of a crime it seemed as if it was only used against African Americans. This new method of enslavement sky rocketed the rate of African American arrests and created new laws in the south such as the pig laws which sentenced anyone who stole a pig to 5 years in

"There were two cops. One said 'You niggers have to learn to respect police officers.' The other one said, 'If you yell or make any noise, I will kill you.' Then one held me and the other shoved the plunger up my behind. He pulled it out, shoved it in my mouth, broke my teeth and said, 'That's your *censored*, nigger.'"(Abner Louima) The police officers that allegedly performed this act of racial violence on August 9, 1997 had no reason to brutally beat and sodomize Abner Louima. They beat him for the fact that he was an African-American. I will show how I researched a poem by Maya Angelou and how racism occurred in "The Bluest Eye". First, we need to understand what racism is.

The above study, proves that police officers show different characteristics, then they would to someone who was Caucasian. As mentioned formerly, it is almost as it is in the police officials ‘nature’; just like women may hold their purse a bit tighter when passing a man of colour on the street. It is set into our culture to be cautious of some individuals of a minority group, just like it is part of the police culture to use “extensive force”. Much like how it is part of the African American’s culture to be more cautious around police officers. Following the same point, African Americans may not feel safe in the hands of police officers, which may cause the distaste. “The internalization of negative Black stereotypes may be outside of his or her conscious awareness, the individual seeks to as simulate and be accepted by Whites, and actively or passively distances him/herself from other blacks.” (James, 2001, p.18) This statement shows evidence that it is hard-wired into minority groups inner brain to be cautious around people who are of high authority; especially if they are Caucasian. Based off of the on-going discrimination that is being brought upon them.

In recent years’ police departments have been brought into the public eye based on the public belief that police brutality has become a norm within the police system in recent years. Yet this has occurred for decades in police departments, not only that but there are multiple forms of brutality to take account of in the criminal justice system specifically towards African-Americans. The criminal justice system has become accustomed to creating a system of racial control after the ending of the Jim Crow Era. Causing every level of the system to work in a way that limits the freedom of African-Americans the most common being that of police misusing

Do relations between the police and minority and the police and non-minority communities differ, how, and for what reasons?"

The summer of 2015, on June 15th, my cousins, brothers and I were stopped by Montgomery county police officers. A robbery was reported and we “supposedly” fitted the descriptions. It was five African Americans, four males, and one female. We eventually found out the description they had told us was completely false. The women who reported the robbery came to our location to identify us and angrily told the cops that she said there were only three African-American males and they all had dreads, which none of us fitted that description. This experience of mine may sound surprising or uncommon to others, but this exact situation happens to many other African Americans. It has become a common way African Americans live in America.

Lately there has been a lot of controversy around the topic of police brutality against African Americans. Everyone has their own opinion regarding this topic, some argue police are too harsh against blacks. Others say they are just doing their job. While indeed police can be brutal to people but it’s not just African Americans that face this brutality. Every race endures discrimination and I think it’s time for people to open their eyes and see that.

“Don’t Shoot”, a young African American male says to the police before they shoot him multiple times killing him. He was eighteen year old Michael Brown, and his death shed light on the ongoing issue of police brutality against African Americans. Police brutality is the use of unnecessary force on individuals by law enforcement. These civilians mostly be minorities especially African Americans. Police brutality toys with human rights and violates the fourteenth amendment. In the Constitution, The Fourteenth Amendment states that “States cannot make or put into effect any laws that restrict the rewards or protections of any citizen of America. No state can remove any citizen’s life, freedom, or belong­ings without right use of the regulation. Everyone is given the equal protec­tion under the law.”(United States Constitution). Police brutality against African Americans is a serious civil problem, but in order to stop police brutality, Americans must diversify police departments, eliminate racial profiling, instill body cameras, and focus the fight of police brutality on local and state levels.

With more than one monument of the brilliant “military tactician” (Brent Moore, 2015), a growing number of Americans, both black and white, call for the removal of the statues in public areas. Recently, the Nathan Bedford Forrest monument was vandalized by the spray painting of the words “Black Lives Matter.” This shows how many Americans do not support the statue because of Forrest’s pro-slavery values, but some southerners still see him as a hero. Time and time again, vandalism’s strike the statue, which was brought to the attention of a chairman of Memphis. He explains, “I think it's very symbolic and I wish that our city and our country can actually start having a conversation about "Black Lives Matter." (Taylor and Suriani, 2015). This shows how some white southerners’ opinions in the South agree that the statute should be

Mills, in regards to black lives matter and what is going on with the police and the African- American community; would relate the issue to private troubles and public issues. For example, at first the violence started with Diallo a man that was gunned down by police. He was seen as one of the first victims of police violence. For him and his family this was a private issue. I am sure that there were several other crimes before this one, that we are not aware of, that are apart of a long-standing bias of African American’s. Issues that steamed from, African American rights, inequity, racism, and oppression. These issues are all apart of Stroh’s ice-burg. They are in the middle of the ice-burg. After the increase in victims started, it has

As for our last case another African American male and Caucasian police officer were involved. Black male Eric Garner was supposedly confronted for selling cigarettes on the street, one of the officers Daniel Pantaleo who had Eric in a chokehold which caused the death of him. This took place on July 17th, 2014 in Staten Island, New York City. Within the department I was surprised on female African American NYPD Sargent Kissy Adoni on how she did not intervene. As a result of Garner 's death, Police Commissioner William Bratton ordered an extensive review of the NYPD 's training procedures, specifically focusing on the appropriate amount of force that can be used while detaining a suspect. According to CBS New York Bratton stated “we are not targeting communities of color, we are targeting behavior. Also that policing unfortunately, when force is used, it’s never good to look at.” As a compassionate individual, Bratton recognized that there was excessive force and the use of a chokehold was not authorized by the departments regulations. After looking prior to incidents chokeholds are prohibited in the New York City police department along with most departments but these officers still proceed. Both officers involved have been assigned to desk duty by orders of the commissioner. Commissioner Bratton plans to move forward with Internal Affairs investigation directed by our prosecutor. His leadership highly seen in regards to the case and department in ordering an extensive