Causes Of Police Brutality In America

Rodney King was a black motorist who was beaten and arrested by four white police officers in Los Angeles on March 3, 1991. The policemen were unaware of being filmed until, George Holliday, captured the beating on videotape from his apartment window and released it to the press (Alexander, Jacobs, and Seidman, 2000). This incident was not a shock to individuals living in the Los Angeles County as it was common to be victimized by policemen. The difference in Rodney King’s case with other

Police brutality is not a new topic in America. I have researched cases that date all the way back to 1991; although I am sure there are cases long before this. One thing I have noticed is how the public responds to police brutality incidents. As we have seen in Ferguson, people of the city are rioting to try to get their points across. Not much has changed. People back in the day did the same exact things, or maybe even worse. The Rodney King incident of 1991 in Los Angeles, which I will go into more depth later in the essay, sparked outrageous riots. Over a period of five days in the spring of 1992, more than 50 people died and more than 2,000 people were injured in these riots. They also damaged over 1,000 buildings and cost the city of Los Angeles over $1 billion. These are ridiculous statistics and, unfortunately, not much has changed. (cnn.com)

A topic that is very prominent at this time in social media and mainstream media is the presence of police brutality in the United States. Two instances in the news recently are the disputes that resulted in the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened” (John F. Kennedy). Police Brutality is a violation to the Federal Civil Rights Act. If cruelly beaten, kicked, and thrown by a person who is supposed to ensure the law, will you then trust them afterwards? Will your rights be valid then? Officers wear the badge and uniform which will make them feel superior making them think the law is in their hands and can twist and change it as they please. Jessica Watson-Crosby comments on the police brutality history and says, from the point of view of its victims, police were seen as protecting the upper classes. Police violence only came under scrutiny when “decent” people became victims, usually accidentally. As you see the chaos created by officers has been in the United States for a long time and has worsened over time. “Police are guaranteed a steady living. Unlike other workers , they typically are not threatened by layoffs or pay cuts” (Watson-Crosby). All who did not give their opinion over the authority were left unharmed and for the ones who spoke to let their rights be known were not as lucky. “Many police see themselves as part of the upper classes “the enforcers of social value” even while the upper classes see them as ignorant brutes. As a rule, the upper

Police brutality continues to be one of the most serious and contentious violations of human rights in the United States. The unreasonable amount of force used by police officers prevails because of a lack of accountability. This makes it feasible for officers who do violate human rights to get off clean and recommit the violation. A sad fact is that police and/or public officials deny time after time any claims of human rights violations, claiming it was an abnormality, when they should be taking action and holding officers responsible for their actions. (Williams 1998, 45)

Victims of police brutality may pursue court cases against the city employing their abusers. These cases do not always work out in favor of the alleged victims. Michael Brown, unarmed 18-year-old was shot dead by Ferguson, Missouri, Police Officer Darren Wilson. Brown had his hands up when he was shot and killed. Charges against the officers dropped. At times, an entire culture or race may feel victimized by police brutality. When police officers beat Rodney King, 25, it sparked a national controversy. The police officers that beat King were acquitted of all charges, sparking riots in Los Angeles, where civil unrest over racial profiling reached its boiling point. The riots resulted in the “deaths of 53 people” (Gray, 2016, p.

Being a minority in the United States has never been easy and does not seem to be getting any better. Minorities have been exposed to violence by law enforcement for many decades. Law enforcement 's are tasked with protecting and serving its citizens, not to harass and assault them. Police brutality is a continuous problem in the United States and officers need to be accountable for their actions. This research project will examine how police brutality often leads to death because of some officers ' unnecessary physical aggression and poor judgment, some incidents leads to unjust shootings, and finally, the misconduct of police officers. By understanding how police brutality is increasing and the violence that comes with it, police officers can then receive better training and learn how to gauge certain situations to avoid use of violence and abuse their power.

However, police misconduct drew the first significant national attention during the era of Martin Luther King Jr. in which certain police departments, primarily in the South, would suppress movements for racial equality with excessive force and violence. Concerns over police excessive force instigated once again in 1991 when four white LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) officers brutally beat an African American motorist named Rodney King more then 50 times (Issues & Controversies, “Police Brutality”). Primarily white police also neglected, terrorized, and assaulted African Americans who sought "to assert their right to vote, march, or enter newly desegregated schools" (Issues & Controversies, “Police Brutality”). Due to consistent racial bias in various events of police excessive force against minorities, especially blacks, scattered about in history, prejudice against minorities has been a clear concern that is still not truly addressed, even to this

Being a minority in the United States has never been easy and does not seem to be getting any better. Minorities have been exposed to violence by law enforcement for many decades. Law enforcement 's are tasked with protecting and serving its citizens, not to harass and assault them. Police brutality is a continuous problem in the United States and officers need to be accountable for their actions. This research project will examine how police brutality often leads to death because of some officers ' unnecessary physical aggression and poor judgment, some incidents leads to unjust shootings, and finally, the misconduct of police officers. By understanding how police brutality is increasing and the violence that comes with it, police officers can then receive better training and learn how to gauge certain situations to avoid the use of violence and abuse their power.

Police Brutality is an enduring problem and current concern in the America and should be fixed instantly. Those of the minority community have been subjected, for many decades, to violence by those in law enforcement in the United States. We have to enforce the law function as a component that consists of prepared and educating officers. This type of violence is a direct description of police brutality. Police brutality has been a problem for many years, and it remains a major concern for those of the minority community. Police brutality must be stopped so that police do not forget who they are serving not themselves, but the public. Over the past centuries, black people have suffered from violence in many ways. Even the criminals, who are

This research paper is an overview of police brutality in the United States. The paper covers what police brutality is and the definition. The information about police brutality is expanded about what is reasonable and excessive use of force an officer can use. Information is included about the thoughts of what the citizens feel about police brutality. Among the white and black population there is a major difference between their thoughts of police brutality. The black population feels that they are effected by police brutality more than white folks. In addition, the paper touches on what needs to be done about the police brutality across the nation, and if the issue can be stopped. The paper examines court cases involving police brutality including the media buzzed case of Rodney King. The case is further examined and includes the community’s reaction to the beating of Rodney King. Another case is covering Frank Jude Jr. severely beaten by police officers at an off duty police officer’s party.

The civil rights of United States citizens are said to be the most protected freedom we have in this country. Although, there is an epidemic sweeping the nation that is violating these citizens rights. It is called police brutality. According to Webster's Dictionary, “Police brutality is the wanton use of excessive force, usually physical, but also common in forms of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer.” Cops have a bigger number of forces than the normal citizen; they have the ability to capture, seize property, and utilize dangerous force. Numerous officers have mishandled these forces, and when they do, you would think they would be let go and indicted. In the greater part of these cases, officers have just been suspended or given probation. This seems like a minor discipline for such an outlandish wrongdoing. Cops have become exempt from the rules that everyone else follows and are currently ready to mishandle their forces as they wish. I, for one, observe

It is never a bad time to discuss matters of police brutality since at any given time some American gets pulled over or chased down the streets. When the police get hold of him, they probably will use excessive force in getting him to the ground and cuffing him, they might beat him a little bit in the process, just at the scene or maybe later at the station, or they just might kill him. This is the brutal truth of the reality in the American streets. One can never understand clearly the brutality of the police through mere reading of statistics. A search in the YouTube and the videos uploaded would make you want to treat the police differently. The past few months has seen the police in the news for all the wrong reasons. It is for this reason that this paper sets out to explore the subject of police brutality on the American public.

News headlines demonstrating the brutality of law enforcement has been becoming more frequent over the past couple of years. When you hear about these cases of police brutality, how often is it that law enforcement officials are punished for the crime they have perpetrated? Most of the time the law enforcement officials, who are very well in the wrong do not get any kind of punishment whatsoever for the crimes that they have committed and it all comes back to the power that they have. Police brutality cases have been on the rise in the last couple of years where it is not even surprising when we hear about it which is really disheartening. The law enforcement brutality census is mind-boggling. At the end of 2015, the Washington Post released an article which stated the statistics of police brutality. According to the Washington Post, 965 people were fatally shot by police officers in 2015, 564 of these fatalities were armed with a firearm, 281 were armed with another kind of weapon, and 90 of them were unarmed (Kindy, Fisher, Tate and Jenkins, 2015).

The focus of my research is on police brutality, specifically on the various components of excessive force and what aspects of American culture allow it to continue. This topic is multidisciplinary, and fits within the bounds of sociology, African American studies, criminal justice, law, and public policy. There are multiple factors which influence police brutality, including but not limited to, location, segregation, community accountability, demographics, and current events. The research used within this paper all attempt to answer one or more of the aforesaid factors. The ultimate goal of this paper is to determine the overall impacts of all aspects of police brutality.