Examples Of Police Brutality

Lately in the media police brutality has been a very popular topic. Most of the instances reported in the media are of white police officers killing African Americans for seemingly nothing. These reports have strengthened the divide between both races. In “White Rage” by Carol Anderson the issue of police brutality is touched on within the first few words of her essay. Anderson talks about many acts of aggression at the hands of white men, and she seems to really focus on an unarmed African American male who was shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. “Black and Blue,” by Garnette Cadogan continues with the struggles of police brutality in America, but also touches on the abuse in his home country of Jamaica. Cadogan

A second case in which shows police brutality was the one the case in Cornelia, Georgia on May 28, 2014. A toddler was injured when the SWAT team broke into their home and threw a flash grenade. The family was asleep at the time. The SWAT team receives an anonymous tip alerting them about a supposed drug deal (Wolverton II 34). The SWAT team did not even look inside before breaking in and throwing the flash grenade without consent or warning. Is there not a protocol for them to check whether the anonymous calls are authentic or false? If the SWAT team immediately reacts every time there is a call involving drugs then one would assume they would check first if the information given is actually true. Sadly, there are people who call 911 to hoax

Over the past several years, and especially now in the past two years, innocent black men are being killed every day by police officers. More often than not, see news headlines of more and more black lives being taken. Innocent lives being taken by officers who serve little to no justice. Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, and Philando Castile are only just a few names on the long and growing list of the black victims of police brutality. Police officers should be held more accountable in cases against police brutality so the list of innocent black lives doesn’t keep growing.

The history of Police Brutality for minorities; especially people of color has left America wondering have times changed. Police brutality has deemed the opportunity for socioeconomic advancement or access to good and services for many Black/African Americans dating back as far as 1955. The system of Police brutality has affected many realms of society for minorities’ employment and family life. After some scholarly research, police brutality is still prevalent in the Black/African American community; moreover, it comes in many different forms and fashions. Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. Excessive use

There has always been a common assumption from the police and society that minorities, primarily African Americans, are associated with criminal activity, in turn causing police brutality today. When the news report shows a police officer hitting a black man who was suspected of a crime, there are many people quick to point out police officers as racists. Usually, the police officers would say something along the lines of, “He attacked first and would not comply,” or “I thought he had a gun.” Now in some scenarios, this may be true as the suspect might have tried to fight back but most of the time, it is not. Many police officers in these cases try to make up lies to get out being known as a racist. Thankfully, there are many witnesses and

Despite the fact that the days of slavery died down hundreds of years ago, racism still exists in many forms today. It may not be as self-evident as it was back when black individuals had to sit at the back of the bus, but in reality, to this day racism still exists in a vicious however very subtle way. Nowadays racism can occur through cultural institutions, individual racism, as well as racial ideology. These forms of discrimination cause racial inequalities which bring about a lack of opportunity and mistreatment. This paper will focus on the relationship between police brutality and African Americans. Let me be clear though police brutality affects the lives of minorities in general, but mostly this epidemic causes repercussions for

It is not a secret that black Americans are at a larger economic, political and educational disadvantage, yet so many white Americans believe that the black American is as successful as a white (Embrick 2015, 838). So in cases of police brutality, minorities are portrayed to be offenders and violent, while the police are given the role of a protector in media (Embrick 2015, 839). Although it does not mean that such publicized cases of police brutality are not thought provoking for white Americans, many do understand the situation and the existence of this violence (Sigelman et al 1997, p. 789). It is simply that majority believe it is outside of America’s racist history instead, and based more on criminal behaviour (Sigelman et al 1997, p. 789). This impacts society to split into two, the world those who are privileged live in and the world that the poor and marginalized are forced into (Embrick 2015, 837).

It feels as if nothing has changed about police brutality over the years. The usual cycle is that juries acquit the police, cops get their jobs back, and brutality happens again. One of the most broadcasted cases of police brutality, was the beating of Rodney King. On the night of March 2, 1991, a bystander named George Holiday, videotaped the moment when five officers used excess force on an African American man named Rodney King, beating him with batons as he struggled on the ground. Also, it was recorded that an officer stomped on King’s shoulder causing his head to hit hard against the asphalt. Holiday sent the videotape to a local TV station and soon sent shock waves around the world, catapulting police brutality and race relations in the United States to center stage. Most viewers who watched the tape revealed the brutal and senseless beating of a hopeless drunk. After debating for seven days over the fate of the officers, on April 29, 1992, the clerk announced the final verdict, the five officers were not guilty.

Many people of present-day society have very contrasted viewpoints on many law-related issues. The two main viewpoints can determine someone to be conservative or liberal, and for the slim amount that do not care, a neutral in-between. Most of the issues dealt with involve politics also, the conservative minded people are generally republican, and the liberal tend to be considered democratic. Other arguments may be caused due to something far from either category; for example, minorities opposing majorities, sexual preferences not being the same, or so much as unfairness because of gender. One of the largest issues debated is police brutality.

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.

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 a controversial issue that has recently been in the news, but seems to have always been an issue in America. Police brutality refers to the intentional use of verbal or physical attacks directed towards individuals by the police force that result in false arrests, sexual abuse, or death. (Dudley, William 13.) Most of these actions are linked to racial profiling: the targeting of individuals for suspicion of crime based solely on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. (Dudley, William 13.) Statistics about how often racial profiling and police brutality occurs, movements such as Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, and police reform efforts are just a few points as to why this topic is so controversial today.

Racism and police brutality in America” by Cassandra Chaney and Ray V. Robertson touch upon racism and brutality in America. Their article talks about respecting the cops but they also mention police brutality through stories from people that experienced this. Although Satzewich and Shaffir reached out to people to cops to write about their personal experiences and thoughts about racial profiling, Chaney and Robertson’s article is a stronger source because they used several sources and focus on both sides of the situation.

The brutality of the police force has been a long worldwide problem, but especially between the years of 2012-2016. Black people are being unjustly beaten and shot in plain sight for doing nothing while being unarmed. Journal of African American Studies “Blacks are viewed as deserving of harsh treatment in the criminal justice system” (482). “Black males with more “Afrocentric” features may receive longer sentences than blacks with less Afrocentric features like lighter skin and straighter hair”(482). Nowadays it is important to know about the police force. It’s important to know our rights as citizens and be careful around cops. Not everybody is good, but not everybody is bad also. In The New York Amsterdam News 21 people were killed by Chicago police in 2008. Entire families were being attacked. They believe it’s because of their skin color and how they are different. The year of racism started off with the world seeing the police murder of Oscar Grant. “The media have pushed people away from hearing the issue of police brutality, and it has fallen off of the radar screen.”(2) “You can’t give in. They will try to make an example out of you, try to break your spirit!”(2) African Americans say do not trust the cops with anything. “They will ruin you.”(2)

Police brutality is not a new subject. It has been around for numerous years, and like most issues, has resurfaced to the public’s eyes. The recent events brought up the question: Does there need to be a reform in the system in the police system? In this year alone, there have been countless cases of individuals being harmed or even killed by police officers for reasons that continuously are not explained. What has people more attentive to this injustice are statistics showing that most victims in these police attacks happen to be African Americans and other minorities.