Excessive or reasonable force by police? Research on law enforcement and racial conflict a research conducted by John Wihbey and Leighton Walter Kille. The main logic behind this research was a result of continuous Allegations of the U.S. police officers and law enforcement agencies using excessive force while on the job for the past two decades. The writers of the research begun by stating the most recent police brutality cases starting from Eric Garner who died as a result of a “chokehold” by an officer, A month later the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson, Tamir Rice who was shot by police in Cleveland, Ohio, Walter L. Scott was shot by a police officer during a routine traffic stop, and Freddie Gray who died while …show more content…
It also illustrates that the use of Taser and other CEDs can reduce the statistical rate of injury to suspects and officers who might be involved in physical conflict based on an analysis of 12 agencies and more than 24,000 use-of-force cases demonstrates that the odds of suspect injury decreased by almost 60% when a CED are utilized due to a 2011 report provided by the National Institute of Justice. Nonetheless, a 2011 study shows that CED use has risen about 70% as the use of baton has decreased by 25% in 2008.
Potential impact of body cameras section discusses how the use of body camera has increased during the years between the interaction of the police and the public, the research and training of how to store the video recordings for the safety of the officers and the citizens.
Public opinion and media talks about the coverage of incidents by the mass media and surveys that confirms the continues existences of racism and bias in America despite the social progress and awareness of higher levels of black incarceration prompt a great support among whites for prison programs and tougher
Law enforcement agencies have been in a heated debate in the use of body cams by the surrounding communities because of the use of force incidents that have occurred in the media. Body cameras are the new age technology that allows law enforcement agencies to record encounters with the community. There are some positives aspects of law enforcement wearing body cams. The body cam allows the officer to interact with residents which will help to eliminate complaints about police behavior and the use of force encounters. The body cam gives video evidence of the decisions made by on-duty law enforcement in violent situations. This helps keep accountability of law enforcement and the ensure that the department and decreases liability. Because the
Jamar Newsome Abstract Police departments nationwide have began to consider body cameras. Implementing body cameras department wide face many issues due to funding restrictions. Rialto Police Department faced the s
The social media and the public might want police body cam footage release but sometimes it might be to graphic or controversial. Police body cameras have been a topic since the incident with Michael Brown in august of 2014. Police shot and killed an unarmed individual in ferguson, MO, leading to many people wanting cameras on police. Whether the cameras are a good idea or not this paper will explore the facts and sides of police body cameras. Overall body cameras should be required Because they can save the lives of the innocent, keep innocent people from going to jail, and can help a case as more evidence.
In today’s world, police brutality has become a type of misconduct that American police officers are getting accustomed to utilizing against American citizens. On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died in Staten Island, New York after ununiformed police officer Daniel Pantaleo placed Garner into a chokehold after Pantaleo had attempted to arrest Garner for selling untaxed cigarettes. After being put into a chokehold for fifteen seconds, Garner became unconscious and suffered a cardiac arrest while being transported to the hospital (Goldstein and Schweber). According to the National Police Misconduct Reporting Project in Figure 1, 23.8% of 6,613 officers were accused of using excessive force among people. In recent years, cases of police brutality
Usefulness of Police Body Cameras: Benefits Surpass Negatives The police departments in the United States have been struggling for many criminals and suffering from the complaints of the citizens. To deal with the problems, the police departments decided to deploy polices who were equipped with body cameras. However, the Police Body Cameras soon became a controversial issue; there are benefits and contradictions that weigh on our minds. Police Body Cameras definitely give some considerations that we should not overlook.
Police abuse of force has become a serious issue in society as it can severely harm many individuals. As previously mentioned in The Christian Science Monitor, it was “found that the officers wearing body cameras had 87.5 percent fewer incidents of use force” (Gass). Police are often compelled to act with more safety with use of body cameras. During the use of body cameras of reports again showed great reductions in police use of force in police body camera usage. In the Huffington Post, “a study of a yearlong program conducted showed a 59 percent reduction in use-of-force incidents by officers wear cameras” (Huffington Post).
Police brutality and racial profiling have become one of the most common topics of discussion in the United States today. Both of these things have had a huge impact on the African American population’s everyday lifestyle. There have been many controversial examples of this in just the past two years. Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown and Walter Scott, were all killed during an encounter with a caucasian police officer. Was there a valid reason for the police encounter? Was the victim holding/carrying a weapon? Was the police officer threatened verbally or physically?
In today’s world, body cameras are being worn by more than half of the police officers in the United States. Many people will say that body cameras are invading their privacy and they will cause bigger issues, but others will say that the body cameras are an improvement and will help everyone out in the long run by resolving the issues. Body cameras will prevent incidents of police brutality and improve law enforcement. They should be worn for the police officer’s safety as well as the citizens who are interacting with the police, so that way the footage will show what really happened in a situation.
“In the first year after the camera 's introduction, the use of force by officers’ decline 60%, and citizens’ complaints against police fell 88%”. (Christopher Mims) The introduction of police body cameras impacted the world in many better ways than bad. But, police body cameras were introduced due to the public 's awareness to police brutality and numerous of publicity deaths which has impacted the outcome of police interactions.
There is a changing climate in Law Enforcement that is heavily impacting police departments across the country. Many police departments presently have a combat decision that affects an already limited budget which is the implementation of a police officer wearing a body camera. Though this change is seemingly inevitable, it can be an investment that alleviates the department and police officer from allegations of misconduct. Furthermore, body cameras can prove to be an invaluable tool for officers and investigators while helping the department become more transparent and accountable to its citizens.
To begin the police has caused many unnecessary deaths throughout the United States. More than 920 people have been killed by the police in 2015 (“5 Facts about Police Brutality in the United States That Will Shock You”). In Ferguson, Missouri 18 year old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. Mr. Johnson a witness at the scene, says that his friend was shot once from behind and then turned to face the police officer while raising his arms in the air. According to Mr Johnson, the officer fired several more shots at Mr. Brown before he fell to the ground (“Ferguson protests:What we know about Michael Brown 's last minutes”). Although Mr. Brown was fleeing from the officer, there was no need for the officer to shoot Brown.
Excessive force and police brutality have become common terms for anyone keeping up with today’s current events. In 2014, the media covered numerous cases of excessive force that resulted in the deaths of several people of color (Nelson & Staff, 2014). The most widely covered cases by the media in 2014 were of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black male shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri; and Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black male in Staten Island, New York who was put into a choke by police officer Daniel Pantaleo until he lost consciousness and stopped breathing (Nelson & Staff, 2014). These cases brought attention to the seriousness of police brutality and the curiosity of how often it occurs (Brown, 2015).
Body cameras have been proposed as a solution to police abuse of authority. Identify the potential advantages of body cameras as well as the drawbacks. If you were stopped by a police officer for a traffic offense would you want to be videotaped?
The most famous case of police brutality occurred on the night of March 3rd, 1991, when Rodney King was pulled over by LAPD officers. A video taken of the encounter shows King being savagely beaten by metal batons long after being subdued. The LAPD responded, saying the department had “inadequate supervisory and management attention”, noting that “of approximately 1,800 officers against whom an allegation of excessive force or improper tactics was made from 1986 to 1990, more than 1,400 had only one or two allegations. But 183 officers had four or more allegations. Forty-four had six or more, 16 had eight or more, and one had 16 such allegations” (West Valley College). Clearly, a vast majority of police officers abuse their power. But clearly this is not on an individual level;
Use of fire arms as the choice weapon by police officers have been around since the late 1800s. Police departments started issuing firearms to police officers in a response to better-armed criminal populations, (Bulman, 2010). Recent studies have shown that less lethal weapons decrease the rate of police officers and suspect injuries. Because evidence supports less lethal weapons for police officer, many law enforcement agencies have agencies are stressing the use of less-lethal weapons. In the early 19th century, the less than lethal weapon of choice was the wooden club, (Bulman, 2010). Less than lethal weapons have evolved to technology such as conductive energy devices (CEDs), commonly known as the Taser.