Police Brutality
White police officers are infamous for using excess force towards young African-American especially in larger cities such as Chicago. It has become a controversial topic among communities that have seen police brutality take place in front of their homes.$1,800,000,000 is estimated to be the annual cost of police misconduct to taxpayers. Although the misconduct isn’t strictly towards police brutality, $1,800,000,000 is incredibly outrageous. There may be a reason to why African-Americans seem to be targeted by police officers. Many believe this could be a sign that racism has been institutionalized in our police force across the nation.
Usually the high crime rates tend to occur around low-income areas and officers tend to assume that people living in the areas are guilty. It is not fair to judge the minority. If the officer is knowing that the suspect is known to be violent and heavily armed, that’s when excessive force can be justified and if the suspect disobeys all commanding orders from a officer. Fact is many reports of Police Brutality is not reported. About 61% of
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Media broadcasts all sorts of things but when something that will provoke and gain them more and more views as the story goes on with the case. It is also partially our fault for the trend of it being mainly young African-americans. Truth is there has always been police brutality but it isn’t only towards blacks. We just spread it around creating chaos and shining light to one specific crime. When was the last you heard of police brutality towards a white person? Im positive there has been some within last year but no one brings it up since people believe others are racists. Morgan Freeman brought up an interesting solution for racism. “Don’t bring it up.” If we are no longer showing light on it, it will still be there but it won’t be as
Police brutality is a very widespread topic through all religions, all kinds of different cultures and all races. People believe that police officers use their powers and their badge to hold them to a higher standard then the average civilian. I belief that its all up to interpretation and the many experiences we go through that define a bad cop from a good one. If we judge all police officers from one bad cop how do we expect to change? Its a never ending cycle that has to change and heres some examples on how we can do so.
In the twenty-first century, it seems that the media produces many stories on police brutality, the majority of which surround African-Americans. This is not just coincidence as the majority of citizens in the United States of America that are faced with police brutality are African-American. Prejudice in the force has been an issue for hundreds of years, but just now, with the advancement of technology, has the issue reached citizens across the country in heaping amounts. Whether through unconscious bias or open racism, the violence shown to black citizens across America by precincts and the justice system in general is a widespread issue that needs to be
There is a major issue with police brutality within the confinements of the United States of America, within society in general. The problem of police brutality is not just a problem with African American, it is spread throughout all the races. “Mr. Castellani who is 20 years old, yelling and pointing at officers, who are posted down the street, after his ejection from an Atlantic City casino for being underage. Four officers rush him, take him down and begin beating him -- a fifth officer soon joins in.”(The Baltimore,Leonard Pitts Jr.). It just so happened that this man was black and had been brutally attacked by police because he said something they didn't like it. It isn't always African Americans that are attacked thought, in 2014 Donovan Duran, a Colorado MMA fighter, was beat and dragged to the hospital by police men claiming Duran was intoxicated and hallucinating. He was brutally attacked because of what he believed in, it didn't have anything to do with his skin color, as he was attacked by white police man and Duran turned out to be a Caucasian man with a family and a job. All of that was taken away from him the moment the cops dragged him into the hospital claiming he wasn't right in the head and the cops found him like that. In 2014 Donovan Duran, a Colorado MMA fighter, was beat and dragged to the
Police brutality is becoming a trend in America. Tensions among the public and especially the African American community are rising due to the latest cases of police brutality. Many people believe that we have come far in this society but to be honest Racism is still a factor. The use of brutal and lethal force by some police officers leading to unnecessary deaths have African American parents on edge to send their children outside for anything. Law enforcement and people whom we trust with our lives are the very same to take it. Some people may want to argue that these cases such as the shooting of Michael brown and choking of Eric Garner are isolated incidents. Others would argue that the work of a police officer is too difficult and that sometimes an officer needs to use such force in order to enforce the law and protect him/herself while on duty. Law enforcement proclaims to feel threatened however what about the civilians who feel threatened of becoming the next target or victim of prey. The society is well aware that not all police commit these crimes and that we do still have law abiding officers. However, with the effort from everyone we can eradicate the bad apples and create a safer road for the officers and civilians.
a few years now, police brutality has become an extremely controversial topic and has raised many debates and questions about law enforcement and civilians. Police brutality has been common for decades. However after the death of African Americans such as Michael Brown, Alton Sterling, and Philando Castile, many other African Americans have rose up in protest and anger. The anger stems from these men dying at the hands of police which the civilians believe they died from situation that should have been handled differently. Cases like these have caused a major divide with African Americans and law enforcement. Many people wonder where the relationship between the two went wrong and how police brutality became such a big issue that seems impossible
Police brutality is the lavish physical assault or verbal assault during police procedures which can involve interrogating or apprehending a suspect. Police brutality originated from the labor worker strikes in the 1800’s through the 1900’s. The violent brutal act of these officers usually formed around the lower socioeconomic class. Since then police brutality has hit an all-time high in the 21st century. In New York alone there has been reportedly over 72 police brutality reports some reports even ended in the deaf of a citizen. There’s been claim of police officers violently choking citizens at traffics stops and beating citizen up in public. There’s been new technology such as body cameras which are used by most police but not all.
In the United States, the murders of innocent, unarmed African Americans have led to the uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement, however, did this endanger the lives of police officers? In my opinion, yes it does endanger the police force but the police were the same ones putting black people in danger in the first place. Americans today are either completely for the movement or against, you never really encounter a between of them. Then, there are some people that believe in the protests but are not for the violence. My whole life i’ve heard, “Treat people equally and fairly.” and when I think about that I wonder… if all people had that mindset, then black lives matter wouldn’t be a thing.
The United States has a dark history of mistreating and racially profiling black Americans. Over the years, America has developed into one of the world’s most powerful countries; yet police brutality remains a monumental problem. Police brutality has transformed into such a hot topic, and when brought up in conversation, it sparks a debate. Nevertheless, the brutality should be talked about. Although many believe that the media pushes the narrative, that only African Americans are victims, police brutality stems from racial profiling and is an ever growing issue because stories show a painful pattern, lives are negatively affected, and the use of different solutions is utilized to expose the problem.
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
Police brutality is a growing epidemic. According to Statics, (2015) in the United States, a police officer takes the life of a citizen every 7 hours. In 2015, there were 1,307 people who lost their lives at the hands of a police officer or law enforcement official. In 2016, that number was 1,152. Although lower, both years are still higher than the 1,149 people who were killed by police in 2014. (Fatal Encounters/Mapping Police Violence) Whereas, 69% of the victims of police brutality in the United States who are African-American/Black were suspected of a non-violent crime and were unarmed. (Mapping Police Violence)
According to Wihbey and Kille in their article “Excessive or reasonable force by police? Research on law enforcement and racial conflict.”, police brutality is a problem, and especially a problem for teenage colored boys. Young black males are actually twenty one times more likely to undergo police brutality by getting shot than a white male of the same age. Racial Profiling--people of color being more likely to be stopped by an officer--is also a growing problem with our society. Whether or not an officer will admit it, he/she--whether white or black--sees young black males as more suspicious due to the amount of street crime produced by this specific type of person. After years of working in conditions like that, an officer’s “good will” will be compromised.
As a country, we have made some major developments in fighting racism and injustice, but there are still many areas where we need major improvements. Particularly, there is a problem with police relations and the African American community. There is a disproportionate number of African Americans who have experienced violence from encounters with police officers than any other race or ethnic group. A recent study done by the Associated Press and NORC found that African Americans are four times more likely to describe violence against civilians by police officers a serious compared to white Americans. It also found that 80% of African American’s interviewed believe that police officers are too quick to use force and they are more likely to use it against an African American person (Collenly, et al). There is clear evidence that this is a problem that needs to be addressed in the community. The cases of Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Mike Brown and many others have brought this issue to the national spotlight and have helped people acknowledge that this is a problem in the country.
The fear of being killed by the ones who are supposed to protect you just keeps growing in the United States. Yes this essay is about the brushed off topic of police brutality and how it’s got to be stopped before it gets even way more out of hand. It’s just scary to think that the people who are supposed to protect you have a never ending list of just names and ages which they were responsible for killing. The ages of the deaths go to as young as 14 to all the way to 70 the lives of kids and elderly people are even being taken away and yet society and people of the United States are supposed to believe that the police are there to protect. When a mother loses her baby son who is 14 how is she supposed to react or think same as if a young
Minorities are more likely to experience police brutality such as being pulled over by the cops without reason, being roughly patted down, grabbed, handcuffed, struck with a baton or pressed up against a wall than whites are, a new study by Roland Fryer, a professor of economics at Harvard University, has found. Most Americans were not speaking about police brutality or trying to fix it until Kaepernick and many other began to protest. Many other athletes have since refused to stand for the national anthem for similar reasons. “Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, who also has knelt during the national anthem, said, "the message is I'm against social injustice... I'm not against the military or police or America at all,”(“Refusing to Stand for the National Anthem: Top 3 Pros and Cons). This shows that the social injustice happening in America is a reason to not force citizens of America to stand. Citizens should not be forced to stand, this would be like muzzling their voice and preventing to protest against the injustice facing America.
Police brutality has been around for many years and has recently become one of the most controversial topics in the United States of America. The rise in awareness began in 2014 when a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri fatally shoot 18 year old Michael Brown killing him. The shooting lead to the creation of the movement “Black Lives Matter.” Can police justify their reasoning behind what happens? Is race the reason behind the shootings?