Media Reports And Police Brutality

The media has scrutinized the use of force even more recently. Recordings of officers using force (weather excessive or not) become uploaded to the web and many individuals quickly jump to conclusions. Police use of “force” is up to the discretion of each individual police officer, and with each action a multitude of consequences can occur. The public often gets enraged after a court justifies the use of force, but often individuals do not have the full facts or understand how the justice system works. The outcomes of some use of force cases, many individuals are asking for transparency of agencies. Policy makers are often quick to react to satisfy the public by changing police policy.

In a National Interest article by J. Christian Adams, an unnamed officer was attacked by a citizen after the officer refused to use force when the citizen acted aggressively (Adams, 2015, para. 4). Adams states "The officer said he didn’t defend himself because of fear of what the media and the activists would do to him. 'A lot of officers are being too cautious because of what’s going on in the media,' the unnamed police officer told CNN. 'I hesitated because I didn’t want to be in the media like I am right now. It’s hard times right now for us.'"(Adams, 2015, para. 4). This case was especially alarming as the officer in question was beaten over the head with his firearm after he refused to draw it. The unnamed officer had stopped a citizen, by the name of Jared Cunningham, for driving erratically, but shortly after the stop Cunningham rushed the officer in an aggressive manner. Instead of drawing his firearm to defend himself, the officer in question refused to act and sustained severe injuries. This is perfect example of how the media can affect an officer's judgement. Biased media can lead an officer to question their abilities and may stop them from reacting appropriately. Incidentally, the inability to react in a professional manner will cause harm to the officer and can endanger citizens. To fix this issue, media sources must develop a more unbiased standing.

The police involved shooting of Michael Brown has changed the way society views law enforcement, and the method of how law enforcement officers have to interact with this same society. With the deaths of individuals like Brown, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice, and with the assistance of social media and bias news reporting, as well as high level officials within our social structure, who’s speech and words can carry a large impact on our behaviors, there has been a picture painted that police are murdering people of different ethnicities without regard for justifiable force. Politicians, celebrities and the media alike, have been a major contributor to the anti-police sentiment and the violent interactions that police

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.

Throughout history there has been many confrontational situations between citizens and police officers. Dating back to the 1960s during the civil rights movement, to recent events in the news that demonstrates police brutality. But does this mean that police officers aren’t doing their jobs. Could the media and social networks influence our views of the police? In my opinion it does. Police brutality has circulated media headlines for decades now. Citizens rage through the country, becoming more angry due to the outcome of police officers that use excessive force on victims are not being held accountable for it and walking away free. Studies have shown that police brutality targets more minority groups, such as Latinos and African

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 politicization of police brutality is creating an increasingly cynical atmosphere in criminology, particularly with regards to statistics. The sensitive nature of the topic combined with media sensationalism of police brutality in recent years also perpetuates this phenomenon. The politicization of this issue causes media outlets to respond by reporting on police brutality research studies in such a way that the studies reflect their outlets’ views. As a result, police brutality statistics are being eyed with suspicion now more than ever. Furthermore, it is imperative that researchers take additional steps to ensure their research is based on concrete facts and presents data as objectively as possible. This means that researchers must

Could you imagine being choked by a police officer because of him falsely accusing you of something? According to CBS Miami, Miami Dade Police choked a 14-year-old boy on Memorial Day 2013 because he watched them with what police described as “dehumanizing stares” (Scott 14). During my childhood, I never once experienced the wrath of police brutality and or any encounters with police what so ever. Most people in the U.S. are just like me, and have never experienced police brutality first hand, only witnessed it or seen it on video somewhere online. Although, this is not the case for everyone in the United States and more specifically, people of color. This topic is extremely relevant in today’s communities and I strongly think it should be addressed more frequently than it currently does. Rion Amilcar Scott, wrote the fascinating article “The Etiquette of Police Brutality”, for The Crisis Magazine. Scott explains the excessive force that police tend to have towards people, the effect that it has on friends and families of those who have been injured, and how frequently police departments fail to discipline these cops who use force to their advantage. This article is going to be incredibly useful and valuable to the rest of my research on this topic.

Police brutality has always been an issue in American society; however recently police brutality as become a more prominent issue in the media as well as among concerned citizens. The current display of brutality towards citizens has changed the views of the current generation’s outlook towards the police’s misuse of authority. Citizens claim to feel less protected by the police department, I had a friend tell me that one of her best friends is terrified by the police and the authority they hold. So, for my research topic I decided to go out and find information on this issue. I did a five question survey to get a glimpse of how the youth’s views of the police department and the recent acts of brutality they have displayed, hoping to see if their recent acts have changed their views.

Over the past few year’s police brutality has become one of the most serious, debated, and controversial topics in America. In general, when most people think of the police they think of them as support that they can call when in distress, or as officers patrolling communities in a pursuit to keep the streets safe from drunk drivers, speeders, law breakers, and other threats to the public. But, enforcer of the law is only one perspective in which police officers are portrayed. The perception of police varies on multiple aspects such as the individual’s race, past relationships with the law, ties to gangs, the society or community in which the individual resides, social standings, criminal record, the list goes on and on.

Martin Luther King Jr., an American Baptist minister, African-American civil rights activist, and non-violent protest leader, once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (Ali-Dinar 1963 p.1). Such an iconic and fearless leader recognized the unjust behavior within society as a result of racially motivated police brutality and societal discrimination. Though his efforts were not in vain, today’s media representation of law enforcement impacts the societal cultivation of police officers in a negative way. Media outlets, in the forms of television, radio, or social websites, create a cynical view of police officers, which influences societal beliefs and creates negative connotations.

Police brutality has been a growing concern in the media over the past decade. Police brutality, being any act of force from a police officer on a citizen that exceeds the force needed to perform the job necessary, includes shooting, punching, and even killing citizens. As discovered by Daniel Bier of Newsweek, the number of citizens killed by police officers has been steadily climbing for over a decade, spiking upward in 2010 (Figure 1). In the United States, 963 people were killed by police in 2016 alone (The Washington Post). While it proves difficult to provide evidence of the suspected victim being guilty or innocent after being killed, 48 of the 963 were entirely unarmed; this means that in one year alone, nearly 50 lives were taken by police without probable cause (ibid). Of these 963 people, 24% were African-Americans (ibid), despite the fact that only 13.3% of the United States population is African-American (United States Census Bureau). These statistics demonstrate the scope of the issue of race in police brutality. The media, being ever influential in contemporary times, plays a large role in this growing issue. This begs the question: to what extent does the media shape the role of race in police brutality?

The relationship between fear of crime, punitive attitudes, and perceived police effectiveness is discussed in the Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture. The article states the public knowledge of crime and justice is largely derived from the media. This statement could not be more true (Dowler, 2003). Society only knows what it is told and very few people actually do their own research other than watching the nightly local news. People watch movies and TV shows and assume what police do which can cause some major issues. The relationship between coverage of violent crime and a general fear amongst the population is studied as well. The study showed that the crime and violence portrayed on TV is actually much higher than the actual statistical data of crimes committed (Dowler, 2003). The researchers determined that the viewer internalizes the information seen on TV and truly believe that the crime portrayed is real. The effect of local news is shown to be higher for residents in high crime areas and those who have actually experienced victimization. The local news tells the viewers daily what is going on and the majority of the episode is violence because that is what brings viewers. If the viewers are watching the news

Background and Audience Relevancy: Throughout our nation, the views of citizens have drastically changed due to police brutality. Citizens are lacking the trust with in the police force because of the excessive or deadly force being used on fellow citizens. However, police brutality is defined as ‘the use of excessive physical force or verbal assault and psychological intimidation. Although the government might consider some forms of excessive and deadly force legitimate, it has escalated throughout the nation and has changed regulations within the police force.

Public concern can be stimulated by the police’s use of force. The use of force, especially if deadly, has also established tension and mistrust between the police and the communities they serve. Oliver (2016) insists that trust the public has for police officers has been “rocked” by a continuity of “controversial police shootings from Alton Sterling to Philando Castile to Tamir Rice to so many others.”