Myth Of Police Brutality

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)

As of September 1, 2015, in the United States police officers have killed 776 people and 161 of those people were unarmed at the time of their death (MintPress). There have been too many incidents where police officers have injured or killed someone that could have been prevented. Using maximum force with a suspect has become a routine in many confrontations. Officers have not been given the proper training to deal with individuals and how to handle them without using a weapon. If they were given more training on how to deal with situations resulting in using a weapon to stop an individual during certain scenarios police brutality situations would decrease, lives would be saved, and police would get their good reputation back. However, police departments would have to spend more money on re-training. Some people agree with police brutality and think that a civilian deserved their punishment, which is not right because no one deserves to be beaten or killed. Situations involving police brutality have been increasing throughout the years, which is a problem that must to be solved.

Ironically, “Cops killed nearly twice as many whites as blacks in 2015, 50 percent of the victims of fatal police shootings were white, while 26 percent were black. The majority of these victims had a gun or, were armed or threatening the officer with potentially lethal force.” “Alternatively, some believe that these statistics are

A young man’s brutal death at the hands of the police is found justified in a court of law due to his “suspicious” appearance: a black hoodie and his hands in his pocket. An elderly woman is fatally shot in her home for her relation to a suspected criminal. A married man with two toddlers is choked to death after a minor traffic stop by an officer who later claimed that his unarmed victim was wielding a gun. These people all have a few commonalities: the color of their skin, their presumed guilt at first sight, and their ultimate unjustified death administered by the law force. These are not uncommon occurrences. Due to the staggeringly disproportionate rate of African-Americans killed by the police, and the underlying rampant racial profiling, police brutality towards blacks in America must be called to light.

Just this April, the city’s Police Accountability Task Force found that the Chicago Police Department has “no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color.” Chicago’s population is 31.7% white, 32.9% Black, 28.9% Latino, and 5.5% Asian. However, the Task Force reported that the city’s police officers shoot Black residents at significantly disproportionate rates. Between 2008 and 2015, of all people injured or killed in police-related shootings, 74% were Black, 14% were Hispanic, 8% were white and less than 1% were Asian. The report found almost identical numbers when it came to statistics regarding the use of Tasers. The report also analyzed all people stopped by police during the summer of 2014 and found they were 72% Black,

Eric Garner. Keith Lamont Scott. Philando Castille. Michael Brown. Do you know who these people are? I am Arianna Dwomoh, a ninth grade at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, NC. I want to write to you about how racial profiling/ bias is a large part of police shootings and arrests lately as most victims are unarmed people of color. Over the past couple of years, cops have shot and killed unarmed or innocent black men and boys. This shows light upon the worrying racial differences in how police use force. For those who critique the police, the numbers show that it's not just higher rates of gun ownership and violent crime that explain the higher number of police shootings in the US, compared to other countries. Maybe, it's the nonchalant

Many say that black people hold 26% of the shootings but are only 10% of the total population. This is invalid as many will know that in the inner cities and poor neighborhoods like the streets of chicago many are involved in violent crimes, resulting in a heart-breaking death. Many will put in that statistic and rely on it with no further information. The millions that see this are influenced, and many people mostly youth begin to believe the false stereotype amongst white cops in particular. “ The second piece of evidence is another statistic showing rates of Police on Black Violence to Black on Police. “The article by the wall street journal says “Officers are killed by blacks at a rate 2.5 times higher than the rate at which blacks are killed by police” As many say cops kill black males unproportionally the FBI says otherwise. The third piece of evidence is also from the Wall Street Journal.“Officers’ use of lethal force following an arrest for a violent felony is more than twice the rate for white as for black arrestees, according to one study” If their was an existing bias it would be in favor of blacks over whites. In many cases in poor neighborhoods where a vast majority of the inhabitants are blacks or hispanic, the crime is higher, and there still continues to be less violence against

“What are you following me for?” “You shot me. You shot me!” “Please don’t let me die” “Officer, why do you have your guns out?” “I can’t breathe.” “I don’t have a gun. Stop Shooting.”(The Last Words). These were some of the last words from victims of police brutality against African Americans. Police brutality has been occurring ever since the police force began, but recently, the police have been targeting African Americans. In 2016, more than 250 African Americans were killed by the police. Most of the victims were unarmed and have not committed a serious offense. These frightening statistics do not have to continue. If the average American recognized the severity of the issue and raised their voice, this inequity

Police related shootings deemed ethical or unethical show a greater prevalence in low-income black communities’ statewide more often than white communities. Usually, the outcome of civil

Police use of deadly force in America has become a largely talked about issue and seen more and more every day. In 2012, 602 people were killing by police, 326 of the ones killed were white Caucasians, and 123 were black. The reason I point this out is because a lot of people try to make it a race issue. Which in some cases may be true, but believe that it is more than just race it’s about the police being corrupt all round. The police officers power needs to be limited and these killings need to be stopped.

According to a Washington Post database of lethal police shootings 24 unarmed black men have been shot and killed by police so far this year. This means one a black man dies every nine days. Three unarmed black men were shot and killed in the month of April alone. All three shootings were either caught on tape or reported on local TV. The 24 unarmed black men that were killed compose a startling small amount of the 585 people shot and killed by police. According to The Post database. Most of those killed were white or Hispanic, and a good number of all races were armed. However, according to Wesley, black men accounted for 40 percent of the 60 unarmed deaths, even though they make up just 6 percent of the U.S. population.

NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) reported in Oakland, California that from 2004-2008 37 out of 48 shootings by Officers, were African American (Lee). With weapons not found in almost half the cases (Lee). Of course, no Officers were charged. If there is so many African Americans being shot when more than half of them don’t have weapons, then Officers should be indicted for using such poor judgement and taking things too far. There is many other alternatives that Officers could use but instead they jump to their most deadly weapon. The NYPD reported that more African Americans have been shot between 2000 and 2011 than Hispanics and Whites (Lee). In New York, African Americans are usually the ones who are targeted by Police. Well, anywhere really because African Americans come as a threat to them and Officers automatically think they are up to no good. There has been at least 16 cities which have been investigated for police abuse (Lee). Although there is way more cities that have to be looked into. Each year between 2006 and 2012 there was on average 96 cases of a white police officer killing an African American (Lee). It’s really sad hearing about all these shootings but it’s something you get used to since it happens so

“It was unexpected day at home for Tino. After coming home from school, we got him a toy gun as a gift. It was his birthday. He was really happy about it and running outside to brag it with his friends. He was playing it in our front yard, while we were preparing for the party. We heard the bang sound and the sound of the police car loudly in front of our house.......” Many people believe that police brutality is out of control in America. The reasons for it is police are killing many innocent people, they make people doesn’t feel safe and it is unstoppable if we are not doing something.

Police officers have a responsibility of serving and protecting the city that they serve and work for. In some of the calls officers get dispatched to they might be required to use some type of deadly force in order to apprehend the suspect and handle a call. However, deadly use of force doesn’t occur as often as the media says it does. Unfortunately, in the event that police officers use a type of force to subdue a suspect, the officer will be judged and the suspect might claim police brutality. In addition, there are many myths that have been created when it comes to police officers using deadly force. The first is that police officers only use deadly force when coming in to contact with African-Americans. The second is that police officers

You may hear all around the world, how some people are considering cops to be racist because of what they have done to many black men. Are police really racist? or Are they doing a good job and keeping us safe?” Police officers are expected to understand and respect the law. They are also expected to work closely with people in the communities they serve, treat everyone fairly, keep track of the latest trends in policing, and maintain the psychological and physical discipline that effective policing requires.” (reference)  I think that it is true, Police should treat people equally.