Persuasive Essay On Police Brutality

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.

Imagine you received mistreatment from a police officer and decide to take legal action against them. The situation becomes their word against yours because there is no evidence to prove the mistreatment you suffered. Not all police officers are out to treat people incorrectly or use excessive force; however, in the cases when they do, there is usually no way to prove that it happened. There are also cases where people say they were mistreated by a police officer, but it is not true. What if there were a way to monitor how cops interact with the public? Body cameras offer a solution to the need to monitor police actions. They capture the truth, whether good or bad, that happens with police officers. Police should wear body cameras to be protected from legal cases, as demonstrated in the case of David Muniz, who was accused of being the reason for a Cleveland man’s death.

A fairly common recommendation for reducing police misconduct to increase use of body cameras. By recording police-citizen encounters, police supervisors, judges, reporters, and others can get objective evidence of what happened instead of self serving hearsay. Body cameras have been the talk of many police departments among the United States. But not everyone has tried it out or used it yet, as we can see. Body cameras should be used because citizens are being innocently killed by police, officers are being falsely accused of wrongdoing, and it allows for physical proof of evidence.

Reasons or Evidence to Support your Claim First, body cameras provide objective evidence of incidents during arrests (Fourth Amendment Implications of Police-Worn Cameras). Wearing body cameras can show the incident that occurred to see if the officer used deadly force. It allows people to determine if the police officer force was reasonable based on the circumstances they faced. If the police officer is wrong in his or her actions they will be punished for it. Overall the body cameras are a safety measure for both the individual and the officer.

Body cameras can hold police officers accountable for their actions, both the good and the bad. “Continuously wearing body cameras would hold police accountable for their appropriate, and inappropriate, conduct” (Buam). Also when the citizens make accusations they could pull the video from the camera and see whether the police officer did what they said they did or not. “Video recorded by body cams protect any false accusations, misconduct, or abuse

Today, law enforcement agencies, or more specifically police officers, are under constant scrutiny from their peers as well as outside sources. Many of these problems arise from how the police treat and deal with these citizens. There is however a solution to these problems, which can not only improve officer safety, but can also protect anyone else that the officer encounters. The solution to this problem is officer mounted camera systems, or better known as body cameras. These body cameras capture almost everything an officer see’s as well as hears. This allows for protection against a police officer as well as protection for a citizen who was scrutinized for something he or she might have done or not. Body cameras are ever increasing in policing and have many benefit’s as well as draw backs.

Social media has played a role in emphasizing the importance of capturing events on video when the actions of a police officer are questionable. The assumption that body-worn cameras will deter police officers from committing deviant acts is something that would benefit society by holding police officers accountable for actions taken and provide transparency on the conduct of police officers. Background of the Problem The news and social media is constantly showing recordings of police violence occurring in America. Recordings of police officers being filmed using excessive force creates a distrust in society.

One widely accepted idea is that body cameras for police to wear will help to observe what actually happens in traffic stops with police and serve justice to civilians and police officers. According to the article, “Should Police Wear Body Cameras?”, in May of 2015 the Obama administration started a $75 million dollar program to test how effective body cameras are, with hopes to give out 50,000 body cameras in 2018 to police officers (Majerol 6). Body cameras is a solution that is extremely considered and is already taking some effect. Moreover, research shows that body cameras can keep tense police encounters calm, help behavior of both the officer and civilian, and the footage that comes from the cameras can serve as evidence ( “Should Police Wear” 7). Research proves that body cameras can have an effect on police brutality and will help fix the issue. However, there are other techniques that can possibly help fix the issue such as training. “An officer also needs training on dealing with community members in nonthreatening ways and better communication skills” ( “Police Need Better” 1). Training will help officers work on making police encounters less tense and make sure excessive force is not a go to. Lastly, according to analysts, changing hiring practices in the law enforcement could make sure that unbiased officers that are focused on being close to all communities could help lower the amount of police brutality cases (“Police Need Better” 2). If police departments really focused on an officer’s beliefs involving the topics of race or religion, officers that are not willing to be fair to all would not be hired and in turn prevent more police brutality cases from happening. To conclude, officers wearing body cameras and police departments changing hiring practices could help stop more police brutality cases from

Inhibiting bystanders or defendants that don’t want to be recorded getting arrested. Police body cameras may solve many situations but also create new ones as well, for instance video footage is state owned, which means that traumatic and intimate footage could be leaked online and used in cases. This may also prevent witnesses from coming forward because of fear and public exposure. Equipment is expensive, for all police officers to be provided with and maintain these devices, and storage expenses come up to millions of

Video footage may not give the entire picture in certain situations, and officer’s ability to turn the cameras on and off could lead to camera’s being turned off during important encounters (“The Perils of Police Cameras”). Again, certain rules could help overcome this, like specific times officers are allowed to turn cameras off, if they’re allowed to at all, and while a body camera’s angle or focus can’t entirely be helped, the footage is still valuable evidence if it ever needs to be used for a case. Despite these limitations, police officers want body cameras. In one survey, 85% of officers said they believed body cameras could be helpful

Making sure that every officer has a body camera will cut down on brutality and excessive force, making it safer for the officer and the civilian or suspect. With proper tranning it will create more accountability and cost will also be cut from false accusations creating better edvidence.

Police officers aren’t high schoolers, they have strictly enforced laws about privacy. They aren’t allowed, without authorization of the sheriff, to reveal that recorded information. On the flip side, these could make officers and suspects interact better at traffic stops or calls, because who is going to want recorded proof of them resisting arrest or breaking the law? Not many. Being in a family with a dad and grandpa as police officers, sending them out on calls is the scariest thing I’ve had to do. As a family most of our free time is spent listening to the dispatch radio to see what they have to deal with. Body cameras would help bring a sense of comfort to families with officers, knowing that if something would happen to them that there is evidence of everything that happened. A lot of departments claim that the cost is huge factor, which is understandable for cities like LA or Chicago or even Fort Wayne. A lot of people don’t realize how many officers some cities have, for example, Fort Wayne has approximately 1,800 officers (Garry Hamilton, FWPD Chief). If a camera is $300, that’s $540,000; that’s fourteen brand new 2016 Dodge Chargers (standard issued patrol car). In reality, who wouldn’t go with the new patrol cars? Some cities, like Fort Wayne, still have the basic 2002 Ford Interceptors, which are starting to get outran by

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.

Police abusing their power is certainly not a recent issue, and public outrage over such cases is most definitely not a recent development. On March 3, 1993, four police officers were filmed beating Rodney King, an unarmed black 25 year old, resulting in a broken leg and multiple bruises (Adams). All four officers were acquitted of the beating by a predominantly white jury in April of 1992 (Adams). Once the word got out, the city of Los Angeles was consumed by a devastating riot that lasted three days (Adams). As a result of the riot, 55 people died and over 2000 were injured (Adams). This example proves that the issue of

“There have been other high-profile instances of officers not turning on cameras. One officer involved in the shooting of a 22-year-old black man in the small city of Saratoga Springs, Utah, in September didn't turn on his body camera. A second officer involved in the incident had no camera” (Jackson). Body Cameras could help officers make their jobs easier by keeping civilians more civil. Body Cameras would help show if they unnecessary force against civilians. The more use of body cameras would help improve behaviors of officers who are using excessive force for no