Persuasive Essay On Police Misconduct

In looking at Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) history with using excessive force, there needs to be a way that hold these police officers accountable to prevent citizen-police tension and create transparency for the public. During the 1990s, 61% of police officers from the LAPD were white and considered aggressive with African American communities which suggest racial tension among the two groups (Suburbanstats, 2017). Eula Love and Rodney King are two victims of

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.

The most controversial topic of the ending year of 2014, and the beginning year of 2015, the Ferguson, Missouri police brutality case. Not only has the topic of police brutality been strongly talked about in the recent years, it has also been acknowledged in the late 1900’s and early 2000’s. I understand that in some cases police brutality may be very true, but I don’t believe it should be something blown out of proportion just because a white cop wounded or shot an African American individual. Police brutality is very much over exaggerated in our generation, I believe a police officer should use whatever force they have to for their protection.

Police brutality and police militarization have become a hot topic in the United States of America. There are many cases where police officers motives are being questioned, leading the public into an uproar. Just to name a few of these cases, we have Micheal Brown from Fegurson, Missouri, that started it all, which took place on Augest 19th, 2014. We also have Eric Garner from New York, taking place July of 2014. July of 2016, Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge and Walter Scott from South Carolina in April of 2015.

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.

While racing down the freeway on March 3, 1991, driver Rodney King and friends were leading the Los Angeles Police Department on a high speed chase making it up to 115 miles per hour. When King was eventually caught, officers pulled him from his car and began to beat King with their batons hitting and kicking him more than 50 times and shocking him with stun guns in a period of two minutes as he struggled helplessly on the ground outside of his car. King suffered 11 skull fractures, kidney damage, and brain damage. This was one of America’s first viral video of what excessive force is, and it changed the way police interacted with communities forever. The use of police force is an obligation, but unfortunately some officers may misuse, or abuse

What is police misconduct? It can be defined as any action performed by a law enforcement officer that is unethical by established employment guidelines, unconstitutional, or a crime with in itself. When people hear the term “police misconduct” they automatically think of a police officer using unnecessary force against a civilian. While that is a form of police misconduct it is not only form. Throughout this paper I will bring light to the many types of police misconduct that can happen in the law enforcement industry.

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).

It is heartbreaking to see videos, pictures and hear of the cruel, unjust stories of police brutality in today’s media; however, it has become a common occurrence all over the world. One of the most recent police brutality case stories is the Ferguson case. The Ferguson case occurred on August 9th, 2014 when Michael Brown, an African American male, was shoot to death by a white, male police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was suspected of a strong-armed robbery minutes before his death. The story caused an outrage in the media when Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot Michael Brown, was not indicted on November 24, 2014. Riots took place all

Police brutality is an ongoing problem in the United States. Law enforcement agents are there to protect the public for they have the legal right to use physical, and even deadly, force. However, many of these officers abuse of that power. In the past year, there have been more than 900 cases of police abuse. Most of the victims have been innocent, unarmed, and/or of color. Police brutality is becoming more and more of an issue as society keeps growing. This nationwide problem could be solved in many ways, but having peaceful protests and by educating our police officers about racial differences are two good possible solutions.

The United States was founded in 1776 and founded on the fact is was a free nation that welcomed all to come and join the democracy. We know this not to be true. The free nation was more of an idea than a fact. Freedom was for white men who owned land, does not sound very free to me. Slavery was still legal until 1865 with the 13th amendment. Even then it was still legal if it is “a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted” (“13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution”). This mean prisoners can be used as “slaves”. This was famously seen in the film “Shawshank Redemption”. Another example is the mistreatment of minorities by police officers. Whether it is harassment or even murder, minorities are treated much worse by them. “An analysis of public records, local news reports and Guardian reporting found that 32% of black people killed by police in 2015 were unarmed, as were 25% of Hispanic and Latino people, compared with 15% of white people killed.” (Swaine, Jon, Oliver Laughland, and Jamiles Lartey, “Black Americans killed by police twice as likely to be unarmed as white people”). Although the U.S. government is supposed provide freedom, it does oppress certain groups of its citizens.

One of the most common faults, and understandably the most infuriating, as a country to see are stories of police brutalities. With more and more stories surfacing about people “randomly” being beaten in public, there is more and more trust lost in our Law Enforcement. This is also one of the most recent dramas we have had to deal with as a community. Everyone has heard about the Ferguson case and the very murky details surrounding it. The story differs depending on who you ask, but the story is that a white police officer shot an innocent African American male, Mike Brown. He then proceeded to run away and hide behind a car. Raising his hands to show the cop he was innocent, Brown, was then shot several more times and then died. Although the reason he was shot is still unclear there have been many riots and protests to get the truth about this incident. Another incident of police brutality is that of a Houston family who was reportedly beaten outside of their home by constables of

Ever since the Civil Rights movement, police brutality, specifically against young black men, has been a rising issue in the United States. Unfortunately, police officers are usually acquitted from their charges, even in the worst cases. The reasoning behind this is police officers are commonly seen as trustworthy and accountable. Another root behind this issue is citizens are more likely to perceive black people as ‘criminals’ or ‘dangerous.’ This gives an advantage to the police officer and leads them to being dropped from all charges. However, how do we defeat the issue of police misconduct? What approaches must be taken to reduce the number of unarmed citizens being shot and killed? There’s no explicit answer. A combination of several techniques can help aid the issue of police brutality. One approach to reducing police misconduct in changing the police training at the academy. Police in training are taught that the goal of each day is to go home after their shift. They’re shown gut wrenching videos of police officers being killed, gunned down, beaten, and disarmed. This shows officers the threats they can face on the daily basis. Every officer thinks the same thing; they will never allow that to happen to them. This gives the police a sense of instinctual defense. They will take every precaution possible to prevent them from being killed. Although this method of training has been proven successful, it increases

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;

Everyone has an opinion of police officers; whether it’s positive, negative or indifferent. Regardless of the city, as soon as a person encounters an officer, that person will come away with a lasting impression, hopefully it’s a favorable one. Gone are the days of having extra time to meet people and engage in “community policing”. How often have you heard “I was pulled over by the nicest officer today and got 2 tickets that I totally deserved”, or “The police stopped and frisked me today because I matched the description of a suspect, but I understand they were just doing their jobs”? No, they were “harassed”, the tickets were “unfair”, or “those officers had nothing better to do”. Fewer still are people that truly understand the purpose, importance and the cause and effect of even “simple” traffic stops. (In the police academy instructors stress that there is no such thing as a “routine” traffic stop).