Persuasive Essay On Police Violence

Millions of American citizens are engulfed with the fear of getting pulled over, being searched and experiencing one of the simplest

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.

“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened”, said John F. Kennedy. Police Brutality started in 1872 but is also still happening in today’s world. It involves extreme force and weapons in certain situations that may not be needed. Over the years, it has became worse with injuries and deaths increasing. Hearing excessive stories about different victims getting treated like animals. I understand that if you do the crime, you do the time but that doesn’t mean leave them with marks or not even being able to take their last breath. Officers should be retrained the right way on how to handle a difficult situation and be less forceful.

Not long ago it had became an almost regular occurrence in the American mainstream to see a new name being ‘hashtagged’ and headlined as the most recent victim of violence at the hands of police officers. We find out about a death in Charleston, and immediately think of New York City. Then Cleveland, and immediately think of Ferguson. Then Charlotte, and immediately think of Baltimore. Too often, there are similarities between the incidents, with the most common factor being a Black person is dead and a community’s fingers are pointing at the police. These events sparked a national social justice movement, and police violence has

Police brutality is the extreme misconduct against civilians by police officers by ways of ranging from beating, sexual abuse, killing, and harassing (BRITANNICA). Although, police officers are given jurisdiction to use discretion on their reason and use of force, some officers take advantage of their limits and exercise excessive force. It is inappropriate and unacceptable for a uniformed police officer to unnecessarily harm citizens (HUFF POST). Police brutality of a defenseless citizens can lead to protests, riots, and public outrage. When tensions occur, complaints by citizens are often never investigated due to law enforcement’s desire to cover up the mistreatment and because police brutality is difficult to prove depending on the scenario. The case of Rodney King, racial discrimination, NFL protests, body cameras, excuses, and the September 11th terrorist attacks were all affected by the misconduct and violence brought upon by police brutality.

Back in 2016 a NFL(national football league) player Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem protesting to police brutality. Now he is a free agent, and Donald Trump said that “the NFL needs to fire these players for disrespecting the flag”, and this ignited more protests. And now more and more players are doing and it is just a silent protest but it is for different reasons like police brutality and racism. And these players are being criticized for their actions people are saying it is “disrespectful” when it is not hurting anyone all they are trying to get out is the message that not many of these people can see. Personally what theses most of these players think on this issue is that they got more power than most people

Stories of the police using excessive force have filled the news recently. The number of deaths have increased each one gaining more attention than the last. The police are supposed to be the good guys so why are they killing innocent people? In order to make a change we have to examine what is contributing to the problem. There are many possible factors that contribute to this violence such as race and gender as well as countless other factors however the main issue is the gun. According to the Washington Post, 891 people have been shot and killed by the police this year (“Police Shootings”). The misuse of lethal weapons is increasing and there are many reasons why and as well as possible solutions. Through the excessive force police use, they are causing more harm than good and officers should use an alternative force to change the way they handle situations in order to lower the number of deaths.

blacks if they feel safe I this country, many of them will say “no”. In the country, the growing rate of police brutality against the young black continues to be an issue. Many blacks had been killed by the police officer for reasons that were not good enough for them to be shot and killed. According to the data collected for the counted, black males aged 15-34 were nine times more likely than other Americans to be killed by the law enforcement (Jon Swaine and Ciara McCarthy). An example is the case of Freddie Gray who was illegally arrested by the police on Baltimore Street, and was maltreated during the time he was arrested and the time he was taken to the hospital which caused his life because sustained a spinal cord injury. Also, the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson because he stole a cigarette in a store of the area was inappropriate. The punishment that is attributed for stilling cigarette is far from the death penalty. The officer did judge his color and shot him to death. Recently, many other cases like these two mentioned had happened in the black communities, making the blacks to feel unsafe in their country with the law enforcement whose principal roles is to protect them.

Police brutality is the use of unnecessary or excessive force while interacting with civilians or the general public (Gale Student Resources in Context) The police force in modern America is causing discord across all boards due to the presence of police brutality. Excessive use of force and other forms of police brutality have led to a consistent distrust of law enforcement, race divisions and also class divisions. These divisions have led to an increasingly hostile environment between civilians and police officers. Therefore, in order to preserve and uphold the American ideals stated explicitly within the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem, law enforcement must experience a reform within its training of officers and its handling of police brutality cases

Since officers work together in potentially dangerous situations, they share a sense of belonging. The understanding that they need to get each others' backs creates great camaraderie among them. Additionally, officers may share common core values that tie them together. However, the bond among officers can lead them to see civilians as outsiders. (Hall, Hall, and Perry, 2016). One way that officers may show solidarity is through the code of silence. This code of silence means that officers do not tell on one another. In many police brutality cases, officers follow the code of silence. (Edney, 2004, p. 1A). Furthermore, an officer can hope to receive protection from other officers by following the code.

With the acquisition of these new military equipment, officer training had to adapt to the new equipment and tactics. Police departments have recently come under enormous scrutiny for their excessive use of force on individual. The cases of Eric Garner, Philando Castile, and Michael Brown serve as examples of the endemic police culture which continues to target and hurt minorities. Thus, are police departments prepared and is it justified for them to use military equipment in the wake of the constant discoveries of police misconduct throughout the nation ? D’Espostio in her study found that

Trump then explains that the left “came violently attacking the other group” without naming who the “other group” was- once again evading the labeling of the white supremacist group. Trump goes one step further in digging himself into a hole by claiming, “You said there was hatred, there was violence on both sides.” Realizing his mistake, he entirely shifts the conversation by comparing Robert E. Lee and George Washington as a justification for his argument. Senator Cory Gardner tweeted, “Mr. President–we must call evil by its name. These were white supremacists and this was domestic terrorism." Overall, it took Trump two days to denounce neo-Nazis, contributing to the growing rift between Americans. His lack of timeliness brings forth more doubt of his so-called disapproval toward white supremacists. Even his denouncement was measly: not reprimanding the group that was clearly in the wrong. The absence of admonition creates a mentality of supremacist groups that they are truly superior and can do as they please. David Duke, a white nationalist leader, went as far as to thank Trump for the blaming violence in Charlottesville on the “alt-left.”

Every other week we hear about the police taking a life and how the suspect was thought to be “armed” or “dangerous” but quite frankly that's rarely ever the case. They’re usually “misjudged” or “mistaken”. Police brutality is a problem because police abuse authority, presents a double standard, show repeatedly documented excessive force, Coincidentally all the victims are African American males; Something doesn't add up. Police are “suppose” to serve and protect everyone no matter the age, sex, religion, or race but are the main ones killing us. Police use excuses like it was a “accident”. Yes, I totally agree accidents do happen but not when there are multiple bullets being fired. According to protocol police are trained to injure not kill! Standard Police officers have enough weapons, excluding firearms, to do their jobs and keep the peace. For example, pepper spray; known to be extremely effective and detain the suspect. Another weapon possessed is the taser; known to be immensely effective and detain the suspect with great force, not deadly but great! We even have the billy club. A couple hits with that thing would make any man back down especially an unarmed one! My question is why is the first reaction a gun when police possess many other weapons that are less likely to kill?

By law, the police have the right to use legitimate force if necessary to make an arrest, maintain order, or keep the peace. Just how much force is appropriate under various circumstances can be debatable. When an officer uses excessive force, he or she violates the law. This violence is referred to as police brutality, when often leads to death.  Over the years, police brutality has become more and more visible in the public eye. Police brutality has been a problem face by many Americans still to this day, which raises the question as to, are police departments doing enough to eliminate or reduce such claims of police brutality. According to Fatal Encounters, on average, in the U.S., a police officer takes the life of a civilian every 7 hours. The main issue that arises is that police are taking advantage of the power they have. It was reported in 2014 that in 17% of the 100 largest cities in the United States, police officers killed African-American/Black men at higher rate than the U.S. murder rate. In history, racist violence, police brutality, has been used to suppress the racial blacks and to preserve power and privileges for the white race. Today, police officers use deadly, excessive forces that leads to inexcusable assaults, beatings, and shootings. The U.S. Department of Justice states in recent surveys prove 84% of police officers have stated that they directly witnessed a fellow officer using more force than was necessary. Police brutality involving the black

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?