Police Brutality Against African Americans

As I was conducting research about police brutality I came up with three questions I wanted to find out. I wanted to know what race group is affected by police brutality the most, why they were affected by this the most and what to do to stop police brutality involving shooting civilian. This Paper talk about how police brutality is a major issue in America right now. There’s many different types of police brutality but police officers killing civilians is something that is issue in our nation currently. After doing reaching this topic I was able to find out that African Americans have been affected by this the most out of any race. African Americans are affected by this the most because in some cases African Americans are usually stereotyped and this causes them to be treated different by police. Ways we can help this issue is by supporting these organizations that are against police brutality and encouraging police officers around the nation to always have a body camera on them at all times.

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)

Police brutality has been a major issue since slavery. In slavery people, mainly whites, were able to do anything to black people without having to deal without dealing with the consequences. Families were destroyed, people died, babies were killed, and many unknown factors still to this day that will never be known. When slavery was abolished, it did not end right away. It took several years and still is not abolished if you look at in a political way. People of power, mainly white, were not happy that a black person could be seen as equals. This is the main reason why they feel it is okay to lash out at black people. There are several major issues that are causing and epidemic in The United States. However, the main issue that seems to be the most discussed is about police brutality in the black community. “Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. “Excessive use of force” means a force well beyond what would be necessary in order to handle a situation. Police brutality can be present in a number of ways. The most obvious form of police brutality is a physical form. Police officers can use nerve gas, batons, pepper spray, and guns in order to physically intimidate or even intentionally hurt civilians. Police brutality can also take the form of false arrests, verbal abuse, psychological intimidation, sexual abuse, police corruption, racial profiling, political repression and the improper use of Tasers”

Over the past decade, police brutality has covered major headlines because officers have acted out in ways that have made citizens question their motives. Things such as unjustified shootings, deadly chokings, and rough treatment have all added to the constant problem of police brutality in the black community. Annoyingly, the police officers responsible for the killings and abuse are not held for long before they are discharged to their normal routines. Since many people believe that the issues of police brutality is based on race, officers should be held accountable for their misconduct. Accountability will permit officers to treat all with equality; therefore using the appropriate amount of force on everyone. Often cops are indicted in less than 1% of killings, but the indictment rate for citizens is 90% which is a major problem. If someone does wrong they should suffer the consequence no matter who they are. As a result of misconduct officers tend be mistrusted by their communities. Deaths in the black community often stems from police officers using excessive force such as assaults, beating and shootings.

When looking back at all of the success of the civil rights movement, it seems that our country has come a long way on many important social issues. Whether it’s ending racial segregation in public facilities or putting an end to disenfranchisement of African Americans, our country has made many strides. That being said, our country still has a long way to go in order to reach true equality for all. Specifically, when it comes to the subject of police brutality. Throughout history, African Americans have been plagued by unfair treatment from members of law enforcement and with each passing year it seems to become an even bigger issue. In fact, it has led to the protest of many powerful members of society, including Tina Charles of the WNBA.

Police brutality against minorities has been a severe issue America has faced for almost a century, with the problem originating with the National Prohibition Act in 1919. Crime grew as the demand for illegal alcohol did as well, causing many law enforcement agencies to increase the use of unlawful practices. The motives for authorities to brutalize citizens is usually racial profiling, but can also occur with differences in religion, politics, or socioeconomic class. Police officers use of excessive force is most commonly associated with minorities, African-Americans specifically. Notable victims such as Rodney King and Frank Jude were fortunate enough to live another day to tell their story, however, Sean Bell and Timothy Thomas, both gunned

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.

The professors use hard hitting facts that demonstrates the truth behind African Americans and the way the law enforcement perceives them, giving the reader some distinctive insight. The history of the law enforcement along with the criminal justice system has portrayed that they are disproportionality race-based. Blacks are more likely than whites to be racially profiled (Staples 2011), to be stopped by law enforcement, and receive harsher sentences. Unfortunately, it has been shown time and time again that judges, jurors, and the law enforcement finds it challenging for them to sympathize with African Americans. All in all this body of academic work has highlighted external factors that have shaped the lives of Blacks in America without giving due attention to the words of Rodney King, the man who became the face of racial injustice (Chaney and Robertson 2014). Four themes were unveiled in the analysis King’s quotes: appreciation for the struggles of former Civil Rights Activists, appreciation for the legal system, personal feelings related to police brutality, and the desire for non-violence as a catalyst for positive

The specific audience of my argumentation is the racially ignorant white populations that refuse to acknowledge the idea that police brutality towards the African-American race is evident amongst our society. The racially ignorant white population assumes that police brutality is used as a defense mechanism rather than an appeal to racism towards African-Americans. This hostile audience becomes uncomfortable when asked to discuss police brutality towards the minorities and would rather disregard or ignore the conversation. Thus, they may not initially agree with my arguments because it might be difficult for them to comprehend the idea that African-Americans are being subjected to racial cruelty. My goal is to persuade the ignorant white populations about police brutality amongst African-Americans so they become more aware and can help support the abolishment of the cruelty minorities are faced with.

But if we have better communication between the good cops with the community, there would be less of the bad cops who kill for no reason. Police brutality against African Americans have been increasing over the past couple of years. Proper training of law enforcers and better education to the community will help ensure some of these incidents would not end with a life lost. “Police need to learn more than logistics of policing but also the broader significance of their role in society” (Police Need Better). In this statement it is saying that yes, the job of the police to enforce the law, but also to ensure the safety of general public. Many Caucasian officers are getting away with the senseless killings of the African American population. For instance, in the case with Michael Slager trial, there was a mistrial declared. “A judge in Charleston declare a mistrial Monday after a jury deliberated 22 hours over four days without reaching a unanimous verdict. Slager, 35, testified he feared for his life when he shot Scott, 50, in the back as he fled a traffic stop in April 2015” (Bacon). There is now a delay in the justice that Walter Slager deserves.

African Americans are the number one group to be gunshot by law enforcement officers. Police brutality has been an issue for many years, and it is still a major concern for the minority community. Police officers use deadly, excessive force that leads to inexcusable assaults, beating, shootings and overall many deaths. Although, police brutality comes any many forms but some of the common ones are racial profiling, and use of deadly force. In order to see why so many people are outraged by the recent police brutality events we should change how police are trained, how they communicate with the community members, and overall how we can change the outcomes of police brutality.

In today’s society, we see all over the news how police officers had shot, killed black people. Its become common to see police brutality all over the news because of this riots have begun to emerge and more and more protest for black lives matter. Law enforcement has had continuous lawsuits many for excessive force officer’s use when arresting a citizen, especially if he or she is of color. Police brutality is the use of any force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose. Because of many police brutality towards the people now the police have to hire independent auditors to conduct an investigation when there have been shootings. An independent auditor is typically used to avoid conflicts of interest and to ensure the integrity of performing an audit.

Police brutality is a major issue in today’s society. Many African Americans tend to avoid the police for that very reason. A campaign was started in 2012 against police brutality and the unfair treating of African Americans entitled, Black Lives Matter. This movement was met with controversy as well as support from the American people. This movement has followed several controversial police brutality cases in the United States including, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Sandra Bland. All African American and all killed in the presence of a police officer, with no convictions. These three cases have been some of the biggest cases in the Black Lives Matter campaign. This campaign is determined to make sure that Black lives are treated just as equally as white live and Hispanic lives, because black lives matter

Police brutality is not a new subject. It has been around for numerous years, and like most issues, has resurfaced to the public’s eyes. The recent events brought up the question: Does there need to be a reform in the system in the police system? In this year alone, there have been countless cases of individuals being harmed or even killed by police officers for reasons that continuously are not explained. What has people more attentive to this injustice are statistics showing that most victims in these police attacks happen to be African Americans and other minorities.

"I am an educated black man, business owner, father, husband, I apologize I look like a thug." This is a quote from one of the signs held up at a protest for Michael Brown. Michael Brown was shot by a police officer named Darren Wilson. Brown was shot about six times after Wilson targeted him for walking in the street with a friend. Police brutality and violence on black people has become prominent and indicates racism, negative stereotyping, and white supremacy in full effect with the police. Michael Brown is one of many crimes done be the real criminals in uniform.