Police Brutality And The Laws Of The Nation And Protect The Citizens Of Their Nation

Although I should know by now, I cannot help but think that there has been an overwhelming amount of police brutality in recent years. Police brutality can be defined as, when a police officer uses more force than necessary. This issue has spread throughout the United States of America, and is putting the lives of our citizens in great danger. Police brutality is not only physical, but it can also be verbal attacks; and, in most cases, it is caused by false arrest and racial profiling due to police corruption. Police brutality has been and continues to be a major concern in society and it is used very loosely to any and all forms of police misconduct. Whereas, in reality, excessive force of police misconduct is what defines police brutality. The jobs of a police officer are too calmly resolve public disturbance and disputes. Police officers are supposed to protect citizens; instead they are hurting and using excessive force. It is not right and it is unjust for a police officer to hurt a citizen due to an assumption without any actual proof of criminal activity.

Police brutality is one of the most serious and divisive human rights violations in the United States and it occurs in every community. The job of a police officer is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crime. They are engaged in a dangerous and stressful occupation that can involve violent situations that must be controlled. In many of these confrontations with the public it may become necessary for the police to administer force to take control of a situation. Sometimes this force takes the form of hand to hand combat with a suspect who resists being arrested. Not all police officers in communities are good cops. At least once a year the news is covering a story about a person

On March 3, 1991, a spectator filmed Rodney King, an African American resident of Los Angeles, being beaten by four Caucasian officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, who used a stun gun on King and continually kicked him and struck him with batons. For weeks afterward, the assault obtained capacity coverage appearing in the news media; according to the Vanderbilt Television News Index and Abstracts (1992), from March 5, the evening the story broke, until the conclusion of the remaining

In the past, police officers were considered to be peacekeepers. However, this has changed and they are now regarded as law enforcement officers. Most officers do their work diligently but their priority is on making quotas as well as arresting innocent people followed by maintaining peace. Police brutality remains to be the biggest challenge facing police agencies in America. Police work is a dangerous job, and police are more than likely to be put into situations when excessive force is needed. Sometimes police use excessive force for their own personal reasons, such as racism. The issue of police officers using excessive force may or may not be of great concern, but it should be looked into by both the police and the public. Police brutality should be addressed. Despite

For the past couple years there has been so many incidents involving some sort of police brutality. The mainstream media has shown police misconduct, case after case it has become a routine and making people wonder if our officers of the law really doing their jobs? Unjustified shooting, and fatal choking’s have all contributed to the problem of police brutality in America and also has become very controversial. The police carry an enormous burden each day, which makes their job really hard. Police work is very stressful and involves violent, and split second decision. Nevertheless, cases like the shooting of Samuel DuBose, and Walter Scott and the choking of Eric Garner has raised questions regarding our police system. In many confrontations the police are put in a position in which they have to use force to control the situation, but there are different levels of force and most of the time the situation dictates the level of force that’s necessary. In addition, I will explain different cases of police brutality, the use of excessive force, and the consequences the officers have faced.

The five officers that were involved in the beating of Mr. King were Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno and Rolando Solano. But the four main ones were Wind, Powell, Koon, and Briseno. These four officers were charged with excessive force. King suffered broken bones, teeth and brain damage. They would have to wait for a whole year until they received their verdicts which upset the city of Los

Police brutality is the use of excessive and unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. Police brutality can be present in many ways. The most common 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. Black people are mostly affected by white cops. Cops are given a lot of scope in performing their obligations. Since they are relied upon to ensure general society and stand up to possibly rough people, they can lawfully utilize physical, and even fatal, power in specific situations. Be that as it may, an officer who uses power when it is not called for, or who utilizes more constraints than is important to perform his or her occupation, may go too far into police ruthlessness. Police brutality should be controlled and stopped because its getting out of hand and is killing our African American youth.

"... the legal test for excessive force... is whether the officer reasonably believed that such force was necessary to accomplish a legitimate police purpose..." (qtd. in U.S. Department of Justice). This is the legal test for excessive force as quoted from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. However, the majority do not accept this test or any others as the legitimate test for excessive force.

“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened” (John F. Kennedy). Police Brutality is a violation to the Federal Civil Rights Act. If cruelly beaten, kicked, and thrown by a person who is supposed to ensure the law, will you then trust them afterwards? Will your rights be valid then? Officers wear the badge and uniform which will make them feel superior making them think the law is in their hands and can twist and change it as they please. Jessica Watson-Crosby comments on the police brutality history and says, from the point of view of its victims, police were seen as protecting the upper classes. Police violence only came under scrutiny when “decent” people became victims, usually accidentally. As you see the chaos created by officers has been in the United States for a long time and has worsened over time. “Police are guaranteed a steady living. Unlike other workers , they typically are not threatened by layoffs or pay cuts” (Watson-Crosby). All who did not give their opinion over the authority were left unharmed and for the ones who spoke to let their rights be known were not as lucky. “Many police see themselves as part of the upper classes “the enforcers of social value” even while the upper classes see them as ignorant brutes. As a rule, the upper

King was beaten by none other than the police. What makes it even worse is that this young man

The police attempted to pull him over in Lake View Terrace in the San Fernando Valley after he was caught speeding at 110 mph” (Par. 3). King led the police chase and was eventually pulled over. Once King was pulled over, the police claimed he was resisting arrest and was severely beaten for about 15 minutes. This resulted in “skull fractures, broken bones and teeth, and permanent brain damage” (“South Central History” Par.3). The police did not know they were being recorded and this video was brought to the media. At the time police brutality and racial profiling had been common in Los Angeles, but this was the first time it was caught on tape.

However, what set people off were that the officers continued to beat King while he was on the ground and posing no threat. Described in an article by US News, "Afterward, as King lay hogtied on the ground, the bloodied, angry victim alternately laughed and cursed into the chilly night air" (The Untold story of the LA Riots). King was brutalized in his arrest by the people that were supposed to be protecting the community and because of the actions that were taken by the jury in the King trial, a billion dollars of damage was done to the city of Los Angeles.

Police brutality is an old problem that has been around in this country for many years. Unfortunately, civilians have experienced it in their thousands, suffering varying degrees of damages, ranging from injuries or even loss of their lives at the hands of the brutal police. Even more disheartening is the fact that numerous officers in the American police force believe that their brutal and hostile tactics are contributing and giving justice to society, which is their basic role in the world (Vila and Morris 29). However, the

"On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was the driver of a car in Los Angeles, California. The driver didn't stop when signaled by a police car behind him, but increased his speed. When police finally stopped the car, they delivered 56 baton blows and six kicks to King, in a period of two minutes, producing 11 skull fractures, brain damage, and kidney damage. Unaware that the incident had been videotaped, the police officers filed inaccurate reports, not mentioning the fact that Rodney King was left with head wounds. On March 15, 1991, four police officers were arraigned on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force" (Mike Lepore).

Moreover, one example that led to looting was the Rodney Glen King case which was about an American taxi driver who became nationally known after being beaten by Los Angeles Police Department officers following a high-speed car chase on March 3, 1991. The police attempted to pull him over in Lake View Terrace in the San Fernando Valley after he was caught speeding at 110 mph. He led the police on a short pursuit because he knew being pulled over would violate his parole for a prior robbery. The police claimed that he was resisting arrest once he was pulled over. They claimed that they believed he was on drugs, although he was not. The police proceeded to beat Rodney King severely for about 15 minutes, resulting in skull fractures, broken bones and teeth, and permanent brain damage. In the end, 53 people were killed, most of all were the