Police brutality is a social problem faced in many communities around the world. Focusing on North America, the problems and central focuses on police brutality stem from racism and the excessive abuse of power. Police brutality is defined as unmerited, excessive and aggressive abuse, police brutality is a phenomenon that
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-By definition the term police brutality is “applied in the context of causing physical harm, it may also involve psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned police procedure.” In today’s society we have police known as riot police, who are known throughout the world to use extreme force. Statistics show almost every time the riot police are involved in crowd control, there is at least one fatality and multiple injured. This is why I believe this is one of the most important issues in the World today. Police are there to protect us but from April 2009 to June 2010 in the United States there were 5986 reports of misconduct from police officers. Police brutality has today’s citizens doubting the police department, and how they go about their arrest. Police brutality is an everyday occurrence, especially in cities where there are large communities of Blacks, Latinos and Asians.
As of September 1, 2015, in the United States police officers have killed 776 people and 161 of those people were unarmed at the time of their death (MintPress). There have been too many incidents where police officers have injured or killed someone that could have been prevented. Using maximum force with a suspect has become a routine in many confrontations. Officers have not been given the proper training to deal with individuals and how to handle them without using a weapon. If they were given more training on how to deal with situations resulting in using a weapon to stop an individual during certain scenarios police brutality situations would decrease, lives would be saved, and police would get their good reputation back. However, police departments would have to spend more money on re-training. Some people agree with police brutality and think that a civilian deserved their punishment, which is not right because no one deserves to be beaten or killed. Situations involving police brutality have been increasing throughout the years, which is a problem that must to be solved.
Police brutality and office involved shootings have sparked national debate and created a strain between police officers and citizens. Recently, there have been more home videos that display acts of aggression by police officers. These police officers often use excessive forces or a condescending tone towards people of color which is why there needs to be a better way to mend police and civilian relationship. People should be able to trust the police in their communities rather than fear them.
When you think of the police, your opinion may vary. Let me ask you a question about our police force. But keep this in mind, in October 2015 alone, there was 81 deaths by the police. With that being said, who’s to protect us from whose protecting the block? I don 't care who you are, you have to be able to realize nowadays that the police brutality is getting out of hand, that the power surge is growing and growing. Look around, there 's an increase of civilians death via cops, an increase of reports of police wrongdoing, and an increase of more officers standing trial for a case relating to police brutality.
Reba Cheatham Professor Sanders HIST April 24 2015 Proposal Every person should have equal rights and opportunities not based on their ethnicity, race, or culture. There are countrywide issues that have lead to racial injustice. In recent discussions on racial injustice, one major issue has been the many cases of police brutality and hate crimes against minorities. Many falsely accused people are being incarcerated simply based on the color of their skin or how they look. Racism has been a huge part of Americas past and will continue to be a part of our history as time progresses. It is our history itself that keeps racism in America regrettably alive. It is what has shaped our society today. The actions of unlawful police officers have been presented through media. By revealing the problems with our law enforcement this has allowed the public to see the roots of this issue. There are many factors that contribute to the issue of police brutality, they are all derived from the roots of the tree of our history. It is time that people take a stand against hate crimes such as police brutality.
Police brutality is seen as a real problem in America today. What people do not seem to realize is that the police carry a massive burden each day. The work that officers do has the potential to be very demanding and sometimes involves dangerous situations. In these situations the officers are in the position where they may be required to use force to gain control. The continuum of force dictates the level that is most appropriate for the situation. Most people do not realize that is not the officers job the meet the force. However, it is their job to overcome the force. Police departments have very strict standard operating procedures about officer use force and how force is applied. With this paper, I will attempt to explain the continuum of force, police discretion, and why the police can do some of the things they do.
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.
Police Brutality 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.
Police abuse remains as one of the most deliberate human rights violations in the United States. For over a decade police have acted in ways that makes us question their professionalism. Makes the wonder if law enforcement are taking advantage of their criminal justice “powers” October 22 is “National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and Criminalization of an Entire Generation”. (Aol News). On October 22 many people across the country wear black to fight back against police brutality. Bad police have to be stopped so they don’t forget who they are serving – not themselves but the public. Police Brutality has caused a major concern in the United States.
Protect and Serve or Harass and Assault Being a minority in the United States has never been easy and does not seem to be getting any better. Minorities have been exposed to violence by law enforcement for many decades. Law enforcement 's are tasked with protecting and serving its citizens, not to harass and assault them. Police brutality is a continuous problem in the United States and officers need to be accountable for their actions. This research project will examine how police brutality often leads to death because of some officers ' unnecessary physical aggression and poor judgment, some incidents leads to unjust shootings, and finally, the misconduct of police officers. By understanding how police brutality is increasing and the violence that comes with it, police officers can then receive better training and learn how to gauge certain situations to avoid the use of violence and abuse their power.
Police Brutality in the US 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 contemporary social problem I would like to conduct sociological research on is the use of excessive force used by members of the police department in recent unconscionable shootings of unarmed civilians. With all the recent attention that the people of Ferguson Missouri and New York City have been able to rise on this issue, making it a media sensation, it seemed like a good topic to discuss. Police brutality is an egregious, ongoing problem in our society that, until just recently, has been accepted as a sad fact of life by the people it affects and is largely ignored by the rest of society, including politicians and the mass media. Police brutality affects the people that society has come to stigmatize such as minorities, the mentally ill and impoverished people, more so than the well off or middle to upper class white people.
Police Brutality in the USA Police brutality has adverse effects on society in its entirety and, hence, there is need to stop these acts so as to improve cohesiveness and the observation of the law in society.