Brutal Honesty About Police Brutality
When you have a brother who is an adult African American and fits the image of the men being shot by police in the news you start to pay a little more attention to police brutality. Police brutality has been going on for decades, but now with the technology we have, stories about the victims of police brutality are spreading like wildfire. But yet no matter how many cases come up it seems as if very few people are doing anything about it. Police that shoot and beat civilians are getting off with a not guilty verdict. Police brutality in the United States has long been a serious problem even if people have only seemed to realize it this past couple years, and it’s a problem that needs to be fixed as
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(Mapping Police Violence)” These many sources show how big a problem police brutality really is by putting it in numbers that people can understand.
But the victims of police brutality aren’t just statistics, they have names. Levar Jones and Tamir Rice are just a few of them. Just outside of Columbia, South Carolina on September 4th, 2014 Levon Jones was shot by Sean Groubert, a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper. Levar Jones was unarmed, so why did the trooper shoot him? Levar Jones asked the same question. In this incident Police trooper Sean Groubert pulled over Levar Jones and asks Jones for his licence. But seconds after Jones leans into his car to retrieve his licence Groubert pulls out his gun yelling “Get out of the
Police brutality is the lavish physical assault or verbal assault during police procedures which can involve interrogating or apprehending a suspect. Police brutality originated from the labor worker strikes in the 1800’s through the 1900’s. The violent brutal act of these officers usually formed around the lower socioeconomic class. Since then police brutality has hit an all-time high in the 21st century. In New York alone there has been reportedly over 72 police brutality reports some reports even ended in the deaf of a citizen. There’s been claim of police officers violently choking citizens at traffics stops and beating citizen up in public. There’s been new technology such as body cameras which are used by most police but not all.
There is no question that police brutality, when it occurs, is one of the most egregious violations of public trust that a public servant can commit. Police officers, those individuals taxed with protecting the public from danger, should never be in a situation where they pose a threat to the public. Furthermore, there is no question that police brutality occurs. Moreover, generally when there are allegations of police brutality, there has been some type of underlying violent incident. In addition, while issues of brutality may seem clear-cut to a disinterested observer, it is critical to keep in mind that law enforcement officers are not presented with textbook examples of the appropriate or inappropriate use of force, but real-life scenarios involving quick decisions. There are many arrest and non-arrest scenarios where officers need to use force to protect self or others; and the degree of force required may be greater than what a disinterested observer would assume. Another recurrent issue in debates about police brutality is that racial bias appears to be a motive behind police brutality. When one considers that minorities are disproportionately likely to be arrested and convicted of crimes, one would expect to find a disproportionate number of minorities among those alleging police brutality. Therefore, while acknowledging that police brutality, when it occurs, is a serious problem, the reality is that most
There is a major issue with police brutality within the confinements of the United States of America, within society in general. The problem of police brutality is not just a problem with African American, it is spread throughout all the races. “Mr. Castellani who is 20 years old, yelling and pointing at officers, who are posted down the street, after his ejection from an Atlantic City casino for being underage. Four officers rush him, take him down and begin beating him -- a fifth officer soon joins in.”(The Baltimore,Leonard Pitts Jr.). It just so happened that this man was black and had been brutally attacked by police because he said something they didn't like it. It isn't always African Americans that are attacked thought, in 2014 Donovan Duran, a Colorado MMA fighter, was beat and dragged to the hospital by police men claiming Duran was intoxicated and hallucinating. He was brutally attacked because of what he believed in, it didn't have anything to do with his skin color, as he was attacked by white police man and Duran turned out to be a Caucasian man with a family and a job. All of that was taken away from him the moment the cops dragged him into the hospital claiming he wasn't right in the head and the cops found him like that. In 2014 Donovan Duran, a Colorado MMA fighter, was beat and dragged to the
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”
Police work is dangerous. Sometimes police put in situations that excessive force is needed. But, because some officers use
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.
Many statistics show the way police brutality has changed over the years. Police claim that brutality has risen 35% since September 11th 2001. Statistics show the in 1982, out of twelve thousand randomly selected citizens 13% had been victims of police brutality. Approximately 422 people that were sixteen years old or older claimed to have had contact with police in which force or threat was used on either side in 1999. In the years 2002 and 2003, 90% of the citizens shot by police were either African American or of Hispanic background(“Law”). The number of police officers killed by brutality from citizens jumped up 13% from 2010 to 2011(Bond).
The United States has a dark history of mistreating and racially profiling black Americans. Over the years, America has developed into one of the world’s most powerful countries; yet police brutality remains a monumental problem. Police brutality has transformed into such a hot topic, and when brought up in conversation, it sparks a debate. Nevertheless, the brutality should be talked about. Although many believe that the media pushes the narrative, that only African Americans are victims, police brutality stems from racial profiling and is an ever growing issue because stories show a painful pattern, lives are negatively affected, and the use of different solutions is utilized to expose the problem.
Police brutality is in the spotlight these days. With new technology such as cell phones and the internet, we can barely go online without seeing something new in the headlines about the violence being perpetrated about the forces protecting our cities. In a radio interview for NPR on April 30, 2015 titled “’Baltimore Sun’ Probe Exposes ‘Disturbing Pattern’ of Police Brutality”, Renee Montagne interviews Mark Puente, who was assigned to research police brutality through the years. This interview speaks the facts about relevant issue of police brutality with visceral accounts that are credible and eye-opening into the actions of America’s ‘men in uniform’ through the years.
Police brutality has been in the headlines for years. Reports continually stream in, exhibiting the needless force displayed by police. However, the people don’t always have all the information. The media shows the aftereffects itself, not the reasons why the victim was targeted. Perhaps it was a justified arrest. Maybe it was simply because the target of the attack wasn’t white. Police are constantly put on trial for their crimes, but the community may never know the whole truth. The pain and misery caused by racial profiling greatly outweighs the positive aspects.
"Relations between the police and minority groups are a continuing problem in many multiracial societies. Surveys consistently document racial differences in perceptions of the police, with minorities more likely than whites to harbor negative views." (Weitzer and Tuch, Race and Perceptions of Police Misconduct, 2004)
given year in our country are African American (“42 Shocking Police Brutality Statistics,” 2017). About 69% of victims of police brutality are African Americans that were suspected of doing a non-violent crime and were unarmed (“42 Shocking Police Brutality Statistics,” 2017). Looking at the statistics we have a problem with police discriminating against other races. We need to look at these statistics and make a change.
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.
Police brutality is a problem in our society mainly because there are police officers that are getting away with not only physically hurting innocent people, but murder as well. In the past year, there have been between 865-939 cases of people being shot and/or killed by cops (Calacal 1). Racial profiling is one of the main factors in this problem. African Americans and Latinos are the people we see being abused by police on the daily. So far this year, 215 African-Americans and 94 Latinos have been killed by police. Data shows that a black person is 3 times more likely to be killed by a police than a white person. Several officers
An integral component to the infrastructure of government is law enforcement. In recent years, police abuse has come to the attention of the general public. While citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been shown that they must also keep a watchful eye on those who have been given the responsibility to protect and serve. This paper will discuss the types of police abuse prevalent today, including the use of firearms and recovery of private information. I will also discuss what and how citizens’ rights are violated by the police. We will also explore the measures necessary to protect ourselves from police taking advantage of their positions as law enforcement officers with greater permissive rights than