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Police Brutality Has Affected American Citizens

Decent Essays

“To Protect and Serve” (Dorobek) is the official motto of the American Police Academy and to do that requires a balanced relationship of trust and support between police officers and the people they serve. In different ways, civilians and police officer’s both have a responsibility to uphold the law. It is a police officer’s responsibility to defend their community. A civilian’s civil duty is to support their police force to ensure they can carry out their job in the safest and most peaceful manner. However, a gap in communication has damaged the relationship between officer’s and the members of the communities they serve. In order to put an end to police brutality and repair the relationship between the American Police Force and the communities they serve, the enforcement of body cameras, new and better methods to train, and special prosecutors in police misconduct investigations are all essential.
Police brutality has affected American citizens since the early days of law enforcement. For instance, during the Lawrence textile strike of 1912 “at the behest of the textile manufacturers police began clubbing a group of women and children at the Lawrence Railroad Station” (Cahn). Police use of excessive force when unnecessary has occurred for several decades, and in the last few years the media has shined a light on this issue more. “In 2015 alone, 1,202 Americans were killed by a police officer” (Blanks). This number only represents deaths that occurred due to instances of

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