Police Brutality Essay

Since their has been policing entities, it is understood by most that law enforcement officers have been performing a public service that is not easy to carry out. To assist law enforcement officers in diffusing situations, apprehending alleged criminals, and protecting themselves and others, officers are legally entitled to use appropriate means, including force. In discussing police misconduct, this report acknowledges not only the legal grant of such authority,

Police brutality is the deliberate use by police of more than necessary force, used to accomplish legitimate police missions of subduing violent people, catch criminals and suspects or protecting life and public order.

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.

What is police brutality? Police brutality is an act of misconduct done by a member law enforcement through the use of an extreme amount of force to physically, mentally, or emotionally attack a member of society. Many law enforcement officers, those sworn to protect and serve, have abused their rights and authority to ferociously assault and manipulate citizens, even if they were innocent. Citizens who have been attacked have been left with physical and emotional scars that can never go away; in some cases, it has even caused death. In a report by David Packman, prepared for the Cato Institute in 2011, states that 247 deaths were linked to police misconduct cases.(Packman 2011)

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”

"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)

Police brutality has occurred all across the world and is still a major amongst society and police organization. This brutality arranges from assaults, death as a result, of use of force, harassment, Etc. It takes two forms which is physical brutality which includes assaults, and non-physical brutality which includes use of verbal language. Police officers have been granted the privilege of using “non-negotiable force” (Bittner 1970) to control citizens’ behavior and ensure public order. Police use of excessive force is also called police brutality. This term refer to any unnecessary use of force by police. There are many different definitions to what police brutality is considered to be. “Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians” (Danilina, 2014). Police brutality occurs when officers use more force than is necessary when making arrests or controlling people. Police brutality is categorized as an excessive use of force. Danilina from Law Dictionary states that, “Excessive use of force means a force well beyond what would be necessary in order to handle a situation. These claims of police brutality are made when someone is injured or killed during the course of a search or an arrest. Throughout history there has been many incidents where police officers have used unnecessary force to handle a situation. One of history’s most nationally known incidents of police brutality took place March 3, 1991, in Chicago, when

The definition of brutality is subjective. Merriam-Webster defines police brutality as using “excessive force (Merriam-Webster 2017).” However, the word excessive is also a subjective adjective that has not been clearly defined by the law yet in the context of law enforcement. Police brutality does not define what types of brutality it refers to, which highlights another fallacy of the term police brutality. The definition of brutality alone could range from verbal harassment to wrongful death. This is not only problematic legally, but also statistically. If one cannot define what police brutality exactly is in plain language, it cannot be quantified into a statistic. As a result, the word police brutality needs to be defined more specifically in more empirical

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.

There is a widespread and persistent problem of police brutality across the United States. Thousands of individual complaints about police abuse are reported each year and local authorities pay out millions of dollars to victims in damages after lawsuits. Police officers have beaten and shot unresisting suspects; they have misused batons, chemical sprays, and electro-shock weapons; they have injured or killed people by placing them in dangerous restraint holds.

What is police misconduct? It can be defined as any action performed by a law enforcement officer that is unethical by established employment guidelines, unconstitutional, or a crime with in itself. When people hear the term “police misconduct” they automatically think of a police officer using unnecessary force against a civilian. While that is a form of police misconduct it is not only form. Throughout this paper I will bring light to the many types of police misconduct that can happen in the law enforcement industry.

The most famous case of police brutality occurred on the night of March 3rd, 1991, when Rodney King was pulled over by LAPD officers. A video taken of the encounter shows King being savagely beaten by metal batons long after being subdued. The LAPD responded, saying the department had “inadequate supervisory and management attention”, noting that “of approximately 1,800 officers against whom an allegation of excessive force or improper tactics was made from 1986 to 1990, more than 1,400 had only one or two allegations. But 183 officers had four or more allegations. Forty-four had six or more, 16 had eight or more, and one had 16 such allegations” (West Valley College). Clearly, a vast majority of police officers abuse their power. But clearly this is not on an individual level;

Police brutality has existed for decades from the earlier 1900’s. What is it defined as? Police brutality is defined as using excessive force or unnecessary brutal force in working with citizens. There are many different types of brutality. Gun brutality is something that is very prevalent in modern society. Oscar Grant was one such victim. He was shot in the back after being detained on the platform of a train station in California. The officer, Johannes Mehserle, claimed that Oscar Grant was resisting arrest, but the victim was unarmed. There is also physical brutality. One of the most famous incidents was the Rodney King beating. A bystander videoed the entire incident as Rodney King was beaten with batons by the LAPD. Other police officers stood on the side and observed. Later the police officers were found to be innocent. Emotional drama, verbal abuse, sexual abuse and intimidation happen quite regularly, but because it is hard to prove it goes uncorrected many times. In Louisiana a deputy was let go because he had forced rape on a juvenile. No other charges were pressed. There are many more forms of police brutality. Some are corruption includes improper use of power, racially profiling individuals etc. In my town of Colville, Washington there was a rather large sexual scandal. The police chief would allow women to avoid being written fines by having them do favors. Once it came to light the chief decided to retire and he went innocent. Many, many victims of police

Police brutality has become one of the most difficult, divisive and serious human rights issues plaguing the United States in today’ society. This issue within the United States calls for accountability in the criminal justice system, not just with in the law enforcement officers but with the Justice Department as a whole. The cycle of the use of excessive force and cover up by the justice department needs to put to an end and people perpetuating the system must be held accountable for their actions. As Darrel Stephens, director of Major Cities Chiefs Association, “When a police officer takes a life, that’s a significant event.” These are the men and women that we put the utmost trust and respect in to keep our cities safe, these should never be the people that you would have to fear for your life or wonder if justice would ever be served if you came into a life altering circumstance with a law enforcement officer (Sullivan, Theobault, 2017). How many more cases of police brutality must we see after Eric Garner, Erwin Chemerinksy, Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, or Michael Brown?

The issue of excessive force by law enforcement has been highly debated for the past decade. Police brutality is the act of misconduct done by a member of law enforcement through the use of an extreme force to physically, mentally, or emotionally attack a person or civilian (Chaney and Robertson 482). First of all, police brutality violates human rights. Cassandra Chaney not only believes police brutality is improper and unjust but it is one of the most serious human rights violations in the United States. Citizens who have been attacked by law enforcement have been left with physical and emotional scars that can never go away and in some cases; it has even caused the death of an individual (Schatmeier 44). The job of police officers is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crimes not to cause harm. Secondly, not everyone in a certain race is a criminal. Racial profiling also contributes to police brutality, and it is one of the most common forms. Some may even argue that prejudice against certain race or ethnicities may be the root cause of recent increase in police brutality. Lastly, many people believe that having evidence in the situation of police brutality case would guarantee that the one being convicted would be found guilty, however that is not always the case. Some may even suggest police brutality happens because officers feel they can get away with it or will not be held accountable for their unlawful actions. Excessive force by police officers does not