Police Brutality Racism

Whether an officer is responding to a complaint made or pulling someone over, many people can admit that police officers are important to a community. However, many incidents of police brutality have been quickly arising in the African American communities. This issue has caused a shift in perspectives of how police are viewed, raising the question, what should be done when the police become a problem? Police officers have been known to heavily patrol African American communities in the past, however the amount and mass of the weapons used by the local police are the same as our U.S Military. “Overall, 54% of people impacted by the paramilitary searches were people of color.” (Dansky, 2014) Instead of funding patrols, helicopter spying, and stop and frisk, the police departments funded more weapons and placed officers in African American communities. Suggesting that blacks are viewed as the same as the people fought in war. While patrolling these areas, police are often times aiming to issue warrants and/or arrest African Americans’. In the Department of Justice: Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, research found that “92% of all warrants issued in 2013 were issued in cases involving an African-American defendant.” (p. 68) That would suggest that only 8% of all other races were issued a warrant that entire year! Recurring issues such as this has to be prevented or African American communities will continue to have violence and aggression perpetuated by police officers that are placed in a role where they are demonizing low-income people. Over-policing has created an environment of fear and rebellion, which has a far greater negative effect in the crime, employment, and education of the African American community than the supposed safety benefits. The only way to accurately turn this problem around is by organizing and educating the African American race

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

The brutality of the police force has been a long worldwide problem, but especially between the years of 2012-2016. Black people are being unjustly beaten and shot in plain sight for doing nothing while being unarmed. Journal of African American Studies “Blacks are viewed as deserving of harsh treatment in the criminal justice system” (482). “Black males with more “Afrocentric” features may receive longer sentences than blacks with less Afrocentric features like lighter skin and straighter hair”(482). Nowadays it is important to know about the police force. It’s important to know our rights as citizens and be careful around cops. Not everybody is good, but not everybody is bad also. In The New York Amsterdam News 21 people were killed by Chicago police in 2008. Entire families were being attacked. They believe it’s because of their skin color and how they are different. The year of racism started off with the world seeing the police murder of Oscar Grant. “The media have pushed people away from hearing the issue of police brutality, and it has fallen off of the radar screen.”(2) “You can’t give in. They will try to make an example out of you, try to break your spirit!”(2) African Americans say do not trust the cops with anything. “They will ruin you.”(2)

Racial profiling isn’t something new to today’s society. Most recently there were incidents in which the officers were accused of mistreating blacks such as Michael Brown and Freddie Gray. “Racism versus professionalism: claims and counter-claims about racial profiling” written by Vic Satzewich and William Shaffir discusses racism versus professionalism with officers. Their argument is more biased towards the police force and they argue that it’s part of their job. “

Over the past decade, police brutality has covered major headlines because officers have acted out in ways that have made citizens question their motives. Things such as unjustified shootings, deadly chokings, and rough treatment have all added to the constant problem of police brutality in the black community. Annoyingly, the police officers responsible for the killings and abuse are not held for long before they are discharged to their normal routines. Since many people believe that the issues of police brutality is based on race, officers should be held accountable for their misconduct. Accountability will permit officers to treat all with equality; therefore using the appropriate amount of force on everyone. Often cops are indicted in less than 1% of killings, but the indictment rate for citizens is 90% which is a major problem. If someone does wrong they should suffer the consequence no matter who they are. As a result of misconduct officers tend be mistrusted by their communities. Deaths in the black community often stems from police officers using excessive force such as assaults, beating and shootings.

When looking back at all of the success of the civil rights movement, it seems that our country has come a long way on many important social issues. Whether it’s ending racial segregation in public facilities or putting an end to disenfranchisement of African Americans, our country has made many strides. That being said, our country still has a long way to go in order to reach true equality for all. Specifically, when it comes to the subject of police brutality. Throughout history, African Americans have been plagued by unfair treatment from members of law enforcement and with each passing year it seems to become an even bigger issue. In fact, it has led to the protest of many powerful members of society, including Tina Charles of the WNBA.

1. A study by the National Institute of Justice revealed that 84 percent of police officers have seen their colleagues use excessive force on civilians, and 61 percent of them admitted that they do not take any action to report their misconduct. (David Weisburd and Rosann Greenspan, 2000) (paraphrase)

A growing problem in our communities today is the excessive use of police force against unarmed civilians. There are many different types of excessive force used by the police and the news has become saturated with stories of officers killing, or severely maiming unarmed civilians. Just recently a 57 year old man was on his morning walk in Alabama when he was left partially paralyzed by an officer who threw him to the ground even though he was not resisting or fighting the officer. All around the country more and more instances of police brutality are occurring. Body cameras, an increase in training, external investigations, and stricter regulations for hiring officers are all options that will help to reduce police brutality in our

Research has shown that Blacks tend to lack faith in the criminal justice system because they feel that they are excluded from fair trials (Jackson 2016). Video evidence is often perceived as a way to “clarify” an incident. However, the African American community learned a long time ago that video evidence can be presented out of context and subject to misinterpretation by jurors. One incident of this occurring was the Rodney King incident of police brutality. Once African Americans believed that they finally had evidence to corroborate their reality and get justice, defense attorneys emphasized minute details to make the beating seem justified (Stuart 2011). Since, juries generally are not familiar enough with editing to recognize this, they believed they had been given the entire context are declared the officers “not guilty”. One way to address this issue is for legal systems to define “excessive force”. There currently is not a concrete definition so that leaves it open to interpretation and easier to justify when used. This is particularly harmful to minority communities because they face a difficult time try to get justice for a wrong perceived as “obvious”. It also solidifies their distrust in the justice system as well as in law enforcement. A standard definition would help jurors decide whether video evidence proves that excessive force was used. Second, a definition of “justifiable” needs to be expanded on. Officers are going to face instances in which violence will be necessary, but leaving this definition as broadly open to interpretation subjects jurors who may interpret video evidence in divergent ways. This also causes minorities to distrust law enforcement and the justice

In the recent killings of Freddie Gray and Michael Brown, police departments from around the United States have become prone to be labeled as racist and to use excessive amounts of force constantly. As a result, president Obama was able to get the federal government to pay $75 million for the purchase of 50,000 cameras for law enforcement officers (Investor 's Business, Daily).” Furthermore, the recent killings of citizens by police officers have caused the nation to question the police departments that protect us. In the case of Michael Brown, little evidence was collected and it was up to the testimony of the eyewitnesses and forensics to determine a verdict. However. in the case of Freddie Gray, it was up to the altopsy of Gray’s body to decide if the officers killed him or not. Both of these cases seem to lack evidence and that causes the trial to become that much harder. Therefore, if body cameras were used in every police department, then video evidence would be able to provide video evidence of the incidents and would provide video evidence of events that lead up to the incident. Therefore, police officers should be required to utilize body cameras when on patrol because this will lead to video evidence to show what happened in any situation and would hep improve the relation ship they have with the citizens.

In recent years, law enforcement in America has been criticized for its use of excessive force. While the abuse of power is not a new phenomenon, the rise of readily available cameras in the pockets of the majority of citizens has lead to more of these instances being captured on video. This has lead to an increasingly high level of distrust of law enforcement from the general public, especially from minorities. Perhaps an issue generated from this distrust, many officers have been accused of using excessive force; unfortunately, it’s difficult to tell whether or not the allegations are true or not. One debated solution to this issue is to require on duty police officers to wear body cameras (body cams). These cameras would be mounted to

Following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in August of 2014 where an officer fatally shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old black man 6 times (Bever), many people across the country found their breaking point in trust within the police after these events. There have been numerous protests, both peaceful and violent, to combat the oppression that our society feels against police officers who are meant to serve and protect us. With the increasing police brutality and militarization that can be seen across the country, many citizens ask why we are doing nothing to stop the brutality that results from an excess in power being given to everyday police officers. With tensions growing between local law enforcement and US citizens due to the increased militarization seen among law enforcement, many propose the idea of a body camera which can be placed inside an officer’s vest to hold an officer responsible for any unnecessary usage of force used on the field.

All throughout American history we have seen undeniable blatant racism. Racism was very widespread and accepted as a society. In the south Jim Crow Laws were set in place to keep everything “separate but equal”, though that wasn’t the case and African Americans were still discriminated and always given the shorter end of the stick. During the Civil Rights Era, many African- Americans came together in peaceful protests in the hopes of earning equal rights like white Americans had. Unfortunately things sometimes got out of hand, some people wanted to take more drastic measures, causing unwanted violence. These protests resulted in many African Americans being arrested and sent to jail. Often police brutality was a factor, many were beaten, punched, and kicked. There were a lot that were violent and biased in the past resulting in the deaths of many African-Americans and repeated documented injustice. Not all were like this many saw the prejudice and were doing their best to use their power for good. Despite of the past, huge advances have been made culturally over the last few decades. As a society we’ve come to accept very progressive views that don’t tolerate any of that anymore; racism is very looked down upon and not a “norm” anymore. There’s only so much time a country can be stuck in the ways of the past. Police bias and brutality was very existent and prevalent throughout history against minorities, but it is not an issue anymore today. The common narrative in the

Police brutality has become very prevalent in today’s society. Many officers, predominately white, are killing black victims in police stops. Some are being pulled over in their cars and others are being stopped while on the streets. These police officers are shooting their victims multiple times, choking them, and/or misusing their authority, which leads to the victims’ deaths. Some officers have made statements saying they handled the situations the way they did because they “feared for their lives.” However, mistaking a black person to have a gun because of the officers’ ignorance, for example, is not a valid reason for a person to lose their life the way victims of police brutality are losing theirs.

In our technology centered society, the media has much influence on our everyday lives. What is shown in the media not only shapes our opinions, but our actions as well. August 9th, 2014, Michael Brown; an unarmed black man, was shot and killed by the police. US Official News states that the report filed on the incident includes information that there was a struggle between Brown and the officer, leading to the shooting. The Michael Brown case sparked much controversy, and started what is known today as the, Black Lives Matter movement. This alleged case of police brutality also started the conversation about the officers wearing body cameras. While there are officers already sporting these cameras, this event is what started the whole nation talking about whether or not, every officer should be wearing a body-worn camera. There is a divide between those who believe the cameras will help keep our officers and citizens safe, and those who believe the body-worn cameras are not worth the cost. When it comes to whether or not police officers should use body cameras, it is complicated.