Police Brutality: The Killing Of Black People

“The African American community is not making this up. It’s not something that’s being politicized. It’s real”

As I was conducting research about police brutality I came up with three questions I wanted to find out. I wanted to know what race group is affected by police brutality the most, why they were affected by this the most and what to do to stop police brutality involving shooting civilian. This Paper talk about how police brutality is a major issue in America right now. There’s many different types of police brutality but police officers killing civilians is something that is issue in our nation currently. After doing reaching this topic I was able to find out that African Americans have been affected by this the most out of any race. African Americans are affected by this the most because in some cases African Americans are usually stereotyped and this causes them to be treated different by police. Ways we can help this issue is by supporting these organizations that are against police brutality and encouraging police officers around the nation to always have a body camera on them at all times.

“I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” These were the last words of Eric Garner, a middle-aged African American man. Garner died at the hands of multiple police officers who were trying to restrain him for selling cigarettes. These sorts of images are showcased on television way too often. To the point that some people feel helpless, they know that they alone do not have the power to overthrow the superiority of an officer. So they have really no choice but watch the tragedy unfold. Also fear that if they interfere, that they may be the next victim. “I am most struck by the behavior of the EMTs, who stood along with the police and did nothing as they watched Eric Garner die” (Williams 10). Although some people deny that police brutality is a problem, recent studies and events (such as the one listed above) prove that ultra-aggressive police officers, militarization of police agencies, and the effects of racism have increased police brutality.

Living in the information age, the prevalence and awareness towards social problems are able to receive more access than ever before. We always hear the term Social Problems being thrown around habitually in the 21st century, but the term Social problem is defined as “A general cause that motivates activists and social movement organizations to address a particular troubling condition”. (CITE). The current world has too many social problems to name off in under 5 pages so for this paper I would like to focus on perhaps the most prevalent one that we are seeing way too often these days. Police Brutality and racial profiling. As a white male, someone who is a criminal justice major in hopes of eventually becoming some type of law enforcement for my career later in life, you may ask why I even care about this issue since it isn’t necessarily affecting my life directly. My response is simple, I am tired of seeing the hashtags behind these deaths and one death from police brutality is already too many.

All across the nation, in the news the black community has been making their voice heard, in regards to white police brutality, and murder against the unarmed black community. Many of these brutal attacks and flat out murders of unarmed black people haven’t been largely prosecuted, some officers have even been acquitted of any wrong doing or murder. This has led to outrage in the African American community at large. The shooting of an unarmed black teen named Michael Brown caused the racial strain in this country to break.

Since the first state-sponsored police forces in the U.S. racial discrimination in police forces has been a characteristic of the American landscape. Racial profiling and police brutality have their roots in enforcement of slave codes, black codes, and Jim Crow Segregation laws. We Charge Genocide, a petition submitted to the UN by the Civil Rights Congress in 1951, documented thousands of incidents of police violence against African Americans alone. Police brutality against Native Americans has also been a regular of colonial culture in the U.S. as well. Official studies have consistently found that people and communities of color are disproportionately subjected to human

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.

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 ruthlessness against african americans have been among us for a considerable length of time . from slave days until the 20 century . Every last one of those passings of these youthful african americans have brought about a great deal of hurt and agony to a considerable measure of families. The most well-known killings in the unified states have been activated upon african americans. The vast majority of these killings are cause due to " generalization" while somebody will look upon an african american and consequently think " It 's a dark man, they might be perilous, destructive ,or even horrendous" . There are a large number of situations where police have not been charged for unlawful murdering .cops additionally have their own particular mystery codes that helps them in each circumstance that they may wind up in, either on the off chance that they are pure or not . Families need to live with the way that no equity will be given to them,because sadly the law dependably wins .

However, this is not the case. Both past and recent events show that African Americans are still not free. This is specifically due to the fact that unarmed African Americans such as Tamir Rices, Walter Scott, Travon Martin, and Ramarley Graham have all been victims of police brutality. The many killings of innocent African Americans have left African Americans fearful for their lives since the police officers who are meant to serve and protect them are the ones who are brutally ending their lives.

In today society, police brutality is seen in many news media. You cannot go on social media or television without seeing a police officer shooting an unarmed African American male for very little reason. Recently twenty-three years old Stephon Clark was shot by Sacramento office officers in the back for allegedly resisting arrest for breaking windows. When comes to police brutality, African Americans is the fore front of this topic. This topic called police brutality goes back to the slave patrol when the patrollers will monitor the slaves and the slave owners to make sure that the slaves will get the punishment for staying out of order. As Black America knows, this problem has been embedded in our community and in America for over 200 years, while white America is till hearing about it. However, that not one of the biggest problem with this issue. The issue is when African American women like myself or male will stop seeing cops getting away for murder or assault. When I am going to stop seeing my people rioting and show the criminal justice how angry we are with this racial systematic practice.

“Don’t Shoot”, a young African American male says to the police before they shoot him multiple times killing him. He was eighteen year old Michael Brown, and his death shed light on the ongoing issue of police brutality against African Americans. Police brutality is the use of unnecessary force on individuals by law enforcement. These civilians mostly be minorities especially African Americans. Police brutality toys with human rights and violates the fourteenth amendment. In the Constitution, The Fourteenth Amendment states that “States cannot make or put into effect any laws that restrict the rewards or protections of any citizen of America. No state can remove any citizen’s life, freedom, or belong­ings without right use of the regulation. Everyone is given the equal protec­tion under the law.”(United States Constitution). Police brutality against African Americans is a serious civil problem, but in order to stop police brutality, Americans must diversify police departments, eliminate racial profiling, instill body cameras, and focus the fight of police brutality on local and state levels.

sort of case is not uncommon. You often hear the same scenario: a man refuses

As far back as I can remember, I was told that the police had a responsibility to protect and to serve: to bring safety and justice to those who could not provide it for themselves. I was told that I could always trust a police officer when I was lost in a crowd without my parents, I was told that I could always count on a police officer to be a fair and un-prejudiced extension of the law, and when I was a child, I believed all of that to be true. Fast forward to the year 2014, when a young black man named Michael Brown is shot 6 times while attempting to raise his hands in surrender, and a man named Eric Garner is suffocated by a chokehold applied during an arrest by police officers, amongst a