Police Brutality on Minorities

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.

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.

While the term “police brutality” is usually applied in the context of causing physical harm, it may also involve psychological harm by the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned police procedure. In the past those who engaged in police brutality may have acted with the implicit approval of the local legal system similar to what existed during segregation. However, in the modern era, individuals who engage in cases of police brutality may do so with the approval of their supervisors. They may execute their actions under color of law, and more often than not, engage in a cover-up for their illegal activity.

Recently in the news, Police have been under scrutiny for brutality, especially against minority citizens. There is no question that police officers face an extremely difficult job that puts them in life-threating situations, with split-second decisions that could be the difference of life and death. With the advent of low cost cameras, especially cell phone cameras, police are under constituent scrutiny. Is police brutality really an issue, or is it just an attempt to undermine our police officers? With American citizens losing their life to police officers, it’s worth a closer look.

Police brutality against minorities has been a severe issue America has faced for almost a century, with the problem originating with the National Prohibition Act in 1919. Crime grew as the demand for illegal alcohol did as well, causing many law enforcement agencies to increase the use of unlawful practices. The motives for authorities to brutalize citizens is usually racial profiling, but can also occur with differences in religion, politics, or socioeconomic class. Police officers use of excessive force is most commonly associated with minorities, African-Americans specifically. Notable victims such as Rodney King and Frank Jude were fortunate enough to live another day to tell their story, however, Sean Bell and Timothy Thomas, both gunned

In recent years police brutality towards African Americans has increased. This violence has resulted in riots across the United States. The August 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri many Americans, some who are former Civil Rights activists, have spoken out against police brutality. Black Lives Matter states that the movement’s goal is to bring justice to the present unjust police killings of African Americans. Looking at prior cases of brutality and its connection to racial profiling, such as the police shooting of Ronald Stokes in 1962, has led many activists in America to connect these past issues to the current events. FBI director James Comey in 2015 stated, “Police officers on patrol in our nation’s cities often work in environments where a hugely disproportionate percentage of street crime is committed by young men of color.” Many like Comey, have suggested that police brutality and profiling cease to exist; however, this is far from the truth. As violence towards African Americans increases yearly, the relevance of the past displays the evidence of how the issue is relevant in the present. To understand police violence towards African Americans, the American public must look into past cases of brutality to inform society’s perspective in the present and into the future.

These are some reasons police brutality has to end because it’s affecting the rate of african americans in america .

"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 against the black youth in America is not uncommon news to us, it dates as far back as 1999 when four police officers shot forty-one bullets at and killed Amadou Diallo, a Guinean immigrant, in the Bronx, NYC. The officers later claimed to have seen Diallo reaching for something that looked like a weapon but actually all he had in his hand was his wallet. However, all four policemen were acquitted if all charges in the case, in fact, one of the killer cops, Kenneth Boss, stayed on the force and was allowed to carry a gun again in 2012.

But if we have better communication between the good cops with the community, there would be less of the bad cops who kill for no reason. Police brutality against African Americans have been increasing over the past couple of years. Proper training of law enforcers and better education to the community will help ensure some of these incidents would not end with a life lost. “Police need to learn more than logistics of policing but also the broader significance of their role in society” (Police Need Better). In this statement it is saying that yes, the job of the police to enforce the law, but also to ensure the safety of general public. Many Caucasian officers are getting away with the senseless killings of the African American population. For instance, in the case with Michael Slager trial, there was a mistrial declared. “A judge in Charleston declare a mistrial Monday after a jury deliberated 22 hours over four days without reaching a unanimous verdict. Slager, 35, testified he feared for his life when he shot Scott, 50, in the back as he fled a traffic stop in April 2015” (Bacon). There is now a delay in the justice that Walter Slager deserves.

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 .

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.

Americans of any race can become victims of police brutality but statistics show that 87% of all documented police brutality cases in 1995 involved African-Americans. Police brutality has been around for a long time and it seems to have worsened over the years. According to Paynes, (1992), “The unrelenting brutality police wage against Blacks has never been the occasional ‘sense less’ aberration it is with others. Police brutality towards Blacks, on the contrary has its own cruel logic once you understand the racial history behind it. Plutarch described how the ancient Spartans used to control the Helots by weeding out the most spirited young men as a lesson to the others who would follow them. There is a similar rationale behind the excessive

“Racial inequality is a disparity in opportunity and treatment that occurs as a result of someone's race” (Racial Inequality, 1996-2017, line 1). Racial profiling and police brutality falls under racial inequality. According to Nazgol Ghandnoosh (2017), " Officers' racially biased use of discretion – either intentional or unintentional – is one cause of racial disparities in police contact that are not explained by differences in crime rates" (p. 6). When one group is targeted more than another it will cause the group that is targeted the most to have more involvement. The crime rates for black people is higher than those of white people because more black people are arrested than white people. Nazgol Ghandnoosh (2017), states that, "Almost

It has been consistently shown in research that minorities are more likely to be mistreated by the police compared to other people (Dunnaville, 2000). Recent incidents have seen the police use excessive force on people and mistreat minorities. As such, the legitimacy of the police has been put under scrutiny and questioned. Many communities in the United States have demonstrated in reaction to recent incidents of police misconduct and excessive use of force. The people have lost trust in the police because of these issues. The police force has been accused of mistreating people, sexual harassment, violent and careless arrests among people particularly the minorities. As demonstrated in the movie ‘Policing the Police’ police officers are seen mistreating people for instance the scene where the police sexually harassed a teenager by touching sensitive areas. Community members are not willing to trust or work with the police to fight crime. As such, it is critical for the police agencies and department to make improving police-community relationship a top police priority. Policies should be developed that will strengthen the mutual trust between the police and the community. This relationship is critical because the police depend on information from the community to fight crime in the society.