Police Discretionary Use Of Force

Police brutality is one of the most serious and divisive human rights violations in the United States and it occurs in every community. The job of a police officer is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crime. They are engaged in a dangerous and stressful occupation that can involve violent situations that must be controlled. In many of these confrontations with the public it may become necessary for the police to administer force to take control of a situation. Sometimes this force takes the form of hand to hand combat with a suspect who resists being arrested. Not all police officers in communities are good cops. At least once a year the news is covering a story about a person

Excessive force being used by officers has been an ongoing issue since law enforcement was created. During the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, it has been made aware that minorities were a target for the law enforcement of that time. The 1967 murder cases of “Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner against the sheriffs of Neshoba and Lauderdale County” at that time was huge seeing as everyone involved in the case got off without any charges (Wynter). After years have gone by and the 41st anniversary of their deaths has happened, someone was convicted. All this time, no one would speak up against the police of these counties in fear of being brutally murdered just like the three men that was in their care. The injustice of it did not make sense

a few years now, police brutality has become an extremely controversial topic and has raised many debates and questions about law enforcement and civilians. Police brutality has been common for decades. However after the death of African Americans such as Michael Brown, Alton Sterling, and Philando Castile, many other African Americans have rose up in protest and anger. The anger stems from these men dying at the hands of police which the civilians believe they died from situation that should have been handled differently. Cases like these have caused a major divide with African Americans and law enforcement. Many people wonder where the relationship between the two went wrong and how police brutality became such a big issue that seems impossible

There is a major issue with police brutality within the confinements of the United States of America, within society in general. The problem of police brutality is not just a problem with African American, it is spread throughout all the races. “Mr. Castellani who is 20 years old, yelling and pointing at officers, who are posted down the street, after his ejection from an Atlantic City casino for being underage. Four officers rush him, take him down and begin beating him -- a fifth officer soon joins in.”(The Baltimore,Leonard Pitts Jr.). It just so happened that this man was black and had been brutally attacked by police because he said something they didn't like it. It isn't always African Americans that are attacked thought, in 2014 Donovan Duran, a Colorado MMA fighter, was beat and dragged to the hospital by police men claiming Duran was intoxicated and hallucinating. He was brutally attacked because of what he believed in, it didn't have anything to do with his skin color, as he was attacked by white police man and Duran turned out to be a Caucasian man with a family and a job. All of that was taken away from him the moment the cops dragged him into the hospital claiming he wasn't right in the head and the cops found him like that. In 2014 Donovan Duran, a Colorado MMA fighter, was beat and dragged to the

Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict defines police brutality as the use of excessive or unnecessary force by police against the public. Excessive force is explained to be any behavior or force beyond what is reasonably necessary in order to control a situation. It is a common misnomer that people believe some police use excessive force more often than not. What’s more concerning is most of the time people believe that this excessive force is usually focused upon the African American men, women, and children. This misnomer is typically found to be found in city settings where the population consists of mostly African Americans. The population make up causes the common belief to seem more true than it may otherwise appear.

policies that are currently in place to reduce tension between police officers and the minority groups that they serveLaw enforcement officers and the community have been disconnected. Violence and brutality of any kind, particularly at the hands of the police who here to protect and serve our communities. When Ferguson, Missouri exploded after the police shot an unarmed black teenager, the tension between the community and its protectors was laid bare. Ferguson is not the first and certainly not the last community forced to bridge that chasm. In South Carolina a policeman shot an unarmed black male who was stopped for a seat belt violation. The cop asked the male for ID, who then reached under his seat to retrieve his wallet, but was shot in the leg by the cop before he could take out his ID. When the body cam video was reviewed it shows that the trigger happy cop probably was in fear of his life, however it is also obvious that the cop shouldn’t have felt threaten as the behavior of the black male involved nothing unusual. Many would say if the driver was white the cop would have not reacted the way he did.

Police brutality is becoming a trend in America. Tensions among the public and especially the African American community are rising due to the latest cases of police brutality. Many people believe that we have come far in this society but to be honest Racism is still a factor. The use of brutal and lethal force by some police officers leading to unnecessary deaths have African American parents on edge to send their children outside for anything. Law enforcement and people whom we trust with our lives are the very same to take it. Some people may want to argue that these cases such as the shooting of Michael brown and choking of Eric Garner are isolated incidents. Others would argue that the work of a police officer is too difficult and that sometimes an officer needs to use such force in order to enforce the law and protect him/herself while on duty. Law enforcement proclaims to feel threatened however what about the civilians who feel threatened of becoming the next target or victim of prey. The society is well aware that not all police commit these crimes and that we do still have law abiding officers. However, with the effort from everyone we can eradicate the bad apples and create a safer road for the officers and civilians.

There were boycotts of the malls in Baton Rouge, people were marching even holding up traffic. This didn’t only occur in Baton Rouge, but across the U.S. people were standing up for this injustice. Alton Sterling was selling cd in front of a convenience store when two officers approached him, the situation escalated Mr. Sterling was shot several times resulting in his death. Baton Rouge police did not provide much information about what escalated the incident between the officers and Sterling or what prompted an officer to fire his weapon. A witness, however, described police as “aggressive” and said Sterling was armed but was not holding his gun or touching his pockets during the incident. The level of force an officer uses varies based on the situation. Because of this variation, guidelines for the use of force are based on many factors, including the officer’s level of training or experience.

A study conducted by The Police Foundation surveyed 80 police officers regarding their power of authority. The survey revealed that the majority of police officers disapprove the use of excessive force. However, when situations escalate to a certain point that requires excessive force, police were asked a series of questions. They were asked questions about their attitudes regarding excessive force and their perceptions of behavior with their fellow officers. The results showed that, “Almost 25 percent felt that it is sometimes acceptable to use more force than legally allowable to control a person who physically assaults an officer (Weisburd, 24).” The survey asked police officers a question that dealt with The Code of Silence, when a police officer sees misconduct from another officer and does not report it. The response of the survery revealed that “80 percent of American police do not accept that the code of silence is an essential part of the mutual trust necessary to achieve good policing (Weisburd, 26).” When asked about the attidues of civilians of a different race, the survey results came back as, “Almost 2 in 10 police officers in the U.S. believe that whites are treated better than African Americans and other minorities (Weisburd, 30).” Is there an issue of racism or targeting certain races when it comes to police and their authortity?

Police brutality and racial profiling have become one of the most common topics of discussion in the United States today. Both of these things have had a huge impact on the African American population’s everyday lifestyle. There have been many controversial examples of this in just the past two years. Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown and Walter Scott, were all killed during an encounter with a caucasian police officer. Was there a valid reason for the police encounter? Was the victim holding/carrying a weapon? Was the police officer threatened verbally or physically?

Police and community relations has always been a work in progress, some communities are more challenging than others. There are various factors that impact the relationship police have with civilians such as geographical location, race, gender, personal experience and in personal ones as well. In the last few years police and the African American community on a national level been more disconnected due to a pattern of unforeseen circumstances of unarmed black men being shot and killed by officers, that end up serving no jail or repercussion besides paid administrative leave. Police brutality is defined by The Law Dictionary as the use of force used unnecessarily. “Force that is used beyond what is necessary to handle the

Many police brutality instances occur through traffic stops. There are many stories that have surfaced over the past few years where black people have been pulled over for something as simple as driving slightly over the speed limit. Shortly after, the police officer uses excessive and brutal force which later we're able to witness through dash cam footage on the police car. Police officers often claim this was self-defense, and they aren't punished for it. This allows for police to believe they are above the law, and they can treat people of color with such disrespect when they are undeserving of

Police brutality is increasingly prevalent and is constantly being swept under the rug. The dynamic between police officers and citizens is overwhelmingly racist. Cops (white or black) are in the position of power and use that to their advantage the same way any white person would over black man. Chief Justice Taney is a prime example of how white men can make and enforce laws that blatantly disadvantage colored people. In the Dred Scott case, he used his power to ensure that black men could not be considered citizens even though he had no right or authority to do so (“Speech on the Dred Scott Decision at Springfield Illinois” 111-120). The same racist institution that allowed Taney to make that decision decided Timothy Loehmann was not at fault for Tamir Rice’s murder. The justice system is built on and fostered by this racist power

Over the past three years there has been cases of unarmed people in the United States being killed by police. Cases have been reported from Ohio and Missouri. These cases all seem to stem from police harming or even killing unarmed citizens of African descent. Marches, memorials, rallies and protests resulted after these incidents. Racial profiling is not what police officers are trained to do. They are citizens of the community that are trained to protect the community and not to stereotype individuals due to the color of skin and nationality.

Discretion is defined as the authority to make a decision between two or more choices (Pollock, 2010). More specifically, it is defined as “the capacity to identify and to document criminal and noncriminal events” (Boivin & Cordeau, 2011). Every police officer has a great deal of discretion concerning when to use their authority, power, persuasion, or force. Depending on how an officer sees their duty to society will determine an officer’s discretion. Discretion leads to selective enforcement practices and may result in discrimination against certain groups of people or select individuals (Young, 2011). Most police officer discretion is exercised in situations with individuals (Sherman, 1984).