Police Racism

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.

With so many news stories and incidents surrounding the topic of race and the police these days, it is not surprising for people to come to the conclusion that racism may exist within the criminal justice system. We will be taking a deeper look into the problem to find out what other possible determinants may play a role in deciding how an officer makes an arrest or stop and continue to analyze what is happening in those contexts. The issues surrounding the topic of race is like the two faces of the same coin as there are usually two sides that we have to consider: reality and media portrayals. The reality side of situations is always there at the time, but it is so subtly hidden from society that nobody understands it unless they witness it firsthand and with the media spreading filtered information, it becomes even harder for us to identify the key issue; this is especially the case when dealing with the police and racial profiling. If you turn on the news and flip to a channel where it is reporting on the police and their arrests, you will most likely see more arrests pertaining to minorities than other ethnicities. In the news, we can often see a misrepresentation of ethnic minorities, usually African-Americans, being arrested when compared to others and this has caused problems around societies countless times. For this essay topic, I will be discussing the different issues surrounding race within the parameters of criminal justice and inequality; furthermore I will be

Many of the problems and conflicts between the community and the police are based on situations involving police misconduct and race. Other issues occur because of an experience one has had with the police because he or she is minority. Early resentments from White officers cause a different outcome when handling a police situation that involves a different race as oppose to his or her own. This begins to shape the perception of the residents that witness these actions. It has been shown that an officer’s attitude and behaviors when dealing with a minority is harsher and unfair. Several situations like the Rodney King story and police brutality where a minority was the victim is viewed by the public and discriminatory behavior solely caused by a person’s race or ethnicity. This creates distrusts and suspicion with regard to the way a police department handles these issues. The public is disappointed and reluctant to construct a relationship with his or her fellow officer.

One of the most polarizing policy issues in the United States is the process of using race, ethnicity, and/or national origin by law enforcement as a chief predictor of criminal behavior. In the presence of social media and modern technological innovation, there has been increased documentation on the very problematic ways in which police officers use their position of authority against minorities. The countless cases of murder and police brutality have prompted national dialogue regarding to what extent race should be used in methods of policing. Against a troubled backdrop of incessant clashes with minorities and law enforcement, navigating the situation requires a degree of care that does not diminish the

A great deal of society views law enforcement officers as heroic and honorable individuals, whose main purpose is to protect and serve the community. For many officers, this description is accurate, however for others; violence and brutality against innocent citizens is part of getting the job done. For years, minorities have fallen victim to police brutality based on racial profiling, stereotypes and other

The use of police brutality and racial profiling is an unfortunate part of today’s society that needs to be addressed. Blacks are being stopped and searched by police officers in greater numbers compared to other races, and sometimes these situations escalate into violence. In the essay Blue On Black Violence: Freddie Gray, Baltimore, South Africa, & the Quietism of Africana Christian Theology, author Darryl Scriven, a Philosophy professor at Florida A&M University, reports that, “CNN reported that May 2015 was the deadliest month for Baltimore, Maryland in 16 years with 35 recorded, civilian-caused homicides” (Scriven 2015). He then goes on to say, “Most of the victims were African American” (Scriven 2015). This use of unnecessary force is not new. Police have employed the tactic of racial profiling to unfairly stop and search people of color, and some of time, this turns violent. There are several cases of police brutality that occurred in the past few years that show many similarities with cases from the past in Macintosh County.

Police brutality has become a frequent and sensitive debate for some time now. The encounters between the police and men of color have brought to light an underlying thought in the minds of many. Has racism been resolved or has it manifested itself in modern times? Hinton highlights the unfortunately clear divide in the way that people are policed. Personally, I believe racism cannot and will not disappear in the hearts of people, however, the system, especially the criminal justice and law enforcement systems, with which we all live under should not put African Americans in a state of internal nervousness out of not being sure if the color of their

1 A YouTube video called How Racist Are Ferguson Police? goes on to explain the mistreatment of young black males predominantly in the south. 2 Michael, or Mike, Brown was shot six times by a white police officer while he was unarmed. He was only the age of eighteen. This is one of many similar high-profile cases that played a large role in the racism of America today. During an investigation of the Ferguson PD a conclusion was made that they “established clear

The topic of police brutality has been an issue in America for many years, especially among minorities. When referring to ethnicity, most American citizens are white with European background. Therefore, the minorities include American citizens that include African, Hispanic, Asian, Arab, Indian, or native background. Although the amount of racism among citizens has decreased over years, prejudice, racial profiling, and stereotypes still exist. Hence it is a privilege to live in any society and be a part of the majority, which in the case of American citizens is to be white. Many police officers are also white, and most of the residents that live in inner cities are minorities, which has led to controversy, even in recent years. A common stereotype

..................Column Break..................As children we are taught that not only are police officers our friends, but that their job is to protect and serve our communities. Unfortunately, for many minorities this image is shattered as incident after incident occurs in the streets of their communities. With today’s technology, these incidents are now on broadcast all over social media and television. As minorities watch people that look like them be killed or injured by those sworn to protect them, admiration and appreciation soon turns into anger, aggression and

The police cannot do everything expected of them by everyone. Unequal treatment on the basis of race have been an ongoing issue for police since the 1960’s civil rights movement. It became apparent that through the course of the past 40 years, many critics, scholars, and policy makers would begin to question discretionary powers of law enforcement officers in regards to brutality. As citizens we put our trust in law enforcement officers to do the right thing by upholding and abiding by the same laws they enforce to maintain order and keep peace within our society. Public servants, especially law enforcement officers, are obligated to live up to a higher ethical and intellectual standard than those expected of the general public, which is why there is growing concern about brutality, excessive use of force, discrimination, and racial profiling by those who are sworn to serve and

As a consequence police use more force on black kids than white ones”( Craig Debrah). From this study, you can see that officers are not being rational or focus on diagnosing the situation if the suspect is a minority. This is the belief that all officers have certain biases against certain minorities. Which mean they will act differently in certain scenarios. For example, a white officer will be quick to chose lethal force in a situation that involves a minority. However, the belief is they will give a white person the benefit of doubt. Which an officer should never do, they must hold all races on the same pedestal.

This article, by The Wall Street Journal, gives and update into the incident that occurred last September in Charlotte, North Carolina. Investigators found that the officer acted appropriately in the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. The two-month investigation has proven that Scott was holding a loaded gun, dispelling testimony of family members, who claimed he was holding a book while waiting for his child at a bus stop. A detailed summery of what actually occurred was also included in the reports. Officer Vinson was one of two officers conducting surveillance in an apartment complex in Charlotte. The officers were parked near Mr. Scott, and saw that he had marijuana and a gun. The officers then proceeded to put on vests that identified themselves

Can anyone be safe in the streets or public stores without a police officer harassing you? Some people say that policemen are helpful to the community on the other hand other, people might say that they come of as being racist because of the shootings towards colored people. It’s really difficult to find truthful stories about police racism knowing that some media don’t want to uncover the truth about law enforcement.

This past week across the United States, racial tensions erupted between black citizens and police. Earlier in the week, two black suspects were shot and killed by police in separate incidents that occurred in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.