Cases involving police brutality has become a significant issue between African American victims and Caucasian officers. While there has been many cases where brutality has been reflected, four well- known cases that resulted in the death of innocent people includes Michael Brown Jr., Alton Sterling, Eric Garner, and Sandra Bland. Each of these cases are similar to one another because they involved an unarmed individual and an officer who used an unnecessary amount of force when arresting them. Although many people speculate that police officers duties are to protect people and property, a careful analysis of the evidence of the Sandra Bland case, shows that racial tensions between police and civilians interfere with their responsibility in the work force. An officer of the law purpose should include protecting those who are in danger or could potentially be in danger regardless of race, gender, and sexuality. These men and women must have …show more content…
For one, Bland was not armed nor was she attempting to fight the officer off; the force Encinia used was unnecessary and unjustifiable. Encinia had no probable cause to think he should have attempted to further investigate Bland. She failed to put on her turning signal; she was not swerving or running stoplights. Additionally, even law enforcers questioned Encinia’s tactics; hence, why he was further investigated. Overall, his actions were just too much for a traffic violations and they were unlawful for someone whose description specifically says to focus on protecting people and poverty. The issue lies in the actions that took place at the scene of the traffic stop. Brutality was demonstrated through Encinia’s aggression and eagerness to prove that he was in control of the situation. By an officer not having the mindset to protect everyone regardless their differences, their actions are likely to show
Citizens began to say that Officer Darren Wilson should have pepper sprayed the victim, tased him, or called for back up. All of those alternatives look good on paper, but in the moment when you are being beaten to what could have been death, you have to think either I am going to let this man beat me to death or I am going to go home to my family. The jury in this case decided not to indict Mr. Wilson, but since the incident, he has had a difficult finding another job being a police officer.
While in an interview with Huston Chronicle Metro Police Chief Vera Bumpers claimed that white was in the wrong saying “She was uncooperative”. Also Chief Vera Bumpers denies that officer Luca was aggressive and states that their investigation found “no wrongdoing “in his way of handling the situation rather claiming he was more respective then he needed to be. After reading the report giving to Huston Chronicle by Metro police I found it to be very biased. The report had no mentions of White speaking with the dispatch requesting a different officer and there was no mention of the violation that White was originally stopped for, which was for crossing the double white line. Overall, the report had some truths, but if used alone as evidence, then the officer would have seemed like the victim. Since there was no mention of the White violation of crossing the double white line I can come to the conclusion that she was originally wrongfully stopped and had every right to resist false arrest. Based on the Washington Post the report is an unreliable source to understanding the whole story because it was from the perspective of the police
Because of the color of her skin, Sandra Bland was unlawfully detained, which was not uncommon in this city. Trooper Encinia, the officer who made the initial traffic stop and arrest, committed an unlawful arrest and failed to correctly do his job, and is now being indicted on a perjury charge because of it. In the video of the traffic stop, Bland repeatedly asks the officer why he was trying to detain and arrest her, but the only response the trooper gave her was “I am giving you a lawful order,” (Hassan and Yan). Though the event was unlawful, it was argued that the incident was not driven by racism. However, Trooper Encinia has worked with some that have committed unlawful acts that were driven by racism: Sheriff R. Glenn Smith.
During the times of the riots, the Los Angeles Police Department played a significant role in the uprising of the event. After the video went viral of the four police officers brutally beating King, they were found not guilty of their crime. As there was specific evidence displayed for the jury, they still acquitted all four officers. Less than three hours after the verdict was announced, protesting and rebelling occurred. The verdict regarding the four police officers sparked the riots as Los Angeles citizens were not satisfied with the jury’s decision. Citizens were shocked by the response and did not agree with making police brutality seem acceptable. In an interview, Jody David Armour, a criminal justice and law professor at the University of Southern California, said, “there was ocular proof of what happened. It seemed compelling. And yet, we saw a verdict that told us we couldn't trust our lying eyes. That what we thought was open and shut was really “a reasonable expression of police control' toward a black motorist” (Sastry). From Armour’s own experience, he believes the police and the jury did not make the correct decision. The majority of the people who lived in South Central Los Angeles at the time did. People should feel protected by the police, however, no one within the city did. How can they when police officers are getting away with harming their own citizens?
The officer pulled over an African-American male due to a moving/traffic violation on the lower eastside of Cleveland. According to the arresting officer, the male physically resisted and ignored the orders and commands being issued. The officer attempted to arrest him, which lead to violent struggle that was captured on video. After this incident, the suspect was medically examined and was placed into a neck brace and the arresting officer on the scene was put on a paid administrative absence due to the department policy. The video that was captured on video is an example of unnecessary force, and police misconduct.
From each case of these shootings and usage of excessive force have sparked up riots, that fueled up the flames on the issue even more. Every incident that happens between a civilian and a police officer draws attention from the media and public eye, and every case changes everyone's perspective towards police officers and police brutality. The police brutality, the riots that form after every altercation, and the public's view are the current events we see and hear about everyday. Police officers have a dangerous job and never know what they are going to face when they go out for a call. They are trained on how to handle each altercation, but it seems like sometimes they forget their training in heated situations.
Officers are put in place to uphold the law in the most peaceful way possible depending on the situation and trained to de-escalate issues out in the field that can turn harmful. But some officers often take their authority over the general public too far when performing duties. Theirs a proven track record over the years of individuals being assaulted, verbally abused, and murdered by law officers before or after making an arrest of an individual in question. This issue has been gaining attention in recent years, but the number of arrestees killed by officers is still steadily rising over the years (Jost). Among this, the issue of racial profiling still can be argued in today's society, in the past New York had the issue revolving around random stop and frisk between officers and the public.
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
In looking at Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) history with using excessive force, there needs to be a way that hold these police officers accountable to prevent citizen-police tension and create transparency for the public. During the 1990s, 61% of police officers from the LAPD were white and considered aggressive with African American communities which suggest racial tension among the two groups (Suburbanstats, 2017). Eula Love and Rodney King are two victims of
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)
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.
Excessive force and police brutality have become common terms for anyone keeping up with today’s current events. In 2014, the media covered numerous cases of excessive force that resulted in the deaths of several people of color (Nelson & Staff, 2014). The most widely covered cases by the media in 2014 were of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black male shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri; and Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black male in Staten Island, New York who was put into a choke by police officer Daniel Pantaleo until he lost consciousness and stopped breathing (Nelson & Staff, 2014). These cases brought attention to the seriousness of police brutality and the curiosity of how often it occurs (Brown, 2015).
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
Police brutality is not a new subject. It has been around for numerous years, and like most issues, has resurfaced to the public’s eyes. The recent events brought up the question: Does there need to be a reform in the system in the police system? In this year alone, there have been countless cases of individuals being harmed or even killed by police officers for reasons that continuously are not explained. What has people more attentive to this injustice are statistics showing that most victims in these police attacks happen to be African Americans and other minorities.
In the closing statement, Ta-Nehisi Coates provides us a statement inquiring that “police are turning to police brutality to solve situations where it's not needed then leading them to overuse their power. The use of excessive physical assault or verbal assault during police procedures, such as apprehending or interrogating a suspect should never be acceptable. Deadly force is not always excessive force. However, when deadly force exceeds the force that is necessary to create a safe environment, it is considered police brutality. This is emphasised in Ta-Nehisi essay when said “his father called the police, who apparently arrived to find the 19-year-old wielding a bat. Interpreting this as a lethal threat, one of the officers shot and killed LeGrier and somehow managed to shoot and kill one of his neighbors, Bettie Jones.” this situation could have been conducted differently Though the officer over used his authority and instead of simply calming the man down governing both the father and son he chose to kill which wasn't rational .