Summary: The War That Plagues Police

The Michale Brown shooting has forever changed policing in the United States much like the Rodney King beating by the LAPD in 1991. History will show that the death of Michael Brown will prove to have longer and more dramatic influence on how law enforcement officers do their job than the Rodney King incident. The reasons for this are many, to mention a few, society has become more sensitive and less tolerant of police misconduct weather the misconduct is real or perceived. The public is also better informed because of the speed that the modern news media, and social media, are able to disseminate pictures, video and other information. Facebook has probably had a greater affect on the way law enforcement agencies operate that any high profile

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.

As crime statistics rise in cities across the United States, people are left with the question: Why? While there are numerous theories, one of the most debated ideas has coined its name from the city of Ferguson, Missouri. The death of an unarmed black eighteen-year-old man named Michael Brown outraged the citizens of Ferguson; which is a predominantly black society on the north side of St. Louis. Other blacks involved in altercations with the police (that subsequently ended in their deaths) sparked even more unrest, generating rifts between local law enforcement agencies and citizens around the country. As a result of these rifts, violent protestors have bombarded Ferguson, attacking the city with an un-relentless

On August 14, 2014, the infamous case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, took place. A police officer shot an unarmed black teenager after an incident which was clouded in unclear details. At first, no one really knew whether the officer had been in the right to shoot Brown, or what the circumstances were for either side of the incident. However, eventually, the details started to not matter. The events around Michael Brown’s case became the spark that ignited a nationwide movement to fight against police brutality towards minorities, specifically African Americans. Protesters of police violence toward minorities created a phrase that was used all over the country after Brown’s death: “hands up, don’t shoot”. Many have used the events behind Brown’s death as a springboard to consider what makes a criminal. One side of the issue claims that race directly affects criminality, while others believe class to be the cause of criminality.

On August 4th, 2014, an eighteen year old boy by the name of Michael Brown was killed by Darren Wilson. Mr. Wilson was an officer of the Ferguson Police Department. He was a twenty-eight year old white male and was accused of killing Michael out of racial hatred. This case was examined but not enough evidence was accumulated to charge Mr. Wilson with the murder of Michael (Moylan). This act of violence touched many people’s hearts but made many people angry. It was thought that the FPD was being racist when Michael was killed because of statistic after the investigation. The arrest rate in seven felonies in the FDP decreased by over fifty percent and the police commissioner stated that overall crime decreased. (Newsday) After these statistics were reviewed, some thought it was time for repercussions. This in turn was the reason behind

The police involved shooting of Michael Brown has changed the way society views law enforcement, and the method of how law enforcement officers have to interact with this same society. With the deaths of individuals like Brown, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice, and with the assistance of social media and bias news reporting, as well as high level officials within our social structure, who’s speech and words can carry a large impact on our behaviors, there has been a picture painted that police are murdering people of different ethnicities without regard for justifiable force. Politicians, celebrities and the media alike, have been a major contributor to the anti-police sentiment and the violent interactions that police

Undoubtedly the most controversial topic in the recent past is police involved shootings. Although not specific to a police officer, the Trayvon Martin case in 2012 gained national media attention surrounding Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law. The case of Michael Brown Jr. sparked the 2014 riots, protests and civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri when shot and killed by Officer Wilson. Areas of the country witnessed the same response by large populations supporting inaccurate facts and circumstances involved with these cases. An instant gratification society coupled the court of public opinion and widespread media coverage yielded disastrous results in many of these cases. Community relations are hugely impacted while investigators attempt to

Since Mike Brown death there has been some changes occurring in Ferguson. One of the biggest changes that has occurred is Ferguson now has its first black Chief of police (Morgan, 2016). The chief of police main priority is community policing he require that his officers get out of their cars and meet people (Morgan, 2016). Another major factored that has occurred is Ferguson now has a more diverse police department (Morgan, 2016). This is important because it can help eliminate officers who feel intimidated or unprepared because they are in a poverty area. If there is an officer on the force who comes from a poverty

The militarization of the local law enforcement first escalated with the passing of the 1981 Military Cooperation Law Enforcement Act, which allowed for greater engagement between the military and the domestic police (Coyne, 2015). The terrorist attacks on 9/11/01 provided an opportunity for an expansion of the militarization of the police (Coyne, 2015). In 2002, the Department of Homeland Security was formed. The Department of Homeland Security provided even more funding for local police departments to buy military-grade equipment and training (Hall, & Coyne, 2013). The police started to use more military tactics and technology and this has lead to the lines being blurred between the police and the military. The idea behind the militarization of the police is preventing further terrorist attacks from happening on United States soil (Nacos, Bloch-Elkon, & Shapiro, 2007). Even though there are some benefits from using military technology and strategies in policing, the militarization of police is more harmful than beneficial.

Race relations in the United States have never been perfect, and with the inauguration of the country’s first black president, most people believed that race relations would improve. Then came Ferguson. Then came Baltimore. Then came the murder of more than 350 unarmed blacks by police officers in 2015. 35% of Americans are “worried a great deal” about racial relations in the United States―double what it was in 2014 (Norman). Since information and breaking news is so easy to share with people in this age, news of these killings spread much faster. These problems have been around forever, but the issue has never been broadcasted on the scale it is now. US citizens, and blacks, in particular, are upset with the current criminal justice system;

However, Ferguson’s important political leaders such as the mayor and their police force are 97% white. In a city that should have more African-American’s being in power since their race is more popular, it is not. This shows the stigma towards black people and how they are treated inferior to white people because people believe they cannot take care of a city. Additionally, according to city-data, Ferguson has a higher crime rate than the United States average. Since Ferguson has many black people, this makes others believe that African-Americans are the main cause for murder, rape, and other crimes that occur in America. This shows the stereotypes that occur in the world for black people. Michael Brown’s incident caused a riot in Ferguson resulting in night curfews. However, the police force only went further with their insensitivity by using tear gas, dogs, rubber bullets and other weapons to stop the protest. The reason to Michael Brown’s death was stereotyping him to believe he was the one that stole the items because of his skin colour. Darren Wilson fired a total of 12 bullets and articles have said that he kept shooting because Brown was coming towards him.

Whether the Ferguson Effect is the cause of the supposed increase in crime, especially violent crimes, such as homicide, is a matter of opinion. Some would say that the Ferguson Effect is the reason crime rates have increased dramatically in major cities, such as Chicago, St. Louis, and New York. Many criminologist would disagree and have stated that the numbers do not prove that the Ferguson Effect is behind the apparent increase in crime rates. President Obama has even exclaimed that there is not a nation-wide crime increase because of the

As of today in 2017, we are too familiar with police shootings, especially in those of men of color. We have seen debate over these shootings with the organizations such as the NAACP and Black Lives Matter speaking out about them. These organizations voice their concerns of racial profiling by police officers. Is America seeing racial profiling by police through biased reports in the media or is there statistics to support the claim? For Essay No. 2: The Causal Argument, I will write about the causal issue of racial profiling. In order to discuss this topic, I will focus on the following three effects of this causal issue: Police shootings by race, incarceration by race, Median wage by race.

I would like to receive clarification on the what is meant in The Police Assemblage by the statement "these populations are brutally overpoliced at their periphery and under police in their midst"(20) that was written in relation to the discussion of those living in reservations, refugee camps and slums. I understand the terms used but do not understand what is being alluded to with its use. My attempted understanding of the aforementioned is that it is describing a population that is being policed by individuals without legitimate authority but not properly by state authorized police.

Police officers deal with many diverse people every day as part of their job. It is important that law enforcement reflects this diversity by hiring qualified officers of different gender, race, ethnicity, etc. Police officers that do not fit into the straight, white, male category often face difficulty in their job, from both society and their colleagues. The focus of this paper will be on women in law enforcement and the struggles they continue to face.