Terror Management Theory

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

Terror management theory (TMT) asserts that human beings have natural tendency for self-preservation if there is threat to one’s well–being (Greenberg, Solomon, & Pyszczynski, 1997). It notes that we are the cultural animals that pose self-awareness on the concept of past and future, as well as the understanding that one day we will die. We concern about our life and death but aware that it is unexpected by everything. The worse matter is that we become aware of our vulnerability and helplessness when facing death-related thoughts and ultimate demise (Pyszczynski & Greenberg, 1992). The inevitable death awareness or mortality salience provides a ground for experiencing the existential terror, which is the overwhelming concern of people’s

Police behavior plays a gigantic role in whether or not an officer will be willing to use excessive force against a suspect such as their background, training, morals, and composer in stressful situations. In Worden’s article he explains three theories about police behavior that comprise of existing research on police behavior and they’re training. These are sociological, psychological, and organizational theory. He explains sociological theory as the premise that police behavior is

There is recent controversy over police use of force, especially in minority communities such as in African American communities, Hispanic communities, and other publics with large populations of minorities. Increased levels of force among these communities have created challenges for police departments. These challenges include a lack of trust from the community towards law enforcement officers and an absence of respect creating situations that lead to police use of force. There are already various programs in place that attempt to decrease this challenge by educating the public, respecting one another, and giving those who were on the wrong track second chances. A combination of these solutions and the implementation of more of them would decrease the number of contacts between police and minorities that lead to the use of force (Roberg & Novak, 2014).

Within the past year, law enforcement officers across the nation have come under intense scrutiny for police encounters that have resulted in the use of force and police involved shootings. Every time a person of color is killed by a police officer, the media broadcasts the shooting nationwide, inciting hate, anger and racism. Nothing productive is achieved when the media focuses on officers killing people of color. Instead, trust, faith and respect is lost from the public, and law enforcement officers are feared. People fear that when they encounter the police, they will be shot because of who they are. Sadly, all officers across the nation deal with the harsh scrutiny that has resulted from the actions of few. Majority of officers are good, hard working individuals who would put their life on the line to save and protect human life. Yet, on a daily basis, officers across the nation are disrespected and hated, simply for the job they do and who they represent. Despite recent events, police brutality is not an issue; law enforcement officers are still deserving of the public’s trust and this trust can be rectified with the understanding of use of force, increased community policing and continued use of force training for officers.

Have you ever thought about what happens if a person breaks a law? What if this individual breaks a minor law and creates a larger problem? A strong topic is upon our society when it comes to law enforcement and the tough physical and verbal oppression that they have the potential to put on people when it comes to breaking the law. Police officers are supposed to be society 's saviors, guardians, and our friends. However, when things do not go quite right, and when someone breaks the law, there will always be that chance that things could escalate. These officers are supposed to deescalate situations and solve problems. That is what society relies on them at any given moment. Sometimes it takes an escalation of force to deescalate a criminal situation. This is why society sees the men and women in uniform with weapons capable of hindering life to the fullest. However, when this force is used and abused, it creates problems. The public eye becomes weary of the police in many different ways for using excessive force to deescalate a situation. Excessive force and police brutality are often caused by depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, as well as other mental disorders; due to the way they are portrayed by the media, excessive force and police brutality have a direct effect on the American society as well as fellow officers in all branches of law enforcement.

According to theguardian.com, 634 people have been killed so far in 2015 by police officers or while in custody (theguardian.com, 2015). Years of good policing practices and community trust can be jeopardized by a single act of, or perception of, the excessive use of force (EUF) by police (www.justice.gov, 2015 ). Police deal with difficult people and situations on a daily basis, one of the biggest complaints from citizens is that excessive and sometimes unnecessary force is used by police officers during arrests. In the wake of past claims of police brutality such as Rodney King and more recently publicized victims like Freddy Gray, Eric Garner, and Michael Brown, I will use the functionalist perspective to determine if giving police the liberty to exercise the force they deem necessary per arrest situation is effective or if stricter guidelines for the use of force and training is needed to deal with citizens. I believe most citizens exert some type of resistive behavior when they feel they are being unlawfully arrested. I will investigate separate claims of excessive force use by police against citizens in America. I will also look at other countries’ police brutality complaints to determine if the issue lies mainly in America or if it is a global issue. I will use the inductive research method as well as qualitative research such as present and historical data, past journals, court cases, news publications, and statistical data to conclude my findings.

The pedigree of this literary review will outline some of the dimensions and elements that provide empirical research by reliable researchers using reliable methods. The purpose of this paper is threefold: The first purpose is to review the communication and organizational literature on authority in order to illustrate how police brutality assist and continues to evolve. Although the Federal government will not recognize “brutality” among law enforcement, but has classified it as “excessive force.” Excessive force is when law enforcement officers are making arrests, maintaining order, and defending life, law enforcement officers are allowed to use whatever force is “reasonably “necessary (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2015). This definition of authority can be used to validate the degree of ill-treatment that descends from the individual interpretation of law enforcement. The second purpose of this review is to review if Congress is powerless in approving non-lethal weapons for law enforcement. The purpose of a non-lethal weapon is to reduce assassinations at the hand of law enforcers when they need to physically restrain a dangerous person (Andersson & McCray, 2012), and thirdly, determine why black Americans are more likely to be restrained with a lethal weapon as opposed to a non-lethal weapon. The results of this research will show

In recent months, there have been a number of different riots and demonstrations occurring to show just how displeased our nation is with the current treatment of American citizens by the police. These movements have been created out of the turmoil that ensued after several different civilians were shot down in the streets by police officers after an encounter. It has become easy for people to look at these incidents and consider them isolated, and downplay the problem at hand. However, statistics taken from the United States Department of Justice would show otherwise. During a national survey, police departments were questioned about abuse of authority, and showed us that most departments have an internal discipline problem, where rule infractions, unmoral behavior, and emotional and physical abuse are overlooked. Forty three percent of cops interviewed said that “Always following the rules is not compatible with getting the job done” (Cop Crisis, 2015). When the rules are put to the side, and the reasoning behind the laws and opinions that put those rules into place is lost, then anything can happen. Over half the cops interviewed, fifty two percent said “It is not unusual for a police officer to turn a blind eye to improper

To meet the full potential and demands, a police officer must complete a full training ses-sion in prior to committing to an agency, going into a field. Approximately 1,000 victims, sus-pects, and civilians were reported to have been killed by police officers in 2015. (Petrohilos) The most historical and publicly talked about where Trayvon Martin (February 26th, 2012), Eric Gar-ner (July 17th, 2014), Michael Brown (August 9th, 2014), and Freddie Gray (April 19th, 2015). Each tragedy labeled by the public and information broadcasted on social media, lead society to believe as acts of racism. The recent and consistent social media coverage of police brutality sup-ports the fact of police officers receiving the proper self-advocacy training will

An integral training of today’s police officers duties is the physical skill of the application of use of force. This is needed skill requirement to detain and arrest a person who has committed a crime and resisting. Police officers must be trained to use force properly when the skill is required on a subject who is resisting police officers efforts to place them under arrest. This skill has the potential for the officer to exceed the needed amount of force to place them under arrest that can lead to civil suits alleging the officer use of excessive force. Police use of force is a controversial topic with not only the community as well as leadership in the department. Concerns about excessive and unnecessary uses of force continue to require the researcher to locate what indicators police officers react to when the application of using force or threaten to use force.

In the book, Down To Earth Sociology, “Police Accounts of Normal Force”, by Jennifer Hunt examines how police themselves classify and evaluate acts of force as either legal, normal, or excessive. It begins by analyzing how senior officers train rookies much differently than the academy does. Jennifer Hunt informs us how occupational norms influence the behavior and attitudes of recruits. For this reason, it’s no wonder why Police use-of-force continues to be a major source of international concern.

Terrorism is a difficult issue to understand and grasp for many people. What is even more difficult to understand is what drives an individual to become radicalized to the point of joining a terrorist organization and committing terrorist acts. While there is not specific criteria or a “cookie cutter” approach to understanding what motivates and radicalizes an individual to participate in such atrocities, there are however, several psychological and behavioral factors that have been common among these individuals. The following paper will outline some of the psychological and behavioral factors that attribute to an individual’s radicalization and eventual willingness and even perhaps

The ever evolving subject of terrorism and terrorists is the subject of significant study worldwide. The psychological and behavioral factors involved in terrorism are one of the most studied issues. It has implications across the board for both the detection and deterrence of terrorism. How terrorists communicate and the influence that it plays in growing terroristic ideology, mission, and goals are also of significant importance, as well.

Results from this study suggest that when people, such as police officers, are given the authority to use whatever force deemed necessary by an authority such as the police department, they feel justified using their “power” however they feel. David Lester conducted a study in which he found police officers attain an “expectation of harm” through their schooling at police academies (Lester 186). Lester found “shifts in…attitudes during both academy training and the period of working” (Lester 186) to officers being less willing to admit to the existence of police brutality. It seems that the departments do not see the occurrences as brutal, but as self-defense.