Use Of Power Issued By The Police Force

Police use of deadly force in the United States has been growing at a rapid pace due to several incidents that have taken place over the last few years. The biggest question today remains why has this been such a relevant topic across the U.S. lately? The use of deadly force is specifically important because it directly affects the publics’ attitudes and behaviors towards the police and government. Some will blame police policies, some will blame abuse of power, and some even claim the use of deadly force is necessary to in order to properly defend themselves. The use of deadly force continues to increase due to lack of what the true definition of “use of force” and what actually means. This lack of definition creates

Some people argue that police officers in our communities abuse their authority and power over citizens. Nowadays police officers seem to be more aggressive and end up being looked at as criminals. Some cops are even using their power to do bad things, and this has had a major effect on society that is making everyone afraid of cops. But, some people, too, argue the point if a cop did misuse his power was it justified. People in our communities are even beginning to feel as if cops aren't here to protect us anymore. Our laws have allowed criminals that good police officers arrest to slip through the system untouched, and this makes officers feel as if they have to bring matters of justice into their own hands. Police brutality has turned into somewhat of a myth because of our court system not punishing them as according.

The militarization of the police is becoming more and more prevalent issue in our society. There are positives and negatives to this issue, but in my opinion it is a negative occurrence. Excessive use of force further divides police and community, which eventually may lead to severe consequences that may be irreparable.

Beginning in late summer, this country became bombarded with stories in the news about police officers involved in some types of controversy. The controversy that started it all was an incident that happened in Ferguson, Missouri. Since August, there has been much discussion and public debate over whether a police officer’s use of deadly force against an unarmed teenager was justified. On August 9, 2014 a young man named Michael Brown was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson after he was stopped for walking in the middle of the street. Was the shooting of an unarmed teenager in Missouri an example of police using excessive force? Who decides what force is recommended or when it becomes excessive? To determine both these questions, we first must define what constitutes specific circumstances as excessive force. Officer Darren Wilson was not guilty of using excessive or lethal force if he felt his safety or the safety of others were in danger or if Michael Brown had surrendered peacefully and without resisting arrest.

Police officers are given a lot of power because it is needed to help protect citizens and the community. However, police often abuse their power by the over use of force, corruption, sexual misconduct, bias based policing, and failure to maintain police ethics. (Peak, 2011)

Now, to put this in perspective we need to look at the recent events of Ferguson, Missouri. 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot six times and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. The shooting sparked civil unrest in the community and resulted in protests, rioting, vandalism, and other such responses. In reaction to the social outcry and protest response, the police force took to militarized procedure to contain the civilians. On August 11, 2014 the local police stations outfitted

President Barrack Obama in a Huffington Post article back in 2014 said, “I think it 's probably useful for us to review how the funding has gone, how local law enforcement has used grant dollars, to make sure that what they are purchasing is stuff they actually need. Because there’s a big difference between our military and local law enforcement and we don 't want those lines blurred. That would be contrary to our traditions.” This is all too familiar nowadays. Police Militarization has appeared to have gone too far in local and state police officers. To combat the war on drugs in 1971 President Richard Nixon declared the war on drugs causing a dramatic increase in federal agencies both in size and presence. It wasn’t until 1997 when the 1033 program launched causing billions of dollars of military surplus equipment to be available to local and state law enforcement. Now in 2015 some lawmakers are attempting to stop the program, such as Democratic Florida representative Alan Grayson. Grayson failed in his attempts in June to stop the 1033 program by a 3 to 1 margin by his own Democratic Party. It is unclear how our reliance on high duty weaponry and the latest technology can help police officers who only see the equipment as toys. For example, in August 9th the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri caused unrest when a police officer shot an unarmed man. Putting race aside this is a direct violation of the 4th amendment. Justice Byron R. White stated that, “The

In August 2015, Ferguson was experienced an insurgent uprising. There were already previous victims of police brutality that have been affected, but the life of Michael Brown being taken away caused people to completely snap. The fact that racial injustice, the rejection of freedom of speech, and disrespecting American citizens was part of the killing of the teen made people create a full on riot protesting the transgression hoping to make it all end and to prevent any more lives from being taken all because of policemen changing the meaning of their job to something not even close to serving its purpose.

in Ferguson, Missouri (Wolfe & Nix, 2016). While efforts such as those of the PPD and the NYPD are turning the tide, their efforts are hindered by the absence of a national certification program which would ensure that police agency comply with a standard certification and training in the use of force. Some national initiatives towards the deterrence of this challenge do exist. They include the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, the Police Accountability Act of 2015, the Excessive Use of Force Prevention Act of 2015 among other instruments (Thompson II, 2015). While these tools could act as a deterrence to the use of excessive force by the police, their consolidation into a uniform national regulatory program would go a long way in addressing this

According to The Federal News Dispatch, “Fresh protests were held across the United States as anger persisted over a grand jury 's decision not to charge a white police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager (Lanham).” The tension between police system and black communities in the United States has been increasing since past few years. After the death of Michele Brown, policing in America has been criticized by all levels of people. Looking at the Ferguson incident, intervention is necessary for the peaceful land of this racial conflict between police and African-American community.

Two decades ago, riots broke out in Los Angeles riots made news across the whole nation bringing the issue of excessive use of force by the police to the court of the public. Since then the issue has remained issue of discussion although little has changed. The police continue to beat up suspects, they continue to knock them off in public for a mere show of might, people have even been killed, but very little has been done.

Militarization of the police is an arising public concern over the past recent years. Society has tried to comprehend the concept of militarizing the police. The public is terrified of the idea of what militarizing the police can mean for America. According to US Senator Elizabeth Warren “This is America, not a war zone,” she felt the need to express her thoughts because of the outrage that were occurring in Ferguson. Citizens feels as though militarizing the police will cause more insecurities and less confidence that were already so little in the police force. Media footage of events such as Ferguson and Baltimore have negatively influence the public opinion on supporting militarization of police. People believe police officers use

In conclusion, the police militarization have to end as well return the police to it’s former self. Police are meant for civil order and bring peace. Ordinary police can potentially abuse militarization weapons. Police militarization is no longer needed civil society. These examples prove that police is needed to be separate from militarization. Each and everyone have a voice to speak, rally up, and fix this problem as a nation

The use of force is often under scrutiny in todays world. With cameras always focused on the negative actions of those in law enforcement it is difficult for the public to understand several things. First off, what is it like to be a police officer, what is it like to have the power to legally take a life when deemed necessary? What is it like to have to use force and possibly deadly force to control a situation? Many people do not see the world of law enforcement in this way, many just see a senseless shooting, or a beating. Now I will admit this does happen, but it is rare. However when the media portrays the police force in a certain light it can take years for the departments affected to recoup the losses within the community. Misunderstood use of force in recent conflicts like Ferguson, where an officer shot an assailant who had just committed a robbery and assaulted him, can be spun and sensationalized both on purpose and subconsciously to make a bad guy out of the officer. In the Ferguson case I believe false eyewitness accounts and false accounts being used as credible sources caused the community and nation to riot against the department, city, and county officials. These actions fueled by the mass media coverage caused weeks of unrest and community turmoil.

This paper will describe police power and police authority. I will also talk about police discretion as for as whom gets locked up and who is allowed to go free. This paper will discuss the different use of police force. In this paper I will also talk about police attitude, police misconduct, and physical abuse among police officers.