Violence In Radley Balko's Rise Of The Warrior Cop

In the film, Do Not Resist, Craig Atkinson illustrates the use of military weapons being issued to police; in addition, the differences of “Warrior” and “Guardian” mentalities in law enforcement. A warrior mentality, as described in Atkinson’s film, is referred to the mental tendencies of soldiers, focusing more on protection. Warrior mentality in officers is used to combat extreme situations, like terrorists attacks or hostage situations. On the other hand, guardian mentalities are focused more on serving the community more than protecting. Law enforcement officers have both the warrior and guardian concepts, some officers have more warrior than guardian while others have guardian more than warrior. It is important to understand the difference between the mentalities. To understand we see which communities have higher crime rates than others and see the kind of funds spent on weaponizing police. With those factors one can deduce what law enforcement stations have the ‘warrior’ persona. At what point do we say “enough is enough”, and take away big brother’s toys? As a nation, we’re only strong united. As the great JFK so powerfully said during the Civil War, “United we stand, divided we fall.” Our division of law enforcers, people of color, political affiliation, and other factors will be this society's inevitable downfall. Today’s society’s annihilation is inevitable because we do not have the proper leaders to guide this nation into prosperity.

If you grew up in an average middle-class town in the United States you were probably raised on the premise that the police were there to protect and fight crime, however, in many of today’s urban centers throughout the country, the tension between the police and the citizens has a very different relationship. The term ‘police’ brings many images to mind, while the objective of the police is to prevent and detect crime, this is far from the way so many Americans feel. Far from the original purpose of the police, the use of brutal and sometimes lethal force has evoked questions regarding the skewed system and the relationship between both in the communities. Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the issue in the article, The Paranoid Style of American Policing, often bringing up complex issues, and effectively brings the issues to life through anecdotes. Coates presents a logical, thought out and well-executed argument surrounding the cracked police system in America. Due to the well-supported thesis, the structure of the argument, and lack of fallacies, Coates position is adequately supported through the use

Brent Staples’ essay, “When the Paranoids Turn Out to be Right,” acknowledges the issues of racism and racial profiling committed by police. In “Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun,” Geoffrey Canada also expresses views on this issue when he asserts that police fail to protect and serve individuals in poor neighborhoods. Staples contends, “Among the day-to-day acts of discrimination that shadow African Americans, none are more stressful or dangerous than those committed by police, some of whom treat black people as criminals until proved otherwise.” (Staples. 380) Although statistics show that the looming presence of narcotics and violence is more prevalent in urban neighborhoods, police should apply the same effort to protect individuals in these

Rise of the Warrior Cop, by Radley Balko, centers around police in the United States and how it has gone through militarization throughout the years. Militarization is a process in which the police departments take on tactics that are similar to the tactics used by the military. Police forces were initially made to make our environment a safer place to live in. In this book, Balko explains how that has changed. Practices of policing first began when people would get hired, unofficially, to keep slaves under control and catch them if they try to run away. These people were sometimes known as slave catchers. Soon it evolved into formal policing, allowing police to catch criminals and make the neighborhood safe. However, today it is not so much about catching criminals; it involves a lot of violence and Balko questions whether this is even constitutional. In his writing, Balko brings awareness to the horrible tactics police are using in today’s society and how we could fix it.

The media has portrayed Officers in a new light. Rather than protective guardians, they are now unstable, power-fueled workers of the law. It is their choice what they will do with the duty of enforcing the law. Anyone can fall victim to Police Brutality. However, America’s social and economic society is improving at an alarming rate. America is at a time now where peaceful protests and the like are promoted, while aggressive out lashes, unlawful activities, and excessive force is frowned upon. The economy today is a result of the hard work of ancestors who protested and ensured a better future. In the future, it is possible that Officers will no longer be stereotyped as abusive, or unlawful. A united front is required for this future, where there are no more sides, violence, or

Still, in 2011, almost fifty years after the passing of this law, the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri spurred passionate protests around the country and once again shone a light on the persistence of racial tension in the United States. In particular, the Michael Brown case highlighted the brokenness of relations between police and residents of America’s inner cities. In his book, Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City Analysis, Elijah Anderson provides a framework for understanding the structure and rules of inner cities in America. Using Anderson’s “code” as a guideline and drawing on evidence from the HBO series The Wire and Peter Moskos’s book, Cop in the Hood, this essay will argue that the code of the street shapes the informal rules of inner city policing while, concurrently, inner city policing propagates the code of the street by the promotion of legal

It is no secret that the United States of America has a problem with civil unrest, as that was essentially what the country was founded upon. As a sophisticated young individual living in modern times, one can see how the naïve public thought that the problems of the past would stay in the past. The only difference is the groups represented in each party. Police, skepticism, and fear are all still prevalent factors in today’s society, just the people being oppressed are not colonists, but minorities living fairly in this country. I personally feel disgusted by the fact that individuals have to live their lives consistently looking behind their backs, but I’m not the only one. Ross Gay, an African-American professor at Indiana University and author of “Some Thoughts on Mercy”, knows firsthand this feeling of paranoia and a mistrust in law enforcement. After reading his article “Some Thoughts on Mercy”, I really do believe it boils down to one simple message. Growing skepticism and fear of the presence of an ever-looming police force is directly affecting the psychological and physical health of minorities who are unjustly racially profiled by law enforcement. Ross Gay conveys this through his own personal accounts, and encounters with law enforcement. Sadly, this is a prevalent issue in the United States, one that should not be overlooked.

During 2013 the police force attempted to fight through the hatred of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ group. While not every person in this movement hated police and the ‘oppressive white man’, just as not all whites hated blacks during Reconstruction, many of them sought after their right to ‘peacefully’ protest against police forces around the US by physically assaulting police of all colors and acting out against the safety laws, put in place for everyone’s protection, by walking around with solid black BB guns and pointing them at the men and women who are trying to uphold the law and safety of all citizens. This event lead to many deaths on both the polices and black persons’ sides and an uproar of fights within families and friendships over ‘who’s side is right.’ In the end, this movement fell to the back burner of national news as the talk of president Trump’s immigration policies and ‘wall’ came to focus and has been the ‘race talk’ to recent days.

Police brutality is in the spotlight these days. With new technology such as cell phones and the internet, we can barely go online without seeing something new in the headlines about the violence being perpetrated about the forces protecting our cities. In a radio interview for NPR on April 30, 2015 titled “’Baltimore Sun’ Probe Exposes ‘Disturbing Pattern’ of Police Brutality”, Renee Montagne interviews Mark Puente, who was assigned to research police brutality through the years. With visceral accounts that are credible and eye-opening, this interview speaks the facts about the issue of police brutality, including how they can change reports, and gives and inside view into the actions of America’s men in uniform through the years.

There have been a number of changes within the legal and criminal justice system in the last 3-4 decades. History remembers, for example, the Kent State and Chicago Democratic Convention riots in 1968, and since then, a number of criminologists and political scientists have been asked about the use of force, rights-based policing, community involvement, and crime prevention (Russell 2005). The Red Cross and Amnesty International, for instance, have endorsed a rights-based policing model. This idea tempers all police activity with the basic tenet of human rights and rights under the Constitution. Central to this argument is the nature of the relationship between the community and the Criminal Justice System. Local law enforcement bond with community members to implement the day-to-day needs of that community. The idea centers around a basic philosophical tenet: use less force, communicate more, pay attention to human rights, and work to dialog and prevent, not to punish and incarcerate (Williamson 2008).

Throughout the country, law enforcement serves to protect the nation and its people. However, throughout the past years, many disturbing cases come up and people question the true authority and power of those who call themselves protectors of justice. Within the past 30 years, four major events have caught the media’s eye: L.A. Riots, the Trayvon Martin case, and recently, the Michael Brown shooting case and the Eric Garner chokehold case.

In this paper you will find out about where law enforcement started and where is it now. Whether it’s a big difference or not that’s for you to decide. The beginning of this paper is all about how it started, when, where, and how. The basic knowledge of creating the judicial system and law enforcement that we live by in this country. However, you will also read about the recent tragedies that have taken place all around the nation and what the justice system has done about them. Also the people that was and was not affected by police officers, trials, and verdicts, the families that will always be “that family”, and the city that will always be Ferguson. You will also learn a little about the people who did not want to be the name you will never forget, the phrase you see on t-shirts, and the reason everyone was saying “hands up , don’t shoot!” The names Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Michael Brown. I also give my thoughts on these topics from what I feel, the things I see, and hear from the community, classmates, and parents. All in all this paper will draw you into the “new” events of racism even though, racism in itself, it is so very old. The only difference is it is being shown on television, social media, and it’s being talked about. People are not standing for it. But how can you stop it? Can racism even be stopped? Or is it something that has been embedded in us, in our country, and in our world. You will also take a look at the facts of gun control and why the

In many regards, the focus of “keeping the peace” has taken a backseat to a “warrior” mentality. This mindset emphasizes an “us-versus-them” attitude, where anyone is assumed a threat and officers are told to act aggressively and decisively. It is this change that leads to unnecessary confrontations like much of what has been seen in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri in recent weeks as well as injuries and deaths of many unarmed, nonviolent, and innocent civilians during police “no-knock”

According to Chan as cited by Crank (2004) police subculture “is an umbrella term for a range of negative values and practices among police” (p.14). Police officer as an individual – training and discretion Training is arguably the responsibility of the police service; however, for the purpose of this paper it has been included in this section to address how training gleaned by the officer might be interpreted

Law enforcement was derived from the military both in structure and values, it appears that a portion of the media wants the public to believe that law enforcement has transformed into “Rambo Cops”. Furthermore, the media also insinuates that there is something fundamentally wrong with the military, and any resemblance of such is also wrong. Radley Balko, an author, with The Washington Post, wrote an article titled “Rise Of The Warrior Cop”, which was published in The Wall Street Journal. The author writes a very descriptive review of several cases that went awry during tactical operations, furthermore, the author attempts to