Why Police Use Excessive Force

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

One of the first situations that went worldwide which the public saw police abusing their authority is in the beating of Rodney King. Rodney King was an African American male who was under the influence and decided to take the police on a high speed chase (Bates & Sastry, 2017). Once Rodney King stopped his vehicle the police ordered him to exit his vehicle and to put his hands up. Mr. King exited his vehicle and then that’s when the police officers started to attack him. The policers kicked him and beat him for a 15 minutes (Bates & Sastry, 2017).

Police work is a dangerous job, and police are more than likely to be put into situations when excessive force is needed. But, sometimes police use excessive force for their own personal reasons, such as, racism. The issue of police officers using excessive force may or may not be of great concern, but it should be looked into by both the police and the public. Because some officers use excessive force in situations when it is not needed, police brutality should be addressed.

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

Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict defines police brutality as the use of excessive or unnecessary force by police against the public. Excessive force is explained to be any behavior or force beyond what is reasonably necessary in order to control a situation. It is a common misnomer that people believe some police use excessive force more often than not. What’s more concerning is most of the time people believe that this excessive force is usually focused upon the African American men, women, and children. This misnomer is typically found to be found in city settings where the population consists of mostly African Americans. The population make up causes the common belief to seem more true than it may otherwise appear.

The history of Police Brutality for minorities; especially people of color has left America wondering have times changed. Police brutality has deemed the opportunity for socioeconomic advancement or access to good and services for many Black/African Americans dating back as far as 1955. The system of Police brutality has affected many realms of society for minorities’ employment and family life. After some scholarly research, police brutality is still prevalent in the Black/African American community; moreover, it comes in many different forms and fashions. Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. Excessive use

While racing down the freeway on March 3, 1991, driver Rodney King and friends were leading the Los Angeles Police Department on a high speed chase making it up to 115 miles per hour. When King was eventually caught, officers pulled him from his car and began to beat King with their batons hitting and kicking him more than 50 times and shocking him with stun guns in a period of two minutes as he struggled helplessly on the ground outside of his car. King suffered 11 skull fractures, kidney damage, and brain damage. This was one of America’s first viral video of what excessive force is, and it changed the way police interacted with communities forever. The use of police force is an obligation, but unfortunately some officers may misuse, or abuse

Police work is dangerous. Sometimes police put in situations that excessive force is needed, but, because some officers use these extreme measures in situations when it is not required to use excessive force. The use of excessive force it should be looked into by the system in the misuse of power among officers. Most police officers throughout the ranks of the U.S. police departments are just seeking more authority/recognition among the population or the district his/he is working. The U.S. law enforcement that misuse their authority would get away with it in the past it would only be he or she said. Since the invention of cameras more of the excessive force used by police officers use gets caught in a circle around due to the social network. Law enforcement agents need to wear cameras with their uniforms and a penalty for any tampering with cameras view or shutting down the cameras with a 20 year sentence.

The media coverage of excessive force has caused outrage among citizens across the nation. The cases in Ferguson and New York have stirred up major debates about excessive police force and the meaning of justice for all within our judicial system. Protests and riots have ensued in cities across the nation and the cases are affecting us all, whether it is protesters blocking major highways during rush hour, or citizens burning down local businesses out of anger and frustration. The issue of excessive force needs to be addressed and the main question people want answered is, what causes police to use excessive force? Research has been conducted on variables such as the race of police

This research paper is an overview of police brutality in the United States. The paper covers what police brutality is and the definition. The information about police brutality is expanded about what is reasonable and excessive use of force an officer can use. Information is included about the thoughts of what the citizens feel about police brutality. Among the white and black population there is a major difference between their thoughts of police brutality. The black population feels that they are effected by police brutality more than white folks. In addition, the paper touches on what needs to be done about the police brutality across the nation, and if the issue can be stopped. The paper examines court cases involving police brutality including the media buzzed case of Rodney King. The case is further examined and includes the community’s reaction to the beating of Rodney King. Another case is covering Frank Jude Jr. severely beaten by police officers at an off duty police officer’s party.

Police use of force has been manipulated into police brutality by news broadcasts and social media sites causing many citizens to despise the police. The spread of videos featuring unnecessary force by police officers arresting criminals has given all officers a bad name, however, not all officers make bad decisions when it comes to the proper use of force. According to a 2008 study that was done on 40 million police cases only 1.4% of the cases were threatened with or involved with the use of force (Dempsey & Frost, 2014, p.136). Yet, society still associates the police with brutality. The public does not understand the factors that go into force, such as, the training of the officer, knowledge of rules regarding use of force, the situation the police encounters, social threat, attitude displayed towards officers, and resistance (Lee, Jang, Yun, Lim, & Tushaus, 2010). The public does not know the many factors that influence an officer’s use of force. So when they see or hear about force, they assume it is unnecessary. However, there are certain situations were force is necessary to stop an immediate threat. Very few officers are actually involved in police brutality, but the media would show otherwise.

Police-related excessive force violations resulting in death continues to haunt black and low-income communities nationwide. So what exactly is excessive use of force? And what is the definition of excessive force? The National Institute of Justice stated that there is no single, universally agreed-upon definition of the use of force. ABC News reported that there’s no concrete definition of excessive force and that excessive force is a slippery metaphor” experts say it’s any force beyond what’s necessary to arrest a suspect and keep police and bystanders safe. USA Today reported that nearly two times a week in the United States, a white police officer killed a black person during a seven year period ending in 2012 according to the FBI’s

Police and community relations has always been a work in progress, some communities are more challenging than others. There are various factors that impact the relationship police have with civilians such as geographical location, race, gender, personal experience and in personal ones as well. In the last few years police and the African American community on a national level been more disconnected due to a pattern of unforeseen circumstances of unarmed black men being shot and killed by officers, that end up serving no jail or repercussion besides paid administrative leave. Police brutality is defined by The Law Dictionary as the use of force used unnecessarily. “Force that is used beyond what is necessary to handle the

The most famous case of police brutality occurred on the night of March 3rd, 1991, when Rodney King was pulled over by LAPD officers. A video taken of the encounter shows King being savagely beaten by metal batons long after being subdued. The LAPD responded, saying the department had “inadequate supervisory and management attention”, noting that “of approximately 1,800 officers against whom an allegation of excessive force or improper tactics was made from 1986 to 1990, more than 1,400 had only one or two allegations. But 183 officers had four or more allegations. Forty-four had six or more, 16 had eight or more, and one had 16 such allegations” (West Valley College). Clearly, a vast majority of police officers abuse their power. But clearly this is not on an individual level;

When the public gains knowledge of police misconduct in the line of duty, acts of protests, demonstrations, strikes and civil disobedience are conducted in response (Palmiotto, p.15) When police engage in behaviors that results in them improperly using the authority given to them to oppress, harm or kill individuals without legal justification, the spotlight tends to shine bright on the officer and their department. This creates unwanted complications for law enforcement administrators and can damagingly impact the agency’s ability to carry out its mission. Improper application of force can degrade relationships with the community, disrupt the flow of control within the department, and result in the loss of manpower and financial resources due to legal fees and lawsuits launched by the victims of the excessive force. To prevent excessive use of force from occurring, departments have initiated guidelines for officers to adhere to when deciding to use force to subdue a suspect. These guidelines are a part of the use of force continuum.