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Police Brutality
There is various forms of human rights violation currently in the United States, however; Police abuse remains the most serious of them all. Police brutality is, therefore, the use of excessive force or even unnecessary force by the police while they are dealing with civilians. People are left wondering if the police are doing the jobs they were appointed to do under the law. They act in ways such as the use of guns and pepper sprays to intimidate civilians, racial profiling, false arrests, severe beatings, unjustified shootings, police corruption and even sexual abuse among others (King). The truth of the matter is that such incidents usually go un-noticed and worse of unreported. Police brutality is an issue of contention given that they have the authority to apply force when necessary. Hence, when do we say that police brutality has occurred, what causes it and how do we end it.
Currently, there is inadequate report statics of police brutality incidents or complaints. The reason being that there is no requirement that states that any of the law enforcement agencies must report such statistics. Hence, all the data that is presented is based on the ones reported voluntarily. In fact, the federal bureau of investigation stated that they cannot handle such cases when there is no reliable information that they can analyze (Dokoupil). Police brutality remains to be high in areas where there is a high prevalence of criminal
-By definition the term police brutality is “applied in the context of causing physical harm, it may also involve psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned police procedure.” In today’s society we have police known as riot police, who are known throughout the world to use extreme force. Statistics show almost every time the riot police are involved in crowd control, there is at least one fatality and multiple injured. This is why I believe this is one of the most important issues in the World today. Police are there to protect us but from April 2009 to June 2010 in the United States there were 5986 reports of misconduct from police officers. Police brutality has today’s citizens doubting the police department, and how they go about their arrest. Police brutality is an everyday occurrence, especially in cities where there are large communities of Blacks, Latinos and Asians.
Police brutality is defined as “excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians,” and this has become more prominent within the United States throughout the years (Danilina). There has many cases where police brutality has been seen via news channels, and it has dismantled the unity of trust between the civilians of the United States and the law enforcement who are supposed to protect the everyday people from harm. The issue is if the law enforcement is actually right within their means of protection, or have they gone too far with using excessive force in any situation that may or may not be harmful to them. There is, also, the question of whether racial profiling is the biggest contributor to police brutality.
Police brutality is the lavish physical assault or verbal assault during police procedures which can involve interrogating or apprehending a suspect. Police brutality originated from the labor worker strikes in the 1800’s through the 1900’s. The violent brutal act of these officers usually formed around the lower socioeconomic class. Since then police brutality has hit an all-time high in the 21st century. In New York alone there has been reportedly over 72 police brutality reports some reports even ended in the deaf of a citizen. There’s been claim of police officers violently choking citizens at traffics stops and beating citizen up in public. There’s been new technology such as body cameras which are used by most police but not all.
Police brutality is one of the most serious and divisive human rights violations in the United States and it occurs in every community. The job of a police officer is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crime. They are engaged in a dangerous and stressful occupation that can involve violent situations that must be controlled. In many of these confrontations with the public it may become necessary for the police to administer force to take control of a situation. Sometimes this force takes the form of hand to hand combat with a suspect who resists being arrested. Not all police officers in communities are good cops. At least once a year the news is covering a story about a person
What does the term ‘police brutality’ mean to you? ‘Police’ are the men and women dressed in uniform that are supposed to protect us from any danger at any time. They’re who you call when someone is breaking into your house in the middle of night, or even when someone strange is following you home. The word ‘brutality’ is physical violence towards someone. How do those two words sound next to each other?
As of September 1, 2015, in the United States police officers have killed 776 people and 161 of those people were unarmed at the time of their death (MintPress). There have been too many incidents where police officers have injured or killed someone that could have been prevented. Using maximum force with a suspect has become a routine in many confrontations. Officers have not been given the proper training to deal with individuals and how to handle them without using a weapon. If they were given more training on how to deal with situations resulting in using a weapon to stop an individual during certain scenarios police brutality situations would decrease, lives would be saved, and police would get their good reputation back. However, police departments would have to spend more money on re-training. Some people agree with police brutality and think that a civilian deserved their punishment, which is not right because no one deserves to be beaten or killed. Situations involving police brutality have been increasing throughout the years, which is a problem that must to be solved.
Recently police have come under fire for the deaths of many unarmed African American males. This has broken the trust between civilians and police and torn our country apart. People are frustrated about the killings of unarmed citizens and how it seems every officer can get away with killing an unarmed suspect. Back in 1994 a law was passed that required the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to record date on police involved shooting and deaths by police officers. Except where are the numbers that would show there is an increase in unarmed African American deaths from police officers?
Police work is dangerous. Sometimes police put in situations that excessive force is needed. But, because some officers use
In many countries, laws are intact to help protect against unlawful brutality. Unfortunately, with these laws complaints made by civilians about excessive brutality used are typically still not investigated. (Cothran, Helen 28.) Because police have the authority to use force when necessary, it is difficult to prove that police brutality has occurred. Interactions with civilians are recorded now by officers and later interactions can be reviewed in the case of an investigation. (Cothran, Helen 18.). While this may be the case for certain incidents, 78 percent of law enforcement feel as though police brutality is mainly an issue brought to light specifically by the news before any
One day a boy named Tyrone and his father were on there way to Six Flags when they were pulled over by a police officer. The cop walked up to the vehicle and Tyrone’s dad asked the officer why he was pulled over. Then the cop asked Blue, Tyrone 's dad, to step out the car so he stepped out the car and the officer searched him. After that Blue tried to take off his jacket but the officer thought he had a gun and pulled out his weapon and shot Blue in his face in front of his 10 year old son. Blue was rushed to the hospital he was in critical condition, Blue died later that night. Police shouldn’t be able to get away with police brutality because officers are responsible
It feels as if nothing has changed about police brutality over the years. The usual cycle is that juries acquit the police, cops get their jobs back, and brutality happens again. One of the most broadcasted cases of police brutality, was the beating of Rodney King. On the night of March 2, 1991, a bystander named George Holiday, videotaped the moment when five officers used excess force on an African American man named Rodney King, beating him with batons as he struggled on the ground. Also, it was recorded that an officer stomped on King’s shoulder causing his head to hit hard against the asphalt. Holiday sent the videotape to a local TV station and soon sent shock waves around the world, catapulting police brutality and race relations in the United States to center stage. Most viewers who watched the tape revealed the brutal and senseless beating of a hopeless drunk. After debating for seven days over the fate of the officers, on April 29, 1992, the clerk announced the final verdict, the five officers were not guilty.
Over the recent years, police have been one of the organizations to be associated with the largest cases of misconduct. Police brutality can be termed as the process of misuse and abuse of authority by the police. The rising cases of police brutality are causing more harm to the public, compared to the actions perpetrated by real criminals. Although police claim that it’s sometimes necessary to curb crime, the process is illegal and police officers should be charged just like any other criminal offender. It should be the responsibility of the justice system to establish effective strategies to deal with the rising illegal activities in order to restore public trust in the law
Ronald Weitzer “Incidents of police misconduct and public opinion” Department of Sociology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA .
Over the years United States has witnessed a substantial increase in police brutality, it is one of the most common and serious violation of the human rights and it happens more often than we care to know in our communities, ranging from verbal to physical abuse in which usually an innocent person results injured as police officers lay their called justice upon the alleged criminals.
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