Dr. Wolfe 's Sociological Training

Recently, our country has undergone tremendous suffering due to police brutality. Some police officers are taking the law into their own hands and intertwining their personal views and stereotypes on the black community. They are committing inhumane crimes on African Americans and our justice system is allowing it to continue. Several police officers are noticing that if they commit this crime out of pure hate it is acceptable and the courts will rule in their favor. It continues to happen because there is no punishment for their wrong doing.

The brutality of the police force has been a long worldwide problem, but especially between the years of 2012-2016. Black people are being unjustly beaten and shot in plain sight for doing nothing while being unarmed. Journal of African American Studies “Blacks are viewed as deserving of harsh treatment in the criminal justice system” (482). “Black males with more “Afrocentric” features may receive longer sentences than blacks with less Afrocentric features like lighter skin and straighter hair”(482). Nowadays it is important to know about the police force. It’s important to know our rights as citizens and be careful around cops. Not everybody is good, but not everybody is bad also. In The New York Amsterdam News 21 people were killed by Chicago police in 2008. Entire families were being attacked. They believe it’s because of their skin color and how they are different. The year of racism started off with the world seeing the police murder of Oscar Grant. “The media have pushed people away from hearing the issue of police brutality, and it has fallen off of the radar screen.”(2) “You can’t give in. They will try to make an example out of you, try to break your spirit!”(2) African Americans say do not trust the cops with anything. “They will ruin you.”(2)

Our society shows how racism and police officers are a focal point within our country. In the United States, many police officers demonstrate racist qualities. Research states that many police officers are only patrolling around predominately African American neighborhoods. People agree that police officers are just sitting in areas where African Americans live instead of just sitting anywhere and waiting for any crimes. (Martin, Trayvon. Racial Profiling). Polices are just waiting for African Americans to make a mistake. Most Police Officers haven’t changed their ways on racism. “Diallo was gunned down by NYPD officers while trying to enter his apartment building. The officers had mistaken Diallo for a suspected rapist—who was also black’’ (Martin, Trayvon. Racial Profiling). NYPD killed an innocent man because he was African American and he looked like the guy they were looking for. Therefore, this just proves police officers have not changed their racist

Over the past five centuries, black people have endured violence in many different ways. Today, police officers use deadly, excessive force that leads to inexcusable assaults, beatings and shootings. This demonstrates the governmentТs role in initiating and prolonging racial suppression and provides the explanation for police brutality to become a federal crime(Black Radical Congress, 3). In history, racist violence, police brutality, has been used to suppress the racial blacks and to preserve power and privileges for the white race. This was done for five primary purposes. First, it has forced black people into slavery or low wage situations. Secondly, to steal land and other resources. A 3-rd was to maintain social control. A fourth

Despite the important racial progresss our society has made since Emmett Till’s death, from the civil rights era, to present increase of police brutality has still left the Black/African American community in shadows of segregation. The second most recent shooting of teenager Michael Brown has left citizens in ongoing battles with law enforcement officers of Ferguson, Missouri. New Statement (2014) reports, Missouri police similarly attempted to retain control of the narrative, claiming Brown had stolen cigars, and then paying for them, and then claiming he was a bad child and attacked the officer who shot him” (New Statement, 21). Brown autopsy reveals he was gun less and shot six times. Police brutality is not solely about Ferguson, Emmett Till, or the civil rights movement, but it is simply about the history of capitalism and police brutality in America and having many forms of it.

Police brutality is becoming a trend in America. Tensions among the public and especially the African American community are rising due to the latest cases of police brutality. Many people believe that we have come far in this society but to be honest Racism is still a factor. The use of brutal and lethal force by some police officers leading to unnecessary deaths have African American parents on edge to send their children outside for anything. Law enforcement and people whom we trust with our lives are the very same to take it. Some people may want to argue that these cases such as the shooting of Michael brown and choking of Eric Garner are isolated incidents. Others would argue that the work of a police officer is too difficult and that sometimes an officer needs to use such force in order to enforce the law and protect him/herself while on duty. Law enforcement proclaims to feel threatened however what about the civilians who feel threatened of becoming the next target or victim of prey. The society is well aware that not all police commit these crimes and that we do still have law abiding officers. However, with the effort from everyone we can eradicate the bad apples and create a safer road for the officers and civilians.

“Many years later, little had changed. A black man named Rodney King was involved in a high-speed chase in Los Angeles. California, on March 3, 1991. Police pulled him from the car and beat him. A bystander took video footage of the beating. The four police officers involved were indicted, but they were acquitted in 1992.” ( "Police Brutality and Race.")The quote from the article “police brutality and race” shows a situation that happened in 1991 that is similar to the incident in the book. A lot of times when incidents like police brutality the police officers often win because they are “doing their jobs” when in reality they are often accusing many citizens. Often cases of police brutality the civilian that is abused is male and black. This is because they are stereotyping thinking they are up to no good when they can be innocent by standers. Racism and stereotyping in most cases end badly. Police officers abuse their powers and hurt and or injure people because they “assume” which often leads to a bad ending. “FBI statistics show that white officers killed black suspects twice a week in the United States over a seven-year period. That’s an average of 96 times a year.” (police officers abuse their power).studies show that WHITE police officers are the ones to kill BLACK suspects due to “assumption”. Their is a very high statistic that shows how many blacks are killed in a

In analyzing Jerome Karabel’s: Police Killings Surpass the Worst Years of Lynching, Capital Punishment, and a Movement Responds, in comparison to the writings of Karl Marx, W.E.B. Dubois, Charlotte Gilman, Anna Cooper, and Ida Wells-Barnett, the social problems revealed within the text address the social conflicts of society and how differing populations are faced with discrimination and oppression by those who are dominant in power. Jerome Karabel’s profound article specifically focuses on killings committed by the police as a growing social problem resulting from the most recent movement of racial injustice within the United States. All of these authors offer a unique perspective as they represent different populations within the United

In Steve Chapman’s article “Are Blacks to Blame for Cops Actions?” the author addresses the most important controversial problem we had for centuries. Does racial profiling exists? If so, what is the problem with it? Many say that law enforcement are only targeting the minority, to be specific mainly African Americans. This is because they are the only ones to blame and that if they were not committing so much crime, they wouldn 't get so much attention from police(502). The author points out that blaming the black community for violent crime by blacks we fail to notice the truth of today’s real crime. I strongly believe with the author, we fail to notice the real crimes that are society has. Are we so distracted by what the media

“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened” (John F. Kennedy). Police Brutality is a violation to the Federal Civil Rights Act. If cruelly beaten, kicked, and thrown by a person who is supposed to ensure the law, will you then trust them afterwards? Will your rights be valid then? Officers wear the badge and uniform which will make them feel superior making them think the law is in their hands and can twist and change it as they please. Jessica Watson-Crosby comments on the police brutality history and says, from the point of view of its victims, police were seen as protecting the upper classes. Police violence only came under scrutiny when “decent” people became victims, usually accidentally. As you see the chaos created by officers has been in the United States for a long time and has worsened over time. “Police are guaranteed a steady living. Unlike other workers , they typically are not threatened by layoffs or pay cuts” (Watson-Crosby). All who did not give their opinion over the authority were left unharmed and for the ones who spoke to let their rights be known were not as lucky. “Many police see themselves as part of the upper classes “the enforcers of social value” even while the upper classes see them as ignorant brutes. As a rule, the upper

Police brutality is not a new subject. It has been around for numerous years, and like most issues, has resurfaced to the public’s eyes. The recent events brought up the question: Does there need to be a reform in the system in the police system? In this year alone, there have been countless cases of individuals being harmed or even killed by police officers for reasons that continuously are not explained. What has people more attentive to this injustice are statistics showing that most victims in these police attacks happen to be African Americans and other minorities.

(NY Times, Goodman P16) Michael Brown was an unarmed 18-year-old that was shot by a police officer that was also not indicted. People in Missouri and New York were in a rage, protesting constantly against the police force, and it had a mix of aggressive, and more passive protest. The connection to both these cases was the lack of punishment; this one move would forever leave a sour taste in protesters mouths. The police department at that point in time hadn’t tried to change its training, or how to better communicate with the people, in certain situations.

In Peter Berger's "Invitation to Sociology", the sociological perspective was introduced. Berger asserts that it is important to examine new or emotionally or morally challenging situations from a sociological perspective in order to gain a clearer understanding of their true meanings. This perspective requires a person to observe a situation through objective eyes. It is important to "look beyond" the stereotypical establishments of a society and focus on their true, hidden meanings. Consideration of all the hidden meanings of social customs, norms, deviations and taboos, allow one to establish an objective image about the truth behind it. This method can also be applied to understanding people. This questioning, Berger says, is the

The WOLFPACK Socialization is the key in the human world. It is what we refer to as the process of inheriting and learning the norms, customs, values as well as ideology in society. In the documentary “The Wolfpack”, it shows you the effects of not allowing children to have socialization from the world that we live in and the damage that has to be reversed to live as a human being. “The Wolfpack” shares a story how seven children were raised in a small New York apartment with little to no contact with society.

Proponents of this perspective believe criminal law is used primarily to control the behavior of the dangerous classes; a means to preserving the status quo. This perspective would explain the situation with police shooting as it relates to the status of black people in this country, and the power dynamics between black and white people. This perspective could argue that we live in a society where white supremacy prevails and as a result, law and the way police enforce law is reflective of white values. This model would consider the historical foundation on which all our laws were created, a society where black people were considered 3/5 of white people. Much has changed in our laws to reflect that power has balanced substantially, but, remain laws and interpretations of the law that still create disparate outcomes for black people. How police respond to black people would be reflective of how white people would respond, with fear or distrust (due to implicit biases formed by past relations and stigmatizing racial