Do They Gun You Down If You’re White? Police brutality is a controversial issue that has recently been in the news, but seems to have always been an issue in America. Police brutality refers to the intentional use of verbal or physical attacks directed towards individuals by the police force that result in false arrests, sexual abuse, or death. (Dudley, William 13.) Most of these actions are linked to racial profiling: the targeting of individuals for suspicion of crime based solely on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. (Dudley, William 13.) Statistics about how often racial profiling and police brutality occurs, movements such as Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, and police reform efforts are just a few points as to why this topic is so controversial today. 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
Police brutality is a very widespread topic through all religions, all kinds of different cultures and all races. People believe that police officers use their powers and their badge to hold them to a higher standard then the average civilian. I belief that its all up to interpretation and the many experiences we go through that define a bad cop from a good one. If we judge all police officers from one bad cop how do we expect to change? Its a never ending cycle that has to change and heres some examples on how we can do so.
Although I should know by now, I cannot help but think that there has been an overwhelming amount of police brutality in recent years. Police brutality can be defined as, when a police officer uses more force than necessary. This issue has spread throughout the United States of America, and is putting the lives of our citizens in great danger. Police brutality is not only physical, but it can also be verbal attacks; and, in most cases, it is caused by false arrest and racial profiling due to police corruption. Police brutality has been and continues to be a major concern in society and it is used very loosely to any and all forms of police misconduct. Whereas, in reality, excessive force of police misconduct is what defines police brutality. The jobs of a police officer are too calmly resolve public disturbance and disputes. Police officers are supposed to protect citizens; instead they are hurting and using excessive force. It is not right and it is unjust for a police officer to hurt a citizen due to an assumption without any actual proof of criminal activity.
While the term “police brutality” is usually applied in the context of causing physical harm, it may also involve psychological harm by the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned police procedure. In the past those who engaged in police brutality may have acted with the implicit approval of the local legal system similar to what existed during segregation. However, in the modern era, individuals who engage in cases of police brutality may do so with the approval of their supervisors. They may execute their actions under color of law, and more often than not, engage in a cover-up for their illegal activity.
In the United States, the murders of innocent, unarmed African Americans have led to the uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement, however, did this endanger the lives of police officers? In my opinion, yes it does endanger the police force but the police were the same ones putting black people in danger in the first place. Americans today are either completely for the movement or against, you never really encounter a between of them. Then, there are some people that believe in the protests but are not for the violence. My whole life i’ve heard, “Treat people equally and fairly.” and when I think about that I wonder… if all people had that mindset, then black lives matter wouldn’t be a thing.
Police brutality and the use of force is a big problem in American today, so police departments are taking a few steps to prevent this from happening. There are multiple cases where some police officers’ actions are questioned, leading to an untrusting public. No matter if it was racial, hate, a mentally unstable police officer, or the police officer was just doing their job, there’s an easy way to find out now. Body cameras are being used in various cities and states and have proved to keep the level of police brutality and injustice down.
Unjustified police brutality has been an issue for quite sometime, but only recently has it become an incredibly serious problem. This recent issue has become more serious over time because of the wide use of social media, or perhaps it is because of this new generation who finally decided to shine some light on an otherwise kept in the dark situation.Police brutality is one of several forms of police misconduct. Police misconduct in general is disapproved by not only citizens, but people of power as well, like politicians, because Section 1983 in the U.S. Code makes it unlawful for anyone acting under the authority of state law to deprive another person of his or her rights under the Constitution or federal law”(“Police Misconduct and Civil Rights”). Unjustified police actions can easily be outlawed on paper, but it’s the actual action that causes much debate. “Whether the officer's use of force was reasonable depends on the surrounding facts and circumstances”(“Police Misconduct and Civil Rights”); this piece of information allows room for injustice to prevail. Police brutality must be addressed because the United States is presumed to supply its people with “justice for all”. With this country on the brink of prejudice, it’s hard for people to see the equality the country is meant to inhabit.
Police Brutality is an ongoing problem and should be resolved immediately. Many officers involved in misconduct cases do not stand trial, police brutality is a national crisis. The purpose of this paper is to look at what police brutality is, what the effects can be and ways to prevent it from happening. Many cases occur because of the police and there feeling of power, and others because of race, class, or sexual orientation. Changes must take place in order to stop police brutality.
How can we trust the ones that’s killing us? Law enforcement and police officers play a major role in our community. They help those in need & keep us safe. Nationwide they also kill an average of 3 people every day. I thought whenever you become an officer, you have sworn to protect us. Police brutality is a major issue in our society today. Police work is dangerous. In the past, police officers were considered peacekeepers. Police have been occupied in shootings, severe beatings, and unnecessarily rough treatments to our people instead of focusing on protecting us. Racism has always been the main cause of police brutality. Black men are constantly harassed by the police and routinely brutalized even when they have done nothing wrong.
Police brutality is the intentional use of verbal attacks or excessive force directed towards citizens by the police force. It can be physical or psychological intimidation. Police brutality is in many countries all over the world and especially in the news. It is a form of police misconduct which involves sexual abuse, police corruption, false arrests, racial profiling, and political repression.These forms of police brutality are mainly directed towards the groups such as the poor, the weak and the elderly. Most of these police brutality actions are always linked to racism. Police brutality violates the suspect's constitutional rights and it should be stopped.
There have been many debates about police brutality. One argument suggests that the police use appropriate force since they are dealing with criminals, while minorities believe that the police abuse their power. African Americans are portrayed as violent criminals and their criminal backgrounds are used against them, while the police use their position to go around the criminal justice system. We're a nation that heavily believes in the ideals of equality, and by not addressing the issue of police brutality in our government, our government will become disorderly. The 14th Amendment states “...nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This means that states must apply the law equally to everyone and cannot discriminate against anyone because of their race. The idea of equality, equal protection under the law and equal opportunity, is an ideal solely found in America. However, by having the contradiction of a police force that uses underhanded tactics to suppress another race we don’t live up to our country’s promise.
Police officers nowadas are being portrayed as the opposite of their job description and it has been in the media’s attention that police officers in general have been abusing their power in non-violent situations whether it be in a small town or a big city, but today the news is now covering incidents of police brutality within the elementary through high school levels. Nowadays, there are children growing up that are becoming exceptionally defiant and difficult to control in the learning environments. This lead to the point that not even their parents could do anything about. Are Student Resource Officers, “SRO’s”,abusing their power and using them incorrectly? The SRO’s should be used to control any violence and drug use, not to intervene with a situation that a teacher is capable of handling.
Police brutality is a problem that still goes on around the United States. Even though cases today do not compare to the one’s many years back, brutality as a whole is bad. Police believe that wearing the uniform gives absolute power not
Many people believe police officers do not have the right to use force when apprehending an individual. Therefore, it is critical that officers make sure that they are performing their duty per the departments policy, before using lethal or non-lethal force to apprehend an individual, which may be classified as police brutality by society. An officer makes a pledge to protect and serve the community for which they are employed. Every time an officer is dispatched to a call there is a sense of uncertainty of what they will encounter. With technology at our fingers tips videos surface which may or may not capture the onset of an officers contact with a suspect. Which results in the media portraying police brutality happening more than it actually does. Many people are quick to judge an officers use of force to apprehend an individual who is not complying with the officers orders, as abusing their powers and police brutality. However, there are laws and regulations that grant officers the right to use the amount of force necessary to apprehend an individual. California Penal Code 835(a) states, “Any peace officer who has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a public offense may use reasonable force to effect the arrest, to prevent escape or to overcome resistance. A peace officer who makes or attempts to make an arrest need not retreat or desist from his efforts by reason of the resistance or threatened resistance of the person being arrested; nor shall such officer be deemed an aggressor or lose his right to self defense by the use of reasonable force to effect the arrest or to prevent escape or to overcome resistance.” (penal code book). Police officers are judged and criticized for using deadly force, because it is believed that officers are meant to serve and protect, not cause harm to others. Getting an exact number of individuals who die as a result of deadly force employed by police officers, is difficult. However there are genuine and authentic sources that can help provide an estimate of deaths caused by law enforcement officers. For example, The CDC Mortality Report and The FBI Uniform Crime Report are responsible for keeping a record of the number of individuals
Police brutality has become a huge issue in the United States. From the Rodney King incident to the riots caused after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, perceptions of the police have become increasingly negative. Police brutality occurs when a police officer uses any excessive force in handling a legal situation with a civilian (Umbach, 2003). Excessive force usually involves getting into a physical altercation, or using items like pepper spray, a Taser, batons, or nerve gas to subdue a suspect. It can also involve verbal and psychological intimidation, sexual abuse, corruption, racial profiling, and false arrests. I wanted to examine the history, causes, and possible solutions proposed to put an end to police brutality in the world today.
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened”, said John F. Kennedy. Police Brutality started in 1872 but is also still happening in today’s world. It involves extreme force and weapons in certain situations that may not be needed. Over the years, it has became worse with injuries and deaths increasing. Hearing excessive stories about different victims getting treated like animals. I understand that if you do the crime, you do the time but that doesn’t mean leave them with marks or not even being able to take their last breath. Officers should be retrained the right way on how to handle a difficult situation and be less forceful.