English 111 December 5, 2011 Police brutality 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 …show more content…
For example, an officer with a kid goes on a call where a young child is getting abused by his father; the police officer might lose his temper and attack the man. Police brutality is wrong for three reasons: Citizens, different races, and children don’t feel safe and they can’t trust law enforcement, it’s a crime, and people can get seriously injured if not killed. African Americans get the most brutality in communities. “Over the last 500 years people of different race, especially African Americans, have encountered a pattern of state sanctioned violence and civil and human rights abuse. To enforce capitalist exploitation and racial oppression the government and its police, courts, prisons, and military have beaten, framed, murdered and executed private persons, and brutally repressed struggles for freedom, justice, and self-determination. (Sundiata,1)”. The African Americans began to fight back against the beating of their race with riots. These riots and brutality started during the middle 1900’s. The government also takes the responsibility for the actions and non-actions of the police officers during race riots and rebellions. But why do blacks feel like they get beaten and harassed by law enforcement? Over the years, police have come to a conclusion that just because someone of a different race is in a luxurious car, they must be dealing drugs or looking for trouble in the community. Law enforcement isn’t trying to harass the community by pulling
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 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.
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.
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.
Police brutality in America is not new! Records trace back all the way to 1838 on wrongful doings of police officers on innocent African-Americans. African- Americans aren’t the only race that has to the deal with police brutality in their community. According to Vittania, 84% of police officers have stated in a recent survey that they have directly witnessed a fellow officer using more force than was necessary. Turning a blind eye allowed many cases police officers that have used excessive force on unarmed individuals to get away with
Police brutality is a crime that is has been surfacing in the news recently. Some people are just starting to realize that these injustices against the black community really occur, while others are well aware. However, the injustices towards African Americans, mainly target black males. Some statistics indicate that since many black men do not have fathers around to guide their lives in the right direction, they’ll automatically grow up to be thugs, hoodlums, hooligans, or gangsters. However, the false foreshadowings are just examples of African Americans being racially profiled. If you were able to ask Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner, I’m sure they would have said that black
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 government’s 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.
Throughout history, efforts to police society have been flawed by brutality in one way or another. Police Brutality exists in many countries and is only one of several forms of police misconduct. Abuse by law enforcement officers in the United States is one of the most serious human rights violations in the country. Police officers have engaged in unjustified shootings, severe beatings, fatal chokings, and unnecessarily rough treatment. The history of police brutality is cyclical, going through phases of violence, corruption, and reform.
Historically, minorities have been victims of police brutality in the United States. Since the middle of the 19th century a dominant white social class maintained racial injustice through a police force willing to use violence against minorities. This violence expressed itself in the years immediately after the civil war through brutality in various forms. America has a lengthy an disgraceful tradition of police brutality to attain a sense of law and order in its society. Police misconduct can be described as any inappropriate behavior on the part of any law enforcement officer that is either illegal or immoral or both. Law enforcement agents are should behave to a standard that is greater than the average civilian. Police brutality comes from
Police brutality is a very big problem in America. There are many reports of Police brutality every year, Some of those cases the officer is fully responsible for his actions, and other times the victims played a part in antagonizing the officer. Police have misused their power for a while now, but recently it’s been more publicized. In this year alone, there has been an extreme jump in police brutality and the publication of it.
Police brutality is defined as the use of excessive force by law enforcement while dealing with citizens (What Is Police Brutality?). When referring to excessive force, it is defined as using more force than needed when handling a situation (What Is Police Brutality?). Police brutality has been a common issue in the United States since immigration (Walton-Crosby). Police officers target the poor, powerless, and the minorities, which makes it easy for them to have the upper hand (Walton-Crosby). Police officers also target the mentally-ill, because the officers do not know how to deal with the mentally-ill community. The less powerful people in society did not have the power to fight back against police officers,
Police brutality is one of the most serious human rights violations in the United States and it occurs everywhere. The reason why I chose this topic is because police brutality happens all the time in the United States and still remains unrecognized by many. Additionally, the public should be knowledgeable about this topic because of how serious this crime can be and the serious outcomes that police brutality can have on other police officers and the public. The job of police officers is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crimes. They are involved in very dangerous and stressful occupations that can involve violent situations that must be stopped and controlled by any means. In many confrontations with people, police may
Police brutality is the extreme misconduct against civilians by police officers by ways of ranging from beating, sexual abuse, killing, and harassing (BRITANNICA). Although, police officers are given jurisdiction to use discretion on their reason and use of force, some officers take advantage of their limits and exercise excessive force. It is inappropriate and unacceptable for a uniformed police officer to unnecessarily harm citizens (HUFF POST). Police brutality of a defenseless citizens can lead to protests, riots, and public outrage. When tensions occur, complaints by citizens are often never investigated due to law enforcement’s desire to cover up the mistreatment and because police brutality is difficult to prove depending on the scenario. The case of Rodney King, racial discrimination, NFL protests, body cameras, excuses, and the September 11th terrorist attacks were all affected by the misconduct and violence brought upon by police brutality.
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.
Allegations of police brutality by the U.S. police departments have been on the rise for the past two decades. The use of excessive force by police officers beyond what is considered necessary is not a new fact to the world. Many of these encounters with civilians have been unjustified because the majority ultimately ends in death. The police involve the use of weapons such as batons, Tasers, pepper spray, or guns. This may also include false arrests, psychological trauma, and verbal abuse. Some individuals will state they are just doing their job, but others argue these cases can be traced back to poor training and policies. Every police officer has the right to protect himself and the community, but they should be able to discern when to use reasonable or excessive force on the civilian depending on the situation at hand.