Police Shootings Of Michael Brown And The New Age Of Police

I will start with fifteen officers from the Tupelo Police Department. The list consists of five street officers, three administrators, and seven training officers. These officers range from a mixture of statuses to get an idea as to who hires, what training is implemented, and the affects of that training on the streets. The area selected is a rural area in Lee County. I will get an official informed consent signed by the mayor of Tupelo to conduct the study and I will get an official copy signed by the chief of Tupelo Police Department, and the officers involved.

The Michale Brown shooting has forever changed policing in the United States much like the Rodney King beating by the LAPD in 1991. History will show that the death of Michael Brown will prove to have longer and more dramatic influence on how law enforcement officers do their job than the Rodney King incident. The reasons for this are many, to mention a few, society has become more sensitive and less tolerant of police misconduct weather the misconduct is real or perceived. The public is also better informed because of the speed that the modern news media, and social media, are able to disseminate pictures, video and other information. Facebook has probably had a greater affect on the way law enforcement agencies operate that any high profile

Several studies, such as those done by Barak Ariel, et al. have demonstrated a very strong connection between the use of body-worn cameras and reduction of complaints (Ariel et al., “The Effect”) (Ariel, et al., “Contagious...”). There is also an argument to be made for the relationship between the police and their communities. If the departments invest in things that make the public feel safer, such as body-worn cameras, then they will in turn be safer, as their communities will not feel threatened by their presence, but protected.

On August 9, 2014 Mike Brown, an 18-year-old African American was shot and killed a by Officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department. Mr. Brown was unarmed when he was shot and killed. The officer shots were fired when Brown allegedly reached for a gun out of the officer’s vehicle. Brown proceeded to walk towards the officer with his hands up and was killed in the act of self-defense. The officer was found not guilty, and the city reacted in a way that was positive and very much so negative. They protested and looted areas. They set buildings on fire as well as cars, and vandalized many stores of the Ferguson Community. Some felt the news, well certain news stations and or publications didn’t print the views from both sides. They

The sample of patrol officers will then be assigned subgroups on the amount of time they have worked in patrol. This research will be comparing the secondary data for the two years prior to body-worn cameras and the two years after body-worn cameras. Because of the time frame being studied, officers with less than four years of patrol experience will not be examined. This allows officers to be assigned to subgroups of years in patrol by four year groupings. For example, 4-8 years, 9-13 years, 14-17 years. These groups will continue to the 30 year retirement standard in North Carolina law enforcement. The officers in the patrol division will be placed in a subgroup. The random sampling drawn from the patrol division will be proportionate to the makeup of the subgroups. This proportional stratified sampling will provide the most accurate depiction of proactive policing of patrol officers equipped with body-worn

I wish to replicate the methodology utilized by Ariel, Farrer, and Sutherland (2015). These researchers conducted a randomized-controlled study with the Rialto Police Department in California. The purpose of their study was to observe the effects of body-worn cameras on the frequency of use-of-force incidents as well as citizens’ complaints. In my research study, I will test only the effect of body-worn cameras on use-of-force incidents. I propose to study the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department in Indianapolis, Indiana. This research setting is a lot larger than Ariel, Farrer, and Sutherland’s study. The Rialto Police Department covered an area of approximately 28.5 square miles, and they served a population of approximately 100,000 residents. IMPD covers an area of approximately 364.3 square miles, and serves approximately 824,000 residents. Rialto has 115 sworn officers whereas IMPD has 1,080 sworn officers (IMPD n.d.).

These cameras have the capacity to capture audio and video recordings when an officer encounters an individual who is assumed has broken the law. The BWC has brought up national attention in which its purpose is to improve policing as well as improve citizen and police relations and reduces police use of force. This program is not just only happening in New York City but has spread across the country. However, BWC does have its pros and cons like cost, right to privacy concerns, and safety for the citizen as well as for the officer. BWC policies have to be fair and practical in understanding and legal. When implementing such policy it must be transparent for officers understand the purposed of the policy and the goals of

In the past year, the whole world has had its attention drawn to domestic conflicts between white police officers and black civilians. Since the invention of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag in 2013, there have been over 50 million posts on Twitter alone under the hashtag. The recent incidents, largely prompted by the shootings of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, and the murder of Eric Garner by white officers, has brought both the topics of racism and the militarization of the police into public discourse. Arguably, however, it is the treatment of these cases in court, and the non-indictments of Darren Wilson and Daniel Pantaleo in their respective grand jury proceedings, that have ignited protests and riots from many across the nation who insist

The colors red, white, and blue in America represents freedom. When a police officer approaches a civilian in today’s times, those colors mean the absolute worst. With recent police mischief including shootings, red, white, and blue could mean absolute panic. Americans today feel as if there is a war with police officers. The most common question civilians have, why are innocent people being killed by police officers? The civic responsibility of a police officer is to serve and protect citizens while upholding the law. With many recent incidents, civilians no longer feel safe around authorities. A new policy proposed to congress by Barack Obama is for police officers to wear body worn cameras, or BWC’s. “... nine in ten Americans support the use of cameras on cops” (Boone). Therefore, police officers should be required to wear body worn cameras in order to have better security, behavior, and evidence for crime scenes.

Excessive force and police brutality have become common terms for anyone keeping up with today’s current events. In 2014, the media covered numerous cases of excessive force that resulted in the deaths of several people of color (Nelson & Staff, 2014). The most widely covered cases by the media in 2014 were of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black male shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri; and Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black male in Staten Island, New York who was put into a choke by police officer Daniel Pantaleo until he lost consciousness and stopped breathing (Nelson & Staff, 2014). These cases brought attention to the seriousness of police brutality and the curiosity of how often it occurs (Brown, 2015).

The Kansas City Police experiment began in October 1972 and continued through 1973. This experiment was conducted by the Kansas police department and evaluated by the Police Foundation. Patrols were varied within 15 police beats. Routine preventive patrol was eliminated in five beats, labeled “reactive” beats (meaning officers entered these areas only in response to calls from residents). Normal, routine patrol was maintained in five “control” beats. In five “proactive” beats, patrol was intensified by two to three times the norm (Foundation, 2016).

“Hands up, don’t shoot!” These words have become a rallying cry heard across the nation. Recently, in November, when a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri failed to indict a white police officer, Darren Wilson, for fatally gunning Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager, protests erupted in cities throughout the country. Americans from all walks of life, from celebrities like Beyonce and Charles Barkley to normal citizens, have engaged in a national over the Ferguson decision. News about Ferguson has dominated social media and the whole nation has become involved in this conversation about race and justice. On December 13, 50,000 people participated in the Millions March in New York City to express their frustration about racial injustice and police violence, one of many protests to have taken place across the country since the decision was handed down in November. On the other side of the debate, many Americans argue that the police must be supported because they keep law and order. They point to the looting and violence that has broken out during many of the protests as evidence for the need to support the police. Even President Obama has gotten involved, announcing he will try to limit racial profiling by equipping local police with body cameras.

Researchers utilized random methodologies equipping police officers with body-cameras. They reviewed patrol activities over the coarse of twelve months prior as well. Police officers outfitted with cameras seen a drop in resistance by citizens during encounters as well as reduction in complaints. The majority of the officers selected to participate in the study were white males in their mid thirties, which represents the majority of law enforcement officers in the United

Recently in the media there has been an uproar about the treatments that citizens receive from the police in addition to how the citizens interact with police. Video footage has shown police brutality that is sometimes questionable, which often dictates on the how the community views them by causing tension. Accusations of Police brutality is nothing new but it isn’t until recently that it is being recorded and it is difficult to correct the actions of someone if there is not enough evidence provided. Recent advancements in technology police

In order to install a stable baseline for law enforcement agencies in this field, the U.S. DOJ (Department of Justice) should establish national standards for the research and development of new technology including auditory, visual, and biometric data, “less than lethal” technology, and the development of segregated radio spectrum such as FirstNet. These standards should also address compatibility, interoperability, and implementation needs both within local law enforcement agencies and across agencies and jurisdictions and should maintain civil and human rights protections. Law enforcement implementation of technology should be designed considering local needs and aligned with these national standards. Finally, law enforcement agencies should adopt model policies and best practices for technology-based community engagement that increases community trust and