Psychological Issues Of Police Brutality

Cases involving police brutality has become a significant issue between African American victims and Caucasian officers. While there has been many cases where brutality has been reflected, four well- known cases that resulted in the death of innocent people includes Michael Brown Jr., Alton Sterling, Eric Garner, and Sandra Bland. Each of these cases are similar to one another because they involved an unarmed individual and an officer who used an unnecessary amount of force when arresting them. Although many people speculate that police officers duties are to protect people and property, a careful analysis of the evidence of the Sandra Bland case, shows that racial tensions between police and civilians interfere with their responsibility in the work force.

In the twenty-first century, it seems that the media produces many stories on police brutality, the majority of which surround African-Americans. This is not just coincidence as the majority of citizens in the United States of America that are faced with police brutality are African-American. Prejudice in the force has been an issue for hundreds of years, but just now, with the advancement of technology, has the issue reached citizens across the country in heaping amounts. Whether through unconscious bias or open racism, the violence shown to black citizens across America by precincts and the justice system in general is a widespread issue that needs to be

In the past and recently, people within America have been directly or indirectly affected by police brutality. However, this societal issue has also been evident in other democratic societies around the globe and not just within the United States. This is one of the thousands of reasons why the police violence has raised massive concern for people and advocates from various areas. Some have proposed efforts to justify police integrity and rightfulness while others in opposition perceive racial profiling, corruption and excessive. Additionally, police brutality has even raised serious concerns for human rights advocates. Overall, the societal issue of police brutality has gathered much attention and countless individuals are demanding a solution to end the depravity.

Within the past year, law enforcement officers across the nation have come under intense scrutiny for police encounters that have resulted in the use of force and police involved shootings. Every time a person of color is killed by a police officer, the media broadcasts the shooting nationwide, inciting hate, anger and racism. Nothing productive is achieved when the media focuses on officers killing people of color. Instead, trust, faith and respect is lost from the public, and law enforcement officers are feared. People fear that when they encounter the police, they will be shot because of who they are. Sadly, all officers across the nation deal with the harsh scrutiny that has resulted from the actions of few. Majority of officers are good, hard working individuals who would put their life on the line to save and protect human life. Yet, on a daily basis, officers across the nation are disrespected and hated, simply for the job they do and who they represent. Despite recent events, police brutality is not an issue; law enforcement officers are still deserving of the public’s trust and this trust can be rectified with the understanding of use of force, increased community policing and continued use of force training for officers.

In 2015, it is estimated that the police killed about 1,200 people in the United States. Police brutality is the use of unnecessary or excessive force used by police when dealing with civilians. Today, social media helps spread the cases of police brutality at a rapid rate, causing children all around the world at an early age to develop hate towards law enforcement. Today’s stories seem to be receiving a larger amount of attention, because of this more people are a lot more aware. Too many civilians, it is absolutely heart wrenching to watch the people who are supposed to protect the civilians, take so many of them away from the world. Although many people believe police brutality is acceptable when

What is police brutality and why is it important right now? Police brutality is the use of excessive force carried out by a law enforcement official. Lately, various incidents of police brutality have surfaced in the news, but this is nothing new. Past incidents including the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri brought serious social issues to the frontlines. Michael Brown was an unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed by a white male. Other incidents include the death of Eric Garner. A man who was accused of selling individual cigarettes and later on died due to a chokehold, the officer who killed him was also white. These events have even led to vigilantism. One of the most recent incidents of retaliation took place in Dallas, Texas. Micah Johnson, a former soldier, opened fire at a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest and killed five Dallas police officers. He was quoted saying that he "wanted to kill white people, especially white officers". There is racial reconciliation between law enforcement and the black community. Although these are only a few incidents there a plenty more and there will be even more if something isn’t done about it. Cases such as these shed light on serious social issues we need to combat. This proposal review will discuss the rift between the police and community, how to improve community relations, how to improve departmental practices and procedures as well as how these can’t turn into effective solutions.

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.

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)

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).

There is no question that police brutality, when it occurs, is one of the most egregious violations of public trust that a public servant can commit. Police officers, those individuals taxed with protecting the public from danger, should never be in a situation where they pose a threat to the public. Furthermore, there is no question that police brutality occurs. Moreover, generally when there are allegations of police brutality, there has been some type of underlying violent incident. In addition, while issues of brutality may seem clear-cut to a disinterested observer, it is critical to keep in mind that law enforcement officers are not presented with textbook examples of the appropriate or inappropriate use of force, but real-life scenarios involving quick decisions. There are many arrest and non-arrest scenarios where officers need to use force to protect self or others; and the degree of force required may be greater than what a disinterested observer would assume. Another recurrent issue in debates about police brutality is that racial bias appears to be a motive behind police brutality. When one considers that minorities are disproportionately likely to be arrested and convicted of crimes, one would expect to find a disproportionate number of minorities among those alleging police brutality. Therefore, while acknowledging that police brutality, when it occurs, is a serious problem, the reality is that most

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.

From the disturbing beating of Rodney King to the horrific death of Malice Green to the shooting of Michael Brown shows there is a consistent problem with police brutality and the exertion of force used. Police brutality seems to be a rising issue again with the occurrence of the Michael Brown shooting and the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement making sure that any form of police brutality should not be swept under the rug. Action has been taken in some cities around the country for dealing with police brutality, such as police reform, which requires the retraining of hundreds of officers. There has also been talk and use of police body cameras that would record interactions between officers and the public to clear up any discrepancies in police/witness reports. To look at the effects and causation of police brutality we will be analyzing the media’s role, the sociological and psychological aspects of officers who administer the beating, and the timing of when these beatings/killings occurred.

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

Numerous unjust losses covered by the media over recent years that involved African Americans and police officers are continuously dwelling in the minds of many today. All of these incidents involved excessive force by officers and many involved racial profiling as well. Following these incidents, many American’s have vocalized their loss of trust with law enforcement officials through protest marches and riots. Everyone is demanding a solution for healing these poor relations between police officers and African American communities.

Rodney King, is probably one of the most remembered names from America that can create an emotional flashback. Rodney King is one of the first incidents where the use of excessive force was caught on videotape. Excessive force is defined as “force not justified by law or policy”. (Pollock ,2015,p.160) Reports have estimated that around 1.3 to 2.5 percent of all encounters involve excessive force.(Worden and Catlin,2002,p.160) The biggest factors that lead to excessive force can be race, gender, gang membership, and suspect use of force. Police officers that use excessive force can be involved in many ethical dilemmas that can be based on their police training and their mission to protect the public. Excessive force is the result of judgment of social values, racial profiling and quick decision making on the officer’s end. Therefore, police departments should enforce procedures like more trainings that involve the use of lethal items , harsher consequences to wrongdoing and providing more psychological programs for their officers. Following these procedures can help deteriorate the use of excessive force and can help prepare police officers to do their job correctly.