A news report released by CNN on April 10, 2015 displayed three examples of use of force abuse by on duty officers. Of these three incidents the results were a man dying in police custody after a dog allegedly mauled him, a mentally ill man being was shot dead after his family called police asking for help, and an officer who shooting into a vehicle after a car chase, killing a man who was initially suspected of drunk driving. Of all three incidents the deceased happened to all be Black men. Incidents like so have led to the formation of groups like Black Lives Matter. Instances such as these open up debate about if police are using excessive force based upon the suspect’s race. The Washington post gathered information from interviews, police
The deadly shooting of Michael Brown by Officer Wilson, unveiled numerous issues within local law enforcement, that resulted in social controversy aimed at all of law enforcement. According to the BBC news, Brown was unarmed when he was fired upon by Wilson (“Ferguson unrest”, 2015). A projection from this incident has emerged, claiming that African Americans are killed more frequently than other races when confronted by law enforcement. The statistics have revealed that African Americans who are unarmed have been victim to violence with
Michael White, the author of Examining the Impact Of External Influences on Police Use Of Deadly Force Over Time, states in relation to the issue that police use of deadly force has been the primary focus of research over the past 40 years that has been examining different major determinates of police behavior with shootings (White, 2003, p. 50). This causes a controversial issue for many. In the research conducted in by Cullen and his coworkers, Hacker (1992) claims that “America remains two nations, Black and White, separate, hostile, unequal." (Cullen, 1996). Police are then put into situations where a White officer is against a Black man or vice versa.
Use of force is the amount of force used in a given situation during police work. The police are supposed to follow the continuum when it come to using force. This continuum is known as the “Use of Force Continuum”. Despite this, use of force is still a constant problem in policing. There are many cases where a cop are sued for using more force than necessary, sometimes on purpose and sometimes by accident.
Police Brutality and Racial Profiling Black people who were unarmed were killed more than whites by police last year. “Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police in the United States than white people (BBC Podcast, 2015).” Although the extent of police racial bias and their previous abusive behavior is unknown (if any), there are other issues that are known. The purpose of this paper is to argue that race and ethnicity, social class, and bias are reasons that lead to police atrocity among African Americans.
Historically police officers and the excessive use of force has been a key tool used to disrupt the black community and promote fear amongst anyone who dear to speak out for equality. The same police force that were sworn to protect and uphold the law were the same officers who savagely beat African American citizens with billy clubs and tormented the community with attack dogs just because of the difference in skin color. According to Almalcar Scott “It was the police , for example, who held the fire hoes that mowed down civil rights protestors in the 1960”. In recent times the fire hoes has been replaced with fire arms and the force used to torment the community are officer related shootings.
Though, no study has successfully established a description that summaries what is considered to be the “right” amount of force seeing as the word “force” caters differently to every individual. To comprehend the varied classifications for the use of force, it is important to recognize the circumstances of the act, reasoning behind the act, and methods to decrease this force; many factors come into play when an officer decides to use force such as, is the use of force justified, has the officer been properly trained to use force, or if the department be held liable if the force is used improperly (Wittie, 2011, 17). This paper will illustrate ways in which police practice their authority, use of force model, and discriminatory treatment towards minority groups to project excessive force amongst their interaction with
Those of the minority community have been exposed, for a vast amount of time, to violence by those in the law enforcement. This variety of violence is a direct depiction of police brutality, which frequently generates death. Certain races, especially the colored skinned, are considered to be accused in criminal activities as a result of their race, notably when there is no valid proof present to affirm these allegations. In any police department in the nation, many of the officer's intentions is to do the ethical thing. However, the remaining will consciously breach the human virtue of the people in the communities they serve.
Use of force incidents between law enforcement and minority communities has been a serious issue nationwide. Social media has portrayed police officers as enemies and has caused riots in several states. Police officers have a duty to protect and serve the citizens of Houston with utmost and respect and professionalism; however, there are incidents where our officers have resorted to deadly force to protect their lives and the lives of bystanders around them. The recent killing of an unarmed African-American has sparked tremendous anger in our local black community, and also caught the attention of social media nationwide.
Since the times of the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century many African-Americans have had strong opinions about the issues regarding police brutality. Police brutality is the excessive use of unnecessary force by the police, violating the human rights of the civilian. The cause of this issue is police officers stereotyping any innocent civilian based on their appearance such as teenagers, African-Americans, or homosexuals. However, the killings of African-Americans have been most perceptible in recent years.
Race has been one factor that determines the attitudes of individuals towards the police, along with racial profiling (Graziano et al, 2010). The reason race plays such a big role towards police officers is because they misuse their authority throughout certain situations. Graziano et al (2010), also discusses those individuals who feel to be a target of racial profiling have had extremely negative attitudes towards police officers as they have experienced it on a personal bases. The information we receive of racial profiling and police brutality is generated from the media, though sometimes media does not always provide concrete
An occurrence observed by the population of Los Angeles, California conveys the existence of racism and police brutality. According to The Polls-Trends: Racial Differences in Attitudes Toward the Police, “…three quarters of blacks, but only 38 percent of whites, continued to view police brutality as a common occurrence” (Tuch and Weitzer
During police officers and African American encounters, the use of force to handle some situations, mislead people from the actual reason of the arrest. These forceful actions are the reasons as to why many believe the one at fault are the African Americans. Perhaps this was the reason as to why four women, who were handcuffed on July 2009, were not trusted when they filed a complaint to the Denver Police Department against the rough treatment they received (Wolverton II 2). The officers denied the charges while lying about the actual truth (Wolverton II 2). The public did not believe the four women and protected the officers.
Police brutality remains a common yet controversial topic around the world. Police brutality is “the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians” (thelawdictionary.org). It’s a topic that segregates communities and makes each other their enemy. Specifically, a white officer has been the enemy of the black community. Unfortunately, the tension between police and blacks grew over the past few decades.
Police Brutality is an ongoing problem and existent concern in the United States and should be resolved immediately. Law enforcement must function as an element that consists of organized and civilized officers. The presence of police brutality is becoming more of an issue as society grows. The problem posed by the illegal exercise of police power is an ongoing reality for individuals of a disfavored race, class, or sexual orientation. Police brutality must be stopped so that police do not forget who they are serving – not themselves, but the public.
Just last month a 17 year old black boy from Blue Valley Northwest was shot and killed. “Albers was shot by an officer who was responding to a report of a male threatening to take his own life at that location” (“Shooting”). John Albers was shot just outside his house by a white policeman, for little to no reason. “Police said when they arrived at the scene and approached the home, the garage door opened and a vehicle exited, "moving rapidly" toward one of the officers. At that point, the officer fired, killing Albers” (“Shooting”).