Police Brutality And Race Essay

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. As a result, there is a drastic increase of violent outburst between both sides. For the last years, it was reported that 51.5 percent of black were killed by police officers (ibtimes.com). On the other hand, there have been 51,548 assaults against law enforcement and it resulted in 14,453 injuries in 2015 alone (nleomf.org). In the United States, recently, police brutality has been a popular subject all over the news and social media.

Cops around the United States have been accused of racially profiling black people. This topic has been brought up by everyone around the U.S. and is very controversial. Studies have shown that the majority of deaths by police officers have been people of opposite color in America. Police brutality in America is a growing epidemic that has shown no signs of slowing down. Innocent men, women, and even children have been killed by police officers for no reason.

In a study done by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the authors found that, "Across a range of different stimuli and dependent variables, perceivers showed a consistent and strong bias to perceive young Black men as larger and more capable of harm than young White men (at least among non-Black participants).” This study shows that there is a tendency in American society to view black men as more threatening than white men of equal or slightly larger size. This misperceived threat can create unnecessary fear and panic in the general public that escalates over time as the idea that black men are dangerous is reinforced with every arrest, no matter any other evidence. The perceived danger makes it easier for police officers to justify the use of physical force against black men, often

Addressing police brutality must be done with empathy for and awareness of the plight of the African-American community. Historically speaking, there has not been a period wherein the African-American community was not inhibited by institutionalized barriers. American enslavement provided the foundation for later oppressive provisions that are especially prevalent within inner-city, predominantly Black communities, which, incidentally, many of the prominent instances of police brutality have taken place. Political regimes like the “war on drugs,” “school to prison pipeline,” and mass incarceration criminalize and dehumanize the African-American community, and thus affect the collective mindset of the population. I believe that an imperative first step that has not been taken is acknowledging the effects these may have on the Black community. In order to move forward, the African-American community must heal. As an activist and aspiring social worker, I

In the Criminal Justice System of the United States, there has been a disparity affecting African-American communities and minority groups. Minorities perceive themselves as the main targets of police use of force, racial profiling, and a bias culture within law enforcement. The central argument, is that such actions have an impact on the relationship between police officers and the African American community, causing problems in our society. But does history explain why law enforcement has developed a negative relationship with African-Americans? In our democratic era, police officers are considered a walking symbol of safety and protection. The police officer 's authority role, is to “fight crimes, maintain order and provide social services”

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. With the advancement of smart phones society

In light of a recent police officer involved shooting in Chicago, a Chicago police officer (white officer), was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a black teenager. There has been numerous police involved shootings in the U.S. in this past year, and the Chicago incident is not the first or last. Race baiting has become a hot topic and has gone viral around the nation. It is evident that the practice of the use of force is widely talked about in social media, and law enforcement leaders are aware that they must educate and train their officers regarding such usage. Educating police officers regarding the use of force is one thing, but how much training is geared towards cultural/ethnic diversity and community mediation skills?

Smith & Holmes (2003) confirmed research that stated that minorities are the targets of police brutality. Referring back to Figure 1, you can see that among the other ethnicities, African Americans over the age of 25 have been targeted the most starting from 1968 and now the targeting has been spread out to other ethnicities but a majority of the police brutality cases are involving African American males. From looking at Figure 1, one can see that the African American community has been affected the most with police killings since 1968 up unto now.

Police officers are more likely to stop and arrest African Americans, compared to other ethnic groups in America, and this has to do with stereotypes. Mainstream media portrays black men as violent, thugs or drug sellers which shapes the perceptions majority of Americans have towards African Americans (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005). Therefore, these stereotypes become a method to dehumanize and make it acceptable for black people to be treated in a certain way in the criminal justice system. Also, there is a big gap when it comes to how to black people and white people view the criminal justice system because they experience it differently. Whites are significantly more likely to approve police aggression compared to their black counterparts, because they are not subjected to violence from Criminal Justice system (Hadden, Tolliver, Snowden, & Brown, 2016).

As a result, the “BlackLivesMatters” movement has been brought to attention because of all black people that have died due to the actions of police by the mainstream. However, police brutality isn't just a problem for one individual ethnicity. Providing that, police departments are dissolving claims of brutality out of hand, the statistics are from self-reporting, or the issue begins from not following department policy (Small-Jordan, 2015). As a consequence, police brutality in America has reached such a turning point that society has reached an “us against them” attitude with criminals targeting officers and law enforcement. Also, the constant media coverage has impacted society and resulted in the need for reform or laws to minimize police brutality.

According to the Washington post, 782 people were killed by the police this year. While 28 of those 782 people were black and unarmed. The threat on Black men by police is a historic process. Black men are directly targeted by law enforcement nationwide. The crimes committed by the police against black men are acts of injustices.

Blacks are more likely to face tougher sentences than whites when they commit any crime. In courts, blacks are judged before they are heard. When a white man and a black man commits an offence of the same degree, the society will make excuses on behalf of the Whites while the Black will be automatically tagged a criminal. In most murder cases involving Whites, people are quick to say that such people are either mentally ill or has a particular medical condition which makes them behave in a specific way. As a result, the white man will be confined to a mental home for the rest of his life. He may even get parole after several years. Whereas if a black man is in the same situation, it is either he is killed at the crime scene or he is sentenced

In conclusion, police brutality is an ongoing issue in the United States and it should be stopped with the usage of body cameras. With the right solutions police brutality can be resolved. Police brutality stands as one of the most critical and maddening infringements in the United States. The wrongdoings of police officers, for instance, physical abuse, unlawful shootings, and verbal assaults must end. Police precincts across the United States should function as a force that handles situations in a professional and civilized manner. As time progresses police brutality should become less of an

In the world of law enforcement, Police Officers across the United States operate in a wide variety of functions daily in order to accomplish three simple goals set forth by our governing authority for the well-being our society. To put it simply, Police Officers are charged with enforcing criminal laws, preserving public order and protecting the citizenry from crime. The overwhelming majority of Police Officers regularly carry out these functions widely unnoticed by the general public. The mission of America’s law enforcers is wide and the margin of error for mistakes in the profession is nearly null. In the day to day of law enforcement, it is quite common for Police Officers of all types to make countless interactions with people of the

According to the article Racism and Police Brutality in America, “Whites believe that Blacks are disproportionately inclined to engage in criminal behavior and are the deserving on harsh treatment by the criminal justice system” (Chaney 484). The justice system has unfortunately followed this idea. The African American race has been a minority in the legal system in the past; however, it has been much worse as of 2015. Some individuals assume it is acceptable to refrain from acknowledging this fact. Racism is an issue in the midst of police brutality, and it should be resolved. 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