Police brutality is primarily known as excessive and/or unnecessary force police officers use upon a person. Police are given “power” that they seem to really take out of proportion. Many police officers take it upon themselves to be rough upon someone they may feel as a menace to society, which that officer may be wrong. Yes, most of the time they are wrong.
Many situations that police officers come into contact with can be settled without an act of being harmful. Police brutality is the world’s largest concern today, because it is dealt with racial discrimination, sexuality, and different economic statuses.
Officers back in the days, and today still, seem to judge a book by its cover, in other words they tend to judge a person by the color
All throughout America, individuals are taught at a young age that police officers are always the “good guys.” Police officers are painted to be trustworthy, honorable, and advocates of justice. This idea is often displayed in the media through television shows, movies, and news specials. For some, this idea still holds truth, however there are many, particularly individuals of color, whom would quickly disagree. Numerous persons of color have been subjected to racial profiling by officers resulting in stops, searches, and false accusation of crimes.
The police department of Los Angeles slogan is, “to protect and to serve.” To protect and to serve as in providing safety and assistance. As of November 29, 2015, 1,077 citizens have been killed by a United States’ police. That is equivalent to at least one death every eight hours. Do you feel protected?
a. What issue are you going to pursue? I am going to pursue the ongoing issue of police brutality. b. How is your issue evident in the public agenda right now? Police brutality has always been a continuing issue but has attracted more attention in recent years.
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.
In America today there has been a rising issue with the misconduct of law enforcement against African Americans. The reasons why police brutality has become an issue is because police officers are violating citizen’s rights, killing innocent lives, and abusing their power of authority. How many more lives are to be taken in order for people to realize the injustice of the law enforcement. The first reason why I believe police brutality is a rising issue in America is because it is a breech of a citizen’s rights.
So what exactly is Police brutality? The website, lawdictionary says police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. En.wikipedia states that The term "police brutality" was in use in the American press as early as 1872, when the Chicago Tribune reported on the beating of a civilian under arrest at the Harrison Street Police Station. Since then we have had multiple incidents dealing with police brutality which usually ends the same way.
Hollywood and social media has blown the police subculture way out of proportion, portraying police officers as crooked cops who abuse their authoritative powers and beats every suspect they encounter during their tour of duty. Critics who are opposed to law enforcement services can argue that a police organization is nothing but a bunch of racist, power hunger, and trigger happy individuals. On the other hand, supporters of law enforcement will work cooperatively with the department in order to prevent crime, enforce the law, preserve the peace, and provide a safe environment (Houston Police Department General Orders, 2012). Studies from Wine (2014) revealed that “black and white officers were equally likely to shoot African-American suspects” (para. 6). When a police officer (white or black officer), conducts a routine traffic stop, and the officer immediately observes the driver of the vehicle pointing a handgun directly at him, the officer does not have time to ponder about the suspect’s skin color, and decide whether to discharge his firearm or not.
There is a belief among some people that racist white police officers are hunting down innocent black men(Bandler, 2016). But thanks to a series of numbers brought to our eyes by the hand of a Heather Mac Donald, statistics from 2015 show that cops kill almost twice as many white people as black people (Mac Donald, 2016). On top of these statistics, the majority of the black victims were handling some kind of deadly weapon(Bandler, 2016). This does have a direct correlation with the amount of force used within the police force simply because of judgement and the way an intense time could alter the way people think or feel about specific situations(Bandler, 2016). Today, these specific situations almost seem like any traffic stop or crime confrontation(Bandler, 2016).
The most significant human or civil rights issue in my lifetime is police brutality because it has been going on for decades and because it is a very important situation that needs to be addressed. Police brutality has been going on for decades. Back then, it was mostly aimed African Americans and most people today think it is still directed towards the black population. For example, the shooting of a young black teen by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Witnesses say that the teen was unarmed walking down a street with his hood up when he was shot.
Police brutality and legal system injustice is an issue that has affected many communities throughout the years. However, the African American communities has experienced these issues for numerous years starting from the times of slavery and segregation, during the civil rights movement, and to the present. The African American Communities has formed protests to challenge and understand the way police officers have been trained to deal with certain situations, and to show the world how dishonest and unfair the legal systems are when it comes to punishing the police officers involved in the deaths of unarmed African Americans. Many people have their differences when asked to describe their definition of police brutality; However, the law dictionary explains police brutality as "the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians"(Danilina).
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
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 one of the most severe and troubling violation of human rights in the United States of America. The unnecessary force by officers continues, because of overpowering obstructions to accountability. This point makes it probable that officers who violate citizens’ rights are most likely to not face punishment and often leads to replication of their wrongdoings. Some government entities claim that the use of police brutality is a part of self-defense for the law enforcement, most citizens disagree on this research and insist officers are abusing their authority and using excessive force unnecessarily. Police departments should revise and reevaluate safety and cultural training to provide a solution to excessive force.
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.
It’s hard to feel safe when the ones who are suppose to be protecting you are killing you. Police were trained to guard, prevent crime, and enforce laws, not to kill and destroy the citizens. Lately, within the past two years police brutality has been a major issue in our society. This worldwide phenomenon has once again divided the races of black and white even further apart.