Police Brutality essay outline
Police Brutality was never really the main issue but within the last few years, it has brought itself into attention. According to Google, Police Brutality is “one of several forms of police misconduct which involves undue violence by police members”. We have seen, read, and heard many cases of police brutality it is always the same stories, different names. This type of cases are becoming more common and no one seems to be doing anything in order to stop this. It is not fair for an innocent person to die due to the quick judgment of an officer.
When one thinks of a cop the first thing that should come to mind is “hero”. Law enforcement officers swear an oath, “to protect and serve the citizens they represent.” A representation of peace, power, justice, safety and much more. Although, a few years ago it was that way it is no longer true. But as time goes on people tend to want to avoid cops and hide from them. People are now not only frightened of cops but can’t seem to give them the trust they deserve. Cops are now assaulting, abusing and killing innocent people and these type of incidents are becoming more frequent. People are now terrified to be pulled over by a cop because they feel as if their life is at risk, it doesn’t even have to be dark outside for them to be scared. There’s plenty of cases of innocent unarmed victims being killed by cops. Are cops abusing their power? Police fatally shot 987 people last year or two dozen more than they killed in 2016, according to an ongoing Washington Post database project that tracks the fatal shootings. Cops have been judging unarmed and innocent citizens way too quickly and those numbers seem to be increasing with frequency unless someone speaks up.
Cops seem to be targeting blacks more than anyone. In our American history, they have been poorly treated and been through these kinds of issues. Police brutality didn’t really start out of nowhere because this type of issue has been going on for decades. For example, Slavery, Jim crow laws, The Greensboro sit-in, Rosa Parks, The Case of Emmett Till, Little Rock Nine, M.L.K., Malcolm X, and the list goes on and on. Police Brutality is another part of Discrimination. The Emancipation of Proclamation made all people held as slaves in the rebellious ( Southern) states become free, but division and racism between races did not end there.
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Throughout the years we’ve been taught that anyone who kills is in the wrong, especially when killing innocent people. I myself have been taught that one should not kill under any circumstances. According to the article “PRO/CON: ARE POLICE GOING TOO FAR?” by Rachel Raasch says, “Unjustifiably taking the life of an innocent victim is not simply a “mistake.” You can fix a mistake; you cannot bring someone back from the dead. When one individual is beaten or shot in the street by another citizen, people recognize that as wrong.” This quote raises plenty of questions. For example, Why should the uniform of the attacker cause confusion? Does this mean that just because we wear a badge we can shoot freely? Does this mean we should jump into conclusions before pulling the trigger? Why does our way of thinking change when we see a colored person behind the wheel? All these questions will never have a right answer and we will never know why these things keep happening but instead of staying quiet and trying to come up with an answer we can fight back by raising our voices and being heard.
Police Brutality Narrative Essay
?Lucy Sanchez English 1302 Mr. Gonzalez 8 April 2009 Police Brutality Draft Who can forget the Los Angeles riots and the Rodney King beating in 1991? This case of police brutality was the most widely known. Over the years, it seems that police abuse remains one of the most serious human rights violations in the United States. It makes the people wonder if in fact police officers are doing their job and if they are here to protect us. Police officers get away with unjustified shootings, fatal choking, rough treatments, and severe beatings.
Police brutality needs to be addressed and there has to be harsher punishment to minimize the amount of police brutality that happens. A punishment that they can receive for their brutality is harsher sentencing and job dismissals. If such a case should go to court the judge and jurors should sentence the police officer. If the case was minor then the chief of police or someone in charge. There is not a day that goes by that somewhere in the United States that an innocent civilian gets beaten from a police officer for no apparent reason. Sometimes the reason is because a police officer is racist.
Racism, discrimination, and police brutality all go hand in hand because police officers usually do not go around beating civilians up for no reason. Usually the motive is because they are racist. The most major race that was affected by police brutality seems to be Caucasian people but according to the “NAACP, they say that between 1976 and 1987, officers killed about 1,800 blacks and 3,000 whites. Since blacks comprise approximately 12% of the general population, the data suggest that blacks are about three times more likely to be killed by officers than whites”.
These appalling numbers are probably on the rise. It seems that there is no escape for police brutality because it can happen to anyone not just African Americans or Caucasians. Although, mostly Africans Americans are targeted it can happen to any other race. Police officers feel because they are the law they can do whatever they please. They feel that they are above the law. My father, who is now deceased, was a victim of police brutality. It was about eight years ago when the Garden Grove police department of California barged in my dad’s apartment around three in the morning with a warrant.
The first thing I remember was when he was slightly beaten with their hands to arrest him. My younger brother and I were watching the whole thing and the police new we were there. So how could they even think about doing this in front of us? I asked my father when I visited him in jail,” Why do cops treat people this way? ” He simply said,’’ they think they are above the law and they have no respect for Mexicans”. (Ruben Paz). When he told me this I never liked police officers no matter who they were. I hated them with a passion. I assumed they were racist.
This kind of police brutality may not have been that severe but the case with Rodney King it was without a doubt. One reason that this incident of police brutality is so famous is because it was captured on tape. Watching this tape may be hard to watch because it is obviously seen that Rodney is defenseless and has no weapon, yet he is surrounded by six or seven police officers that are beating him to death with their nightsticks. Many agree that this was no regular traffic stop. The police officers that took part in this brutality at first were not punished at all.
That is what caused the riots because people were very angry that those police officers could get away with such a crime, especially because it was caught on videotape. Later, according to Los Angeles Times, after taking a second look at the tape, two officers were sentenced to prison for violating Rodney King’s rights. The aftermath of this videotape was that people were not safe. African Americans were afraid of police officers and knew they were a target every time. While driving, walking, or even standing on a corner they are a target no matter where they go.
When a victim has evidence that a police officer had assaulted or beat them in some way, that is proof and all they need to convict the police officer. In many cases, when this is brought to court or police department the punishment they give the police officers for their brutality is verbal reprimands, reprimand letters, suspensions, or dismissals. These punishments should be harder depending on the severity of the case. For example, according to facts. com, a police officer was not charged for the brutality he caused on an innocent civilian.
His only punishment was a couple days suspension and he was back to work. Many police officers get this type if treatment. It is rare that an actual police officer gets convicted and sentenced to jail. Police officers should serve time behind bars to teach them a lesson. They should be treated just like the rest of the civilians. One right punishment an officer received for his brutality is eighteen months in jail and three years of probation. Michael Singleton, which was a police officer for Maywood police Department in California, rammed a civilian’s head against a wall.
The victim Jose Bernal was knocked unconscious, his nose was broken, and suffered temporary paralysis to one side of his face (Los Angeles Times). This type of punishment that Michael Singleton received is very rare because he was actually convicted. After so many cases reported of police brutality many cannot beat he system. Because police officers are above us in law we cannot win. We can if we have hard evidence o them, but sometimes even that cannot help us because of the corruption inside police departments.
In order to decrease the amount of brutalities we have to first define the barriers of what is brutality and what is their job as police officers. Another way can result in more constant training and better use of force training and policies. When people are in trouble and the only number they can call for help is 911 we sometimes think about it twice before we call. How can we be afraid to even call the police department? Has it in fact changed the way we think about police officers? They are supposedly here to serve and protect but how can we believe that when they are committing crimes themselves?
Police brutality is no joke. One question I have been asking myself for a very long time is, “Who can police the police? ” it may not make sense but to me it does. How can they be trusted when they are the law? They should not be above it but they act as if they are. Of course not all police officers are bad. Some are police officers because they are here to serve and protect those that cannot protect themselves. It is safe to say that there are some good cops but more sure that there are more bad cops. It is a sad thing but only my opinion based on the experiences I have encountered with them.
In the past I used to hate cops but I learned to know that some could be trusted. Even though, police brutality will never stop and that is a known fact, I will always keep my guard up. Works Cited Los Angeles Times. 18 October 2008.. "Police Brutality. " Issues & Controversies On File 3 Oct. 2003. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services. 9 Apr. 2009 . "Police Corruption. " Issues & Controversies On File 30 Apr. 2004. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services. 7 Apr. 2009 . Rodney King. 2007. video. 12 April 2009. .
Police Brutality Definition essay
By law, the police have the right to use legitimate force if necessary to make an arrest, maintain order, or keep the peace. Sometimes the use of legitimate force goes too far. The use of excessive force is actually a violation of the law. One might say police brutality is a violent conscious act made by a police officer against persons who are considered to be a threat. Police brutality is defined as the use of excessive physical assault or verbal assault during police procedures, such as apprehending or interrogating a suspect.Deadly force is not always excessive force. However, when deadly force exceeds the force that is necessary to create a safe environment, it is considered police brutality.
In social psychology we learned about implicit biases. Implicit biases are stereotypes that we all have. There were many attitudes and beliefs in history that people were superior or inferior to one another based on the color of skin In that belief, brutality is ok because the inferior group doesn’t deserve to be treated any better. Police brutality is sometimes motivated by racial stereotypes. Law enforcement officers may believe that blacks and brown people are a bigger threat to their safety and the safety of others. Law enforcement officers who are already heightened awareness regarding their safety on the job may be even more anxious when confronting individuals who they prematurely perceive as violent or criminal. Other factors include discrimination and mistreatment of certain minorities in the judicial system. Those factors can lead to the incorrect belief that minorities are more likely to break the law.
Retired LAPD officer Mathew Horace recalls a time he responded to a domestic dispute in his book “The Black The Blue”. Before getting into the story, he explained that the officers were trained to say, “I feared for my life”. No one could ever prove weather or not they were really in fear. When the officers arrived to the house the caller had been in an altercation with his boyfriend. They happed to be a large black male. Leslie was his name. Horace recalled thinking how much work it would be if they had to get physical. Does being a large black male make you a bad person? A person’s implicit bias may tell them that a large black man is dangerous and not to take any chances.
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