Whenever officers feel endangered, they automatically turn to their weapons. Recently, guns have been a major problem because officers feel that it is the only way they are able to defend themselves. Sometimes abusing the power of guns. Police brutality occurs because officers feel unsure of where the situation will go if they do not take a stand before problems begin to worsen. Police are already seen as the higher power. However they do not want to be looked down upon, so if they are lenient on certain situations, people aren 't going to do as they say. Officers can feel more in threat to people of color because of past experiences they have seen, officers are aware people of color can defend themselves and they are not going to let themselves be mistreated. Instances of police brutality. A report by Center for Policing …show more content…
In the first systematic study of police brutality in 1971, it was found that the overall rate of unwarranted force to be low: about 1% of all encounters with citizens. An example where brutality was necessary is when police officers have guns being aimed at them or if the person is going to harm another victim. When situations like this happen the media most of the time does not show the full story. Our view of police brutality is affected by the media in the sense that nowadays, when something happens, people pull out their phones and all they see is the “bad” part of what’s going on. The reason the media does this is to get the attention of the people. Media shapes our image today because most people gain all of their knowledge by watching television shows or certain news channels. Social media is changing the game for governments under pressure. In fact, social media cannot prevent police brutality on its own. It is needed to regulate the legitimate use of force in democratic
However, research demonstrates that often times men of color are treated harshly which leads to negative perceptions of police officers. Police brutality is a crime that is has been surfacing in the news recently. Some people are just starting to realize that these injustices against the black community really occur, while others are well aware. The recent shootings, different run-ins with officers being filmed while doing such harmful actions against African American men is an example of police brutality and, that reminds us that as a society work needs to be done to improve police and community relations. A black male cannot even walk down the street on a cold night because he might be a suspect from something or he may be of danger to the people around.
However, the police force in the United States uses more of a physical way of brutality. Though police brutality has been no new information about the police force, it has however become a very big issue in recent years. For the past few years according to the USA Today article, “The trauma of police brutality”, Americans have watched the news about police brutality very closely, and have seen that each victim of their violence was unarmed or they haven’t even done anything wrong. In the article, they explain about one instance, “Last year, Valdez was pinned to the floor and handcuffed by a police officer in a Houston mall. The officer pressed a taser and pushed a knee into his back.
According to The Washington Post, out of 356 police brutality cases in The United States, 365 were men and 80 were woman. Of those 356, 80 percent of them were carrying life threatening objects such as; knifes, guns, machetes, 49 of them were unarmed and carrying no weapons, and 16 percent were carrying a fake gun or unarmed. Police are allowed to use deadly force when they feel their life’s, or the lives of other innocent by standards are in danger, but according to this research most of the people were not carrying deadly weapons. Of those in the same brutality cases, 8 of them were under 18 years old, 55 were 18-24 years old, 118 were 25-34 years old, 94 were 35-44 years old, 62 were 45-54 years old and 39 of them were 55 years or older.
hree African American boys walking down the street enjoying a beautiful, spring night. They are best friends whom have all gone to school together since elementary school now in high school together. They are enjoying their senior year, about to graduate from high school but little do they know they won 't even have the opportunity to do that and to be successful in their life. A cop pulls up and yells, “hands up!” they look around confused, wondering if he was talking to them or not.
"Police Brutality is a fact of American life. In Major cities across the country, officers are abusing their authority in the most flagrant ways"("Must End"). Law enforcement officers carry guns, are given special privileges and great responsibility. Public safety officers are trusted and expected to respect society as a whole. Taking all of this into consideration, do cops actually break the law?
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.
In recent news reports, numerous cases of police brutality resulting in the death of unarmed citizens frequently occur. The cases describe similar incidents in which authorities racially profile citizens and proceeds to approach the citizen in an unlawful manner. An altercation escalates between the two when the citizen attempts to resist the police’s unlawful arrest. Police use excessive force against the citizen to make the citizen abide by their commands. Use of excessive force leads to the death of the citizen.
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).
In today’s chaotic world, police brutality is becoming more of an issue as society grows. Police brutality is an ongoing concern of the United States as many innocent lives have been taken due to the corrupt police system. Law enforcement must function as well as an element that consists of organized and civilized officers. Police brutality is one of the most serious, enduring, and divisive human rights violations in the United States. This is a problem that is nationwide, and it usually affects individuals of a disfavored race, class, or sexual orientation.
No matter who you are or what you do there has been a time where you have heard about police brutality, either it be on the news, newspaper or even witnessed police brutality in person. Even with the amount of times you might've heard or seen, still, the question always seems to remain - what is the cause of police brutality, why is it a problem and is police brutality even real? The sad fact is that police brutality is real and there are many factors that help support the cause. One is most cities and states have no reporting requirements which means police departments are not required to report instances of abuse at the federal level.(Daily Caller, 2014)
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 is a complex phenomenon, which has widespread effects on today 's society. In recent years, the police have come under serious scrutiny for police brutality, and this has been underscored by the presence of video camcorders. Accompanying this issue, I will provide several examples and recent cases, as well as the related decision making process. Similar emphasis shall be placed upon the understanding, role, and participation of the individual in public policy making. To begin with, I should like to first offer my understanding of police brutality, and as well, as it is expressed in the literature.
A few officers are chronic offenders who are responsible for a disproportionate number of brutality complaints. Those receiving most of the complaints are younger, less experienced, and prone to initiate aggressive actions toward
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.
I mentioned a few reasons on how the use of force has made police officers look bad. It is making officers look bad because recordings from the public only show the beatings and shootings, but do not capture the beginning of the confrontation. It will be bet for officers and the goof being of the community I officers use body-worn cameras because it will capture every second that happens between confrontations. The use of force is granted to the officers if they feel like the suspect is dangerous or is not complying with the officer. It was a right given to them by a case back in 1985, in which a person was killed by deadly force.