Police brutality in the United States stems from the undeniable pattern of fear in our country. It comes from a place based on misconceptions about how race, religion, politics or socioeconomic status affects our personhood. Some people think communities rifed with minorities, poor, or disabled people deserve to be punished, and some police departments have it in their minds that they are the last line of defense against them. This way of thinking makes us villainize communities and see them as the cause of the problem. “They have put this problem on themselves,” or “they are the bad ones” are talked about here. We have created a sense of “other” in the world and a lot of people have turned to apathy despite its commonplace.
Words like “we should make an example of them” or “police will do what needs to be done” are heard in conversations like this one. I am afraid our country has put our police officers on a pedestal. We cannot accept these people as infallible and righteous based on their position. Aside from the gun and their badge, they are not too different from you or me. There are problems on the force, and we need to hold them accountable.
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We see it often happening to people without proper cause. The same goes for using our 14th Amendment and finding a reason for a “search and seizure”. Of course, we should also find ways to prevent poor documentation and follow-up of police misconduct like the use of body cameras. If we are trying to justify police brutality in the name of protection, we should look at moving away from using guns in law enforcement. 5 countries already do it, including the UK, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, and New Zealand. I especially like the way the Irish separate officers from the personnels with guns, so those enforcing the laws do not use deadly force. These people are only called in cases of emergency or