Police Brutality In 'All American Boys'

All American Boys is about a boy named Rashad who was a victim of police brutality. Rashad’s father is a former police officer who paralyzed a young boy in a shooting after assuming the boy was armed. Throughout the novel, both Rashad and his father have conflicting opinions on how to approach Rashad’s incident; in return, they have to find common ground.

In every case of police-involved violence, there are always two sides: the police officer and the victim. From the perspective of those who work in law enforcement, they believe that the officers must think about their safety first, and to do this, they must assume the worst. The other perspective is from the victims and spectators; to them, they believe the police officer should examine

For Rashad’s father and other spectators, the officer couldn't have known if Rashad was dangerous or not, and their first instinct was to assume there could be danger. Rashad's father has to battle with the two sides; now that his son is involved, he doesn't know who is in the wrong. “Were your pants sagging?” Dad interrogated, “Were my pants sagging?” I repeated, shocked by the question. “What does that have to do with anything?”. Rashad’s father is quick to accuse his son rather than the officer, already creating tension between them. This also reveals that the father does acknowledge racial stereotypes and how they are used against black people in America. Since his father was a police officer, his perspective jumps to assumptions first. Rashad’s father may recognize that his son was a victim of racial violence, but still chooses to blame Rashad for fitting into those stereotypes. The contradicting opinions of Rashad and his father reveal the effect of internalized bias. The conflict between the two does not come from Rashad's father not believing him but rather is influenced by his past experiences as a cop; Rashad sees the bias as

Rashad’s father is against this idea because of his conflicting view that the police officer may not be completely wrong. This brings tension between Rashad and his father because he wants his father's support. More tension arises between Rashad and his father as their differences expand beyond just the case of Rashad. The protest that was set up was in response to Rashad's brutality but also represented police brutality as a whole. It was not just Rashad who encountered racism; he even recognized that he was lucky to not have been killed. “And I wish the stories stopped there. I really did, I did. But they didn’t. They did. They went on and on, story after story, about not trusting police officers because they always seemed to act like bullies.” “This wasn’t really about me. This is bigger than me. I know that now.” Rashad, as a black man, has been taught the right way to act when confronted by the police, like many other black children in America. The difference is how Rashad’s father instilled these practices. Rashad’s father wanted him and his brother to conform to what was deemed acceptable by a majority of white people, not just be aware of how conformity can be used in cases of prejudice. Once again, Rashad and his father are at odds; both recognize the masking of black Americans but have different outlooks on their