Rotten Apple Theory Of Police Brutality

The Rotten Apple Theory.

Police departments use the ‘Rotten Apple Theory’ to describe police deviance, police gratuity, kickbacks, bribery, and shakedowns of business owners (Police Crimes, 2005). According to the Christopher Commission’s (1991) article on police crimes, it stated that white police officers were somewhat more likely to use excessive force against African Americans and watchdog groups like the American Civil Liberties Unions (ACLU, 2016). Kwon (2012) stated in his “Theoretical Understanding of Police Brutality’ paper why there are only a “few bad apples”, and the reasons behind why excessive force is used toward certain citizens using the following theories: (1) Social Conflict Theory, (2) Symbolic Interactionism, and (3)

If police misconduct is not addressed and the issues involving black males being shot by police doesn’t diminish—there will be detrimental consequences. Police reform and quick transparency measures must be put into play when it comes to policing practices. If black males, young and old continue to die by the hands of police officers the entire nation risks detrimental civil distress that will more likely lead to civil-eruptions. We are risking a race war. President Obama had proposed reimbursing police departments who partially covered the implementation of Body Cameras. Currently, the following cities have body camera usage in place: Oakland, San Diego, California, Denver, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Mesa, Arizona; Indiana, Detroit, Michigan, Omaha, Nebraska, Dallas, Ft. Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Georgia; Jacksonville and Miami, Florida. If legislators don’t come up with a solution to handling police deviance as it would any other perpetrator and hold police officers accountable for their positions as enforcers of the law, this will mimic past events in history involving police brutality cases resulting in rioting and violence against innocent people. August 18, 2014, President Obama addressed the City of Ferguson in his statement saying that there was no excuse for excessive force by police, looting, or violence towards law enforcement. The United States Supreme Court has also responded to the anger over police killings issuing a decision to expand the authoritarian doctrine of “qualified immunity”, which shields police from legal accountability. The Supreme Court’s decision confirms that the entire social system has nothing to offer by way of a solution to the crisis except more of the same (World Socialist, 2015). Harlow v. Fitzgerald (1990), the court explained that “government officials performing discretionary functions generally