...Police Brutality Police Brutality Prof. Carolyn Snell CRMJ 470 Claflin University of Orangeburg Abstract Police brutalities have left many victims in a state of emotional and physical stress, and in some cases, the victims did not survive. Most police brutality occurs during the course of arrest and within the dispute of other incidents in the street or public places. Some of these events even occur while the arrest suspect is already in handcuffs and in police custody, on the way to the station, or while at the station. The Criminal Justice System is an organized body of men and women that have accepted the task of enforcing the law and maintaining public order. A system of this sort exists in every country. Police are employed with the duty of protecting lives and property against criminals and preserving domestic peace. These people are active in a perilous and strenuous occupation that can involve violent circumstances that must be controlled. In many of these disorders with the public, it may become necessary for the police to use force to take control of a situation. In some cases, applying force to a situation requires hand-to-hand combat with a suspect that is not willing to comply with the will of the authorities. The officers have a strict guidelines to follow when using force in any given situation. Along with these guidelines come tools that these officers have at their disposal to aid them in law enforcement. These tools include batons, mace,...
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...What is police brutality? It is the use of force when its not necessary to a victim for unlawful police purpose. Although there is reliable information of these incidence existing. We see it in our everyday life on tv and the news and there are some victims that have loss their lives in police brutality cases. Police oath is to never betray their badge or their integrity , the public trust but it seem like they already have. Police brutality exist in many countries , even people that prosecute. It is one the several many forms of police misconduct. which include several ways that the police can use brutality without physical abuse. False arrest ,intimidation,racial profiling and police corruption. Under the law of police brutality is investigated by a commission it district attorneys. Unfortunately , even though the law is covering police brutality , many complaints are made by victims about excessive use of force are not investigated....
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...Modern Lit November 20 Ms. Carlton Police Brutality in America Police brutality is one of the main concerns we have today. Innocent victims are targeted by police physically and violently. The government has taken action on this issue with a positive impact. However the statistic is rising yearly in a negative way. Race plays a key factors, black people are more targeted than other races. Protests all over the country are still taking place, with hope that there will be change. Racism is evidently existing all around the country through the abuse of police officers among African-American victims. Police brutality has been around for centuries and has increased immensely throughout the years. Police brutality is the...
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...Corruption, Misconduct, and Brutality by Police Officers Stephen D. Windish June 9, 2014 CJA / 214 Instructor: Mr. Martinez University of Phoenix Abstract Since the beginning of the structured police forces across the United States corruption, misconduct, and claims of brutality by police officers has been a problem. Police officers who were sworn to protect and serve the people of their communities have been instilled with authority over people. Throughout history anyone having some type of power or absolute authority over another has created controversy. This paper will look into the statements and details of concerns dealing with police corruption, misconduct, and brutality of police officers in the United States. Corruption, Misconduct, and Brutality by Police Officers Corruption by uniformed police officers is a form of misconduct. This is done by an officer who is attempting to obtain something for his personal gain like money or a possible advancement in career. Misconduct of this type is done with the officer using his authority or power abusively. The term police corruption is typically stated when speaking or referring to the department administration doing something to gain a political edge or possibly a kind of gain financially. The everyday uniformed officer could be listed as corrupt by accepting money to not perform his duties properly. All officers who are stated to be corrupt have committed an action that is considered to be illegal. In...
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...Police brutality is widely held to have become a serious problem in recent decades in many countries. It is a subset of unjustified shootings, severe beatings, and abuse. The number of deaths and injuries is getting high from police abuse has directed our attention to the need all reasonable steps to ensure a safe society for people. There are many factors for the occurrence of police brutality. The most common factors are racial profiling, prejudices, and the pressure of work. Government laws try to prevent these factors from endangering the police in the working environment. I believe that police brutality is not only a United States problem, but also a global problem that quickly needs to be resolved. The definition of police brutality is...
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...Police Brutality When one thinks of a police officer, the first thing that usually comes to mind is a proud person in uniform protecting and serving the people. Policemen are the enforcers of the law whose job in it's simplest form is to protect civilians. So what if a fellow policeman breaks the law and harms innocent civilians? Does the title of Police Officer come with the ability to get away with crime with little to no punishment? Today, many reports of police brutality have been exposed and yet a large number of them do not get punished for it. Although many cases of police brutality are because of corrupt law enforcers who think they are above the law, it is the corrupt government officials that decides to not pass judgment onto the real criminals even when they know who is at fault. Many people often associate police brutality with a corrupt justice system and government because of its history. Throughout history, many dictators including Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin abused their military power in order to get what they wanted. Even in today's world countries like North Korea and Egypt possess corrupt governments that utilize military force on innocent civilians frequently. What makes police brutality such a big deal in America is the fact that unlike other countries, police brutality cannot be justified with uniting the country. It directly violates a set of rights written by the founding fathers that our whole government is based off of known as the Constitution...
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...Members of the police force are government officials who enforce the laws and maintain order. They are engaged in a dangerous and stressful occupation that can involve violent situations that must be controlled. In many of these confrontations with the public it may become necessary for the police to administer force to take control of a situation. Sometimes this force takes the form of hand-to-hand combat with a suspect who resists being arrested. The police do have strict guidelines to follow when using force. Force should be used in only the minimum amount needed to achieve a legitimate purpose. The New York Police Department has these five stages set through which the use of force can progress. 1) verbal persuasion, 2) unarmed physical force, 3) force using non-lethal weapons, 4) force using impact weapons, 5) deadly force (AIUSAPolice Brutality 1999:2). They also have many tools at their disposal when the need for using force arises. These include the police baton, mace, tasers, handcuffs, police dogs, and firearms. An officer of the law can be properly trained to administer the law in an unbiased way that will not violate a citizen’s rights, however, this is not happening across the United States. According to a recent Amnesty International study, there are thousands of reports each year of assault and ill treatment against officers who use excessive force and violate the human rights of their victims (AIUSA Rights 1999:1). Police officers are injuring and even killing...
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...April 4 April 4 CRITICAL READING CRITICAL READING Police Authority Abused or Misused Giovanni Russo Section 155.Betty Anne.Word Count: 2184 Police Authority Abused or Misused Giovanni Russo Section 155.Betty Anne.Word Count: 2184 08 Fall 08 Fall Table of Contents Introduction 3 New York City 4 Police Dash Cams 5 Reported Abuse 6 Power Hungry Positions 7 Edward Krawetz 8 The Extent They Can Abuse Their Power With Out Any Consequences 8 References 9 Introduction Every year there are numerous occurrences of police brutality. Many, if not all of these occurrences have been noted and in some instances videotaped by innocent bystanders or the cameras placed on police vehicles. In many of these cases a settlement is agreed upon and the officers involved are let free and put back to work. In April of 2012 a man was brutally attacked because police had figured he was spray painting (Defranco, 2012). The innocent man, Dan Halsted, was only walking home. The lawyer involved tried to use Halsted’s house collection of kung-fu movies against him. The courts realized this was a ridiculous claim which led to a $250,000 settlement between the two parties This is great, however the police officers involved where immediately put back on duty. The duties of a police officer are to “serve and protect”, not attack and abuse. How many times has a police car pulled up behind you? What are your feelings? Are you nervous? Do you care? Do you feel protected? Personally...
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...Case of Rodney King By: Donald Gilliam March 4, 2014 Tim Morris Criminal Law Case of Rodney King: Within today’s society police brutality and racism go hand in hand together, and play a huge part with shaping our society but unfortunately today police brutality is a major concern in the United States. Within many cases, violence is an ongoing battle for millions, and from this stems the many types of violence such as racial discrimination, gang violence and unpredictable outbursts of brutality and from saying that there will always be the cold hard fact that there are some authority figures abusing their power. Cases of police brutality can be traced back to centuries ago, unfortunately when one usually thinks about the given topic, the biggest incident that comes to mind is the Rodney King trial. Since I will be touching on one of the most controversial cases in police brutality it is safe to say that police brutality is still “one of the most serious human violations in the United States. For years the negative use of force used by police officers and local authority has been of a main concern and a large issue throughout our nation” ("LA riots,"). Everything begins when, police officers abuse the use of force that has been given to them, meaning that it has become a growing concern about the abuse of police officers using unnecessary force. And as people have become more educated and aware of what’s taken place, more people have united. People have filed many...
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...Allegations of the use of excessive force by U.S. police departments continue to generate headlines more than two decades after the 1992 Los Angeles riots brought the issue to mass public attention and spurred some law enforcement reforms. On Staten Island, N.Y., the July 2014 death of Eric Garner because of the apparent use of a “chokehold” by an officer sparked outrage. A month later in Ferguson, Mo., the fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson ignited protests, and a grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson triggered further unrest. In November, Tamir Rice was shot by police in Cleveland, Ohio. He was 12 years old and playing with a toy pistol. On April 4, 2015, Walter L. Scott was shot by a police officer after a routine traffic stop in North Charleston, S.C. The same month, Freddie Gray died while in police custody in Baltimore, setting off widespread unrest. The policeman in the South Carolina case, Michael T. Slager, was charged with murder based on a cellphone video. In Baltimore, the driver of the police van in which Gray died, Caesar Goodson, was charged with second-degree murder, with lesser charges for five other officers. There have been no indictments in the earlier cases. These follow other recent incidents and controversies, including an April 2014 finding by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), following a two-year investigation, that the Albuquerque, N.M., police department “engages in a pattern or practice of use of excessive...
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...This report is showing light to the communities’ response to police brutality particularly in the black communities and also their encounters with police officers. Police brutality is physical violence and great cruelty demonstrated by a police officer. Police brutality and misconduct have existed for many decades and it even has been broadcasted in news stories over America, but nothing has changed. It has happened predominantly to African Americans in lower-income states. Police officers are given slaps on the wrist for taking a life or injuring an innocent person. This will show how police brutality has affected black communities and how African American communities’ have responded to it with movements and protest, and how they try to overcome...
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...Megan LiBritz Extra Credit Police abuse remains one of the most serious human rights violations in the United States. Over the past decade, police have acted out in ways that have made people wonder “are our officers of the law really doing their job?” Unjustified shootings, severe beatings, fatal choking’s, and rough treatment have all contributed to the ever-present problem of police brutality in America. One of the major social problems that became more prevalent this year in the U.S. is police brutality. Widespread police brutality also exists in many countries, even those that prosecute it. Police brutality is the deliberate use of excessive force, usually physical, carried out during law enforcement activities with the population. This type of behavior also includes verbal attacks and psychological intimidation by a police officer. Police brutality has existed since the era of slavery but it seems these days, it is getting worse. There have been hundreds of cases of police brutality and the media isn’t shy to expose the stories. Such excessive force by police is particularly disturbing given its disproportionate impact on people of color. This then leads society to blame police brutality merely on racism. One contributing factor has become extremely evident since the 1960’s, that factor is race. Police have subjected minorities to apparently discriminatory treatment and have physically abused minorities while using racial slurs. The most notable racial profiling occurs...
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...Recently, a video was released to the public of a South Carolina police officer using excessive force on a black, female high-school student. Another officer putting his career on the line by using excessive force in an incident that is really minor---a student refusing to put their cellphone away! While reading a book on police brutality and its opposing views, it referenced statements by teenagers and adults who claimed to have despair when around the police. Due to crimes happening around them, people who have had police encounters state they feel police unfairly put them under the category of being associated to crime, even when that is not the case. Teens are arguing that when they encounter police officers, they are being treated unfairly...
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...Business Law Term Paper Police Brutality in US – Abuse of Power 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Police are always said to be a law enforcement officer. They are legally allowed to use legitimate force when necessary to make an arrest, keep the peace and maintain order. However, when the force is used excessively or beyond which is necessary, police brutality occurs. Brutality can be in a number of ways, mostly likely will be physical; pain holds, batons, pepper spray, tasters and guns. In US, police brutality has always been a serious problem which those police officers usually rationalize their behavior by claiming that they maintaining the social order. Let me refer to one of the cases in US. In January 1997, Kurt DeSilva, 34, was shot and killed by a Pawtucket, Rhode Island police officer after a low-speed car chase. DeSilva, who was unarmed, was suspected of driving a stolen car.() In this case, shooting is obviously an excessive force used to stop a low-speed driving suspect. In fact, there are lots of such cases in US. From January 2010 to December 2010, there were 4,861 unique reports of police misconduct recorded which involved 6,613 sworn law enforcement officers and 6,826 alleged victims. () In those 6,613 officers involved, 23,8% of them were involved in excessive force reports, which is the most prominent type among the misconducts.() This paper aims to discuss the inadequacy of the current law in US to prohibit police brutality and give suggestions to improve...
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...Recent months have seen a surge in allegations of police brutality and excessive use of force when making arrests. In fact, some allegations have seen the police being accused of committing murder against civilians. Policemen, mostly whites, have been alleged to have been involved in the killings of civilians mostly from the African American race. The United States has grown to be polarized on the basis of race. In a bid to enhance accountability in the face of such serious accusations, the American media has been active in covering crime scenes mostly involving the police and civilians. From an analytical point of view, media coverage of crime scene, as unethical as it may seem, has been able to enhance professionalism that crime scene operations are conducted with. Through the rigorous news coverage expeditions that media houses and other private practitioners have perfected in recent months, the evil of police brutality has been exposed to the public. The kind of police brutality that has been reported and, in most instances recorded, by media houses and other media platforms brings to the fore the question of whether crime scene operations in the United States are conducted in adherence to the ethical code of conduct set for such operations. In a span of just about six months, video recordings of real life crime scene operations conducted by the police have indicated the unprofessionalism that lies within the American police force. This prompts the contentious question...
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