...Being an African American sparks many emotions during trials and tribulations like these. Should I feel unsafe when a white officer approaches my car? Should I be willing to ask for help if I need it or will I not receive what I'm asking for? Why aren't we receiving the help we are asking for? Police Brutality is a very serious thing and we do need help. We need to make a change. Susan Abram raised my eyebrows to all these questions. She did an amazing job getting me to open my eyes as a reader and ask myself the serious questions. I couldn't agree more, we DO need help. Police brutality is a major problem. We need...
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...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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...Are police officers allowed to use force when arresting or restraining an individual? What is the reason behind police officers using extreme and lethal force? Why are officers not held accountable for the actions they make? Will there ever be a reasonable answer for using police brutality? How can one define police brutality and the effect it has on the African American community? Why are African Americans receiving the wrong end of the stick in many situations? Police brutality is becoming a frequent topic of discussion and the possible solution are better training and communication skills developed. Police brutality is the process of exerting excessive force, and it can be determined as the abuse from higher authority. The brutality from...
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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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...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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...Excessive use of force has always been an issue among various law enforcements agencies. It is a widely debated phenomena and with recent events appearing on the media with stories of deaths of apprehended suspects to be thoroughly studied and researched. What is going on in with these apprehensions that are being resulted in deaths? Is this a racial problem or an officer problem? What lies behind The Blue Wall of Silence? It is this unwritten rule that has led to officers who make a habit of committing crimes and their partners conceal their misconduct. What is it about police brutality that is being seen more now than it did before. During my research I discovered that among the many cases seen today in the media are overblown. There are...
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...The Effort in Ending Police Brutality In 2015 alone nearly 1,000 lives were taken by police officers in the US. Many are outraged by the excessive force taken by officers who vowed to keep the citizens of our nation safe. When police officers are placed in danger they use their extensive training to handle perpetrators to the best of their ability, but what happens when a police officer uses that training improperly and cannot effectively justify themselves? In an effort to hold those accountable for the violence attributed to police brutality, the public should have access to evaluate police body camera footage. With a large number of deaths claimed to be an act of racism, body cameras must be shown to the public in order to find those responsible...
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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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...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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...Cody Braud Section 50 English 2000 22 April 2015 Police Brutality: Who’s To Blame? I. Introduction It’s a routine traffic stop, and the police officer is slowly approaching your car. You are asked to step out of the car to speak with the officer, but you are disturbed by the officer’s tone. The two of you begin to talk, and the officer begins to accuse you of violations you think you did not commit. Talking turns into arguing, and arguing turns into something much worse. Now you find yourself in handcuffs, and pinned to the cold, blue hood of the officer’s car even though you are now trying to obey every order. The officer does not care and begins to assault you. Moments later you are lying on the ground defenseless while the officer is calling for back up, and your worse nightmare has come true. Now what if I told you that the scenario you have read could have been avoided? That same officer had complaints filed against him, but nothing was ever done about it. Approximately 33% of officers are convicted of their crimes that commit police brutality meaning a staggering 67% are let back in the streets (Web). With more officers not being convicted of their crimes, there has been a steady rise in police brutality. This tells society that this behavior amongst the police has been accepted by the by the bureaucratic systems that oversee local law enforcement. Too many people around the country are being mistreated and killed by officers because of their misjudgment or their...
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...After reading the article Political Lies About Police Brutality by the New York Times Editorial Board, I noticed that the article was heavily biased for African Americans and tries to make the point that police officers in the United States, in their quests to promote justice and fulfill their duties, are more likely to bring harm upon black citizens than white citizens. The author attempts to persuade readers in numerous ways that police are more likely to trouble black citizens than white citizens. One way the article accomplishes this is by stating that Gov. Chris Christie, a “desperate presidential candidate who is going nowhere fast”, believes that President Obama is promoting “lawlessness” and brutality against the police by advocating...
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...Police brutality is one of the largest growing incidents¬ in the U.S today. It is a cruel crime That often leads to the killing of someone. At Virginia State University, a survey was given out to test students’ knowledge on police brutality. All of the participants are eighteen years or older, male and female, and there was only 1 out of 12 of the students who did not know what police brutality was. Key terms: Police Brutality, Police, Police Conduct Research Broad Topic: Police Brutality Narrow Topic: Police Brutality against People of color Research question: What is the opinion of Virginia State University students towards police brutality? Hypothesis: Males of color are more likely to witness or be victims of police brutality than any...
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...are many positive and negative aspects within criminal justice. The focus of this paper will be on how violence within the walls of prisons has gotten out of hand, especially in the hands of the officers behind the badge. There have been lots cases where police officers misuse their power and authority, some more extreme than others. The power given to police officers, correctional officers, and even people in authoritative positions, gives them the impression that they can do what they please because they are above the law. This happens way too often and can cause a lot of issues within the justice system. A psychology professor from Yale University, Stanley Milgram conducted a study that demonstrated the power that is given to a person and how they decide to use it (Gross, 22). The study that was conducted by Milgram involved participants placed randomly in two groups of “teachers” and “learners”. Participants were told the experiment was studying memory, but the study was actually proving that violent behavior is an ordinary occurrence in human behavior. Participants in the “teacher” group were given the power of sending an electric shock to the “learners” who were answering questions to do with memory (Gross, 22). This study was falsely given because there was actually no electric shock sent to the “learners”. The experimenters would play a recording of shouts simulating pain of receiving shocks due to answering memory questions wrong. One example in the experiment...
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...A Vile Blue Criminal justice has dealt with police brutality and citizens rights are taken away by the officers whom sworn to serve and protect the public. Officers that take advantage of their power unfortunately have an impact on all cops, including respectable cops. Not all officers are bad, but when you hear and see repulsive actions on the news or paper, it can make someone think twice on how police work is being managed in the line of duty. Officers are given the power to takeaway someone’s freedom or even takeaway someone’s life, and that can be a huge concern when officers are not conducting up to part with the power they’re responsible for. Evolution has been a major role for the criminal justice field; and for many years’ police brutality had a different definition; much of what we see today was ok to do in the past. Learning how the psychological aspect works and, how internal affairs deal with police brutality can help many understand why it occurs. When becoming a police officer they’re many serious of test and physical challenges that need to be completed before being accepted as part of the brother hood. One actual test being one of the most important to decide weather a candidate would be suitable to becoming a police officer is passing the psychological test. Many would think the psychological evaluation is to test a candidate’s sanity, but failing this test does not mean he or she is crazy; but would only prove a career in law enforcement is not suitable for...
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...Excessive or unnecessary use of force when dealing with citizens is what police brutality is defined as(Police Brutality). The term “police brutality” has been used since 1872 when the Chicago Tribune reported the beating of a civilian that was under arrest. There have been countless cases where unarmed African Americans have been shot or physically harmed to the extent where they are killed when the citizen is unarmed. The police force is supposed to make America feel protected and should enforce the nation’s law. Officers should be prime examples for the youth of the nation. Throughout the years it seems police has especially targeted minorities. Citizens are being mistreated because of wrongful assumptions made by police officers. Police...
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