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Police Brutality In Today's Society

Submitted By
Words 1758
Pages 8
Hannah Gann
Professor Kelly Ormsby
English 1020
21 March 2016
Police Brutality The job of a police officer is to serve and protect their community and country, but some don’t see it this way and fail to do their job in an appropriate matter. Some take the law in their own hands and want to enforce punishment where punishment shouldn’t be enforced. These officers use their authority to take advantage of sometimes innocent people to have fun or to just prove a point. Police brutality is a big problem in today’s society which is caused by and contributes too many factors such as racism, incarceration, racial profiling, fear, and lack of training. What is police brutality and how has it become a problem in today’s society? Police Brutality is …show more content…
Research shows that minority groups lack confidence in law enforcement, and many believe that police are likely to use excessive force. Social scientists who have done extensive research on the relationship of racial minorities and law enforcement note that there is a deep sense of mistrust embedded in many communities. (Wihbey, Kille) Blacks and Latinos live in constant fear of being arrested for no reason by white cops. They have to be on their best behavior just to do simple activities throughout the day. Some people suggest that the reason some police officers act the way they do towards black men is fear. They are scared of black men and act in a way that helps them not be so scared. They take away their power before they can use it against them. Police officers that are afraid act in a panic and that’s when “accidents” happen. (Williams) Even though it can be scary for both parties, black men and police officers need to know that they are not always out to get each other. Due to a lack of training, some police officers don’t have the right training to handle certain situations. In John Whibey and Leighton Walter Kille’s article on “Excessive or Reasonable Force by Police”, they cover the subject of how much cops are actually trained to deal with certain situations. They note that “A 2015 report conducted for the Justice Department analyzed 394 incidents involving deadly police …show more content…
Web. 7 Feb. 2016.
Frosch, Dan, and Scott Calvert. "U.S. News: Protest Movement shows its Staying Power --- Black Lives Matter Still Wields Influence a Year After Ferguson, Fueled by Other Police Killings." Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition ed.Aug 10 2015. ProQuest. Web. 7 Feb. 2016 .
Hood, Jeff, Rev. "The Root of Police Brutality Is Fear." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Apr. 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
"Politics 101: Why 'Black Lives Matter' matters -- Racial tension and the 2016 election." UWIRE Text 31 Aug. 2015: 1. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 6 Feb. 2016.
"Stand tall, speak out: Support the Black Lives Matter movement." UWIRE Text 4 Feb. 2016: 1. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 6 Feb. 2016.
Staples, Robert1. "White Power, Black Crime, And Racial Politics." Black Scholar 41.4 (2011): 31-41. Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 25 Mar. 2016.
Wihbey, John, and Leighton W. Kille. "Excessive or Reasonable Force by Police? Research On law Enforcement and Racial Conflict - Journalist's Resource." Journalists Resource N.p., 28 Oct. 2015. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
Williams, Joseph P. "When it Comes to Police Brutality, Fear is also a Factor." U.S.News & World Report 12 2014: 1. ProQuest. Web. 7 Feb. 2016

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