Police brutality is the use of excessive force by officers against civilians. The word “excessive” meaning more than is actually necessary. In today’s society police brutality has almost become an every month occurrence. It seems as if every month there is a different case of police brutality being flashed across our television screens. Police Brutality is very detrimental in our society today because it start riots, upset citizens, and implement fear of future incidents in the hearts of civilians. Just the thought of police brutality saddens citizens all across the country. There has been many cases where officers who were accused of committing police brutality have been pardoned by the judge. Majority of those incidents resulted in citizens …show more content…
The most noted and publicized form of police brutality is the physical form. Police officers excessively use their batons, tear gas, and guns to intimidate civilians. Police brutality can also be viewed in other forms such as: verbal and sexual abuse, racial profiling, and false arrests. People may be a bit confused about the meaning of “excessive force.” Excessive force by police officers can be described as an unreasonable amount of energy exerted by officers onto complying citizens by either slamming heads on the concrete, stomping someone out, or wrongfully beating a person with the baton. “Surveys in recent years with minority groups — Latinos and African-Americans, in particular — suggest that confidence in law enforcement is relatively low, and large portions of these communities believe police are likely to use excessive force on suspects.” (JOURNALIST’S RESOURCE) Police officers are appointed to serve and protect the people. However, how can they protect the people when they are killing those people that are entrusting them to protect them? “The use of lethal force by law enforcement officers raises serious human rights concerns, including in regard to the right to life, the right to security of the person, the right to freedom from discrimination and the right to equal protection of the law.” (AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL) In most cases the victims of police brutality are mainly citizens of minorities. This raises concerns of racial targeting by law enforcement officials. It is rarely