Police Brutality: Excessive Force and Lack of Accountability

Police Brutality Essay
Police brutality stems from the biased injustice the American police force provides their
communities with. According to Gregory Fritz Umbach, "Police brutality is the use of any force
exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose (Umbach 386)." This
unreasonable force can be related to the biased views of many police officers in the form of racial
profiling and can lead to the harm, and in some case, the unnecessary murder of citizens. Although
there are many cases in which racial prejudice has no impact on the police encounter, there are some
cases that racial prejudice and police interactions are very closely interrelated.
Racial profiling is commonly a representation of bias in the police force as it accurately...show more
content...
There have been cases where a police officer has attacked a person without any provocation or an
obviously apparent reason other than that their encounter was justified based on suspicion.
However, there are cases in which officers use excessive force even when there is no harm present.
For example, a women charged with driving under the influence in Skokie, a Chicago suburb, was
shoved head first into a concrete bench without any reason. The woman, Cassandra Feuerstein, had
broken several bones in her face and was bleeding profusely (Isaacs). To help combat police brutality
as well as to limit the amount of police force, police officers in cities such as Oakland, California
as well as Rialto, California and a few other cities are required to wear a camera and to record all
arrests. Not only does it help reduce the use of force police officers use in these cities, but it also
helps reduce the amount of complaints issued against police officers by the citizens of the cities.
In an article posted by the New York Times which was written by Ian Lovett about the use of body
mounted cameras in Rialto "In the first year after the cameras were introduced... the number of
complaints filed against officers fell by 88 percent compared with the previous 12 months. Use of
force by officers fell by almost 60 percent over the same period
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In your essay, the topic you're joining is about police brutality . I can tell because in your
introduction when you have mentioned of world issue of police brutality and the abusement of
power you seen on social media as well news. The thesis you offer as an answer to this issue at first
by addressing the issue of continuation of police brutality which are seen on social media and other
outlets and how citizens are frighten and brutalized. By the end of the essay, we come to an
understanding that there is a lack of training to protect citizens, racial profile,excessive force on the
minorities as well in the minority communities these reasons are that police officers is biased and
use unreasonable act .
The examples I see is incidents of police use excessive force on the...show more content...
I also saw an interesting textual evidence you use is a former police officer named Derrick Jacobs
revealed he had more training to become a barber than a police and entry level officer in Carolina
merely spend close to 360 hours to just become a licensed manicurist .
The information and sources you use are clear for us to understand as readers. You provided good
textual evidence on your topic. But, there are some that are not clear like for paragraph three it
seem unclear for me because there no title as well no publisher/author name of the huffington
post, twitter reports,and as well for paragraph four. Moreover, a suggestion be specific like include
name of article in the sources you use instead of you saiding in paragraph six "Earlier before I read
this article (wong, Kathleen). I believe if you add those and be a little specific it be good. But then
again this is very first rough draft it's common and so far I see you paper being

Police Brutality
James Regas December 15, 1996
Outline
Thesis: But, because some officers use these extreme measures when it is not needed, police
brutality should be addressed.
I. Police Brutality A. Racism as a cause
II. Police Brutality is not a problem A. Quotes from authorities B. Statistics of Declining Brutality
III. Stopping Police Brutality A. Police Stopping themselves B. Public Stopping Police
IV. Conclusion A. Reword Thesis
Police work is dangerous. Sometimes police put in situations that excessive force is needed. But,
because some officers use...show more content...
72)
Executive Director of Police Misconduct Lawyers Referral Service Karol Heppe commented,
"Brutality against minorities is a daily occurrence in Los Angeles," she says. "The difference this
time is someone videotaped it (C.C. 36).
Another shocking incident of police brutality occurred in Reynoldsberg, Ohio. A group of offices
named themselves "S.N.A.T." squad. This acronym stood for "Special Nigger Arrest Team" and they
made it a point to harass African Americans whenever.
"The number of people killed by police has gone down from the middle 1970's to the middle 1980's
in major cities," says Patrick V. Murphy, former head of police commissions in Detroit, New York,
and Washington, D.C. (C.C. 17).
Also, in Kansas City, Missouri, a police department there has 1,110 officers. Amazingly, the only
received approximately 108 complaints from the public about those 1,100 officers.
Adding to the belief that police brutality isn't a very big problem, most legal authorities and
officials agree that the use of excessive force by police officers is going down. In fact, they say that
they see brutality declining from twenty years ago (C.C. 57).

Police brutality is defined as involving the unnecessary and unjustified use of force be that either
physical or verbal. Gerald Williams, president of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF)
commented, "Let me assure you we are committed to a professional level of policing with an
emphasis on

Essay about Police Brutality
Police brutality remains one of the most serious and divisive human rights violations in the United
States. The excessive use of force by police officers persists because of overwhelming barriers to
accountability. This fact makes it possible for officers who commit human rights violations to
escape due punishment and often to repeat their offenses. Police or public officials greet each new
report of brutality with denials or explain that the act was an aberration, while the administrative and
criminal systems that should deter these abuses by holding officers accountable instead virtually
guarantee them impunity (Williams 45). Investigations find that police brutality is persistent in all
cities, and the systems set up to deal with...show more content...
Where data does exist, there is no evidence that police administrators or, prosecutors utilize available
information in a way to deter abuse. Another commonality in recent years is recognition, in most
cities, about what needs to be done to fix troubled departments. However, this encouraging
development is coupled with an official unwillingness to deal seriously with officers who commit
abuses until high profile cases expose long–standing negligence or tolerance of brutality (Burris 26).
One recent, positive development has been the federal "pattern or practice" civil investigations, and
subsequent agreements, initiated by the U.S. Justice Department.
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Steubenville, Ohio, the Justice Department's Civil
Rights Division has examined shortcomings in accountability for misconduct in those cities' police
departments; the cities agreed to implement reforms to end volatile practices rather than risk the
Justice Department taking a case to court for injunctive action (ibid 67). The reforms proposed by
the Justice Department were similar to those long advocated by community activists and civil rights
groups. This includes better use–of–force training and policies, stronger reporting mechanisms,
creation of early warning systems to identify current officers at risk of engaging in abuse, and
improved disciplinary procedures. "Problem" officers would receive special monitoring, training and
counseling to counter the

Police Brutality
Police Brutality is Prevalent
Background Information
Over the recent years, police have been one of the organizations to be associated with the largest
cases of misconduct. Police brutality can be termed as the process of misuse and abuse of authority
by the police. The rising cases of police brutality are causing more harm to the public, compared to
the actions perpetrated by real criminals. Although police claim that it's sometimes necessary to curb
crime, the process is illegal and police officers should be charged just like any other criminal
offender. It should be the responsibility of the justice system to establish effective strategies to deal
with the rising illegal activities in order to restore public trust in the law...show more content...
Police officers in a crime prone region and in areas with extreme rowdy criminal behavior may
develop some degree of dislike for the law breakers and their approach to dealing with the criminals
may be brutal. In such situations, the police officers enforcing law and order act based on their
emotions rather than their professional expectations.
The gradual dislike leads the police officers to always contemplate on ending the rising crime and
in the end; they find themselves using excessive force, even in situations where force was not
needed. The SWAT team is one response unit that is trained and psychologically prepared to deal
with tough and resisting criminals. In addition, the response team is issued with specific orders to
use excessive force when necessary; especially if they note that, the criminals are dangerous and may
harm others.
The above reasons police have also been known to use excessive force is because they think that
they are above the law. Due to the power vested in the police to deal with all types of crimes and to
carry weapons, they soon develop the notion that they are above the law and end up misusing their
powers instead of protecting the public.
In addition to the feeling of being above the law, there are no practical and effective internal
accountability mechanisms to regulate the excessive use of force by the police officers. Many
police officers take advantage of

Essay On Police Brutality
Police brutality is the lavish physical assault or verbal assault during police procedures which can
involve interrogating or apprehending a suspect. Police brutality originated from the labor worker
strikes in the 1800's through the 1900's. The violent brutal act of these officers usually formed
around the lower socioeconomic class. Since then police brutality has hit an all–time high in the 21st
century. In New York alone there has been reportedly over 72police brutality reports some reports
even ended in the deaf of a citizen. There's been claim of police officers violently choking citizens
at traffics stops and beating citizen up in public. There's been new technology such as body cameras
which are used by most police but not all....show more content...
Next step is to showing more support in bringing together communities, researchers, policymaker,
and law enforcement systems. The third step is to learning about structural racism and white
supremacy and its operation system within the law enforcement system. Evaluating is the next
step, Alang believes that regardless of our field of work we should evaluate how policies laws,
requirements, guidelines and more has a negative consequence for people of color. She also states
in this step that we should "evaluate whether they disproportionately benefit white people and
think of ways to level the playing field." Next step is step five, which is supporting criminal
justice reforms, demilitarization of police, decriminalization of behaviors such as loitering and
minor traffic violations as well as ending stop and frisk. Step six is supporting such as black lives
matter or other movements that show awareness to police brutality and the last step is to remember
the names of those who were killed and or brutally hurt by police officers.
Alang research article and views are very helpful to put a halt to the heinous and brutal acts
caused by police officers but we believe that the officers should undergo a series of psychological
testing to prove they are racist or homophobic or to prove that they don't have an inch discrimination
in their blood. My group proposal will help point out the racist and stop

Police brutality Essay
There is a widespread and persistent problem of police brutality across the United States. Thousands
of individual complaints about police abuse are reported each year and local authorities pay out
millions of dollars to victims in damages after lawsuits. Police officers have beaten and shot
unresisting suspects; they have misused batons, chemical sprays, and electro–shock weapons; they
have injured or killed people by placing them in dangerous restraint holds.
This is the first paragraph of an unprecedented and historic report, USA: Rights for All, issued by
Amnesty International (AI) on October 6, 1998. Simultaneously, the organization announced the
theme of its U.S. education campaign: "Human rights aren't just a foreign affair."...show more
content...
must be made more accountable for their actions by the establishment of effective monitoring
mechanisms. National, state, and local police authorities should ensure that police brutality and
excessive force are not tolerated.
Despite reform programs in several major U.S. police departments, the report documents that
authorities still fail to deal effectively with police officers who have committed abuses. The
disciplinary sanctions imposed on officers found guilty of brutality are frequently inadequate, and
officers are rarely prosecuted for using excessive force. The "code of silence" still commands
widespread loyalty, contributing to a climate of impunity.
The report reminds us that standards of conduct for law enforcement officials are set out under the
United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the United Nations Basic
Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms. These require, among other things, that law enforcement
officers use force only as a last resort and that the amount of force be proportionate to the threat
encountered and designed to minimize damage and injury.
Predictably, most complaints of police brutality involve excessive physical force by patrol officers
during the course of arrests, searches, traffic stops, the issuing of warrants, and street incidents.
Common forms of ill–treatment are repeated kicks, punches, or blows with batons or other
weapons––sometimes after a suspect has already been restrained

Essay on Police Brutality
Throughout history, efforts to police society have been flawed by brutality in one way or another.
Police Brutality exists in many countries and is only one of several forms of police misconduct.
Abuse by law enforcement officers in the United States is one of the most serious human rights
violations in the country. Police officers have engaged in unjustified shootings, severe beatings, fatal
chokings, and unnecessarily rough treatment. The history of police brutality is cyclical, going
through phases of violence, corruption, and reform. Police brutality is the excessive use of physical
force, assault, verbal attacks, and threats by police officers and other law enforcement officers. The
targets of the violence are usually the poor, the...show more content...
The Constitution is designed to ensure that no one individual or agency can become powerful
enough to usurp the rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution. The Fourth
Amendment ensures that we each have the right to be secure in our persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable search and seizures. Under the Eighth Amendment, even if a person
is a convicted incarcerated prisoner, he has the right to be free from cruel and unusual
punishment. The Fourteenth Amendment allows us all not to be deprived of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law. The police are in place to ensure us these rights and protect
harm to individuals or to society. The case of police brutality against Abner Louima is one of the
worst in history. Louima is a Haitian immigrant who was assaulted and brutalized by New York
City police officers after being arrested outside of a Brooklyn night club in 1997. That night,
Louima visited a popular night club after work. Late in the night he and several men interceded in a
fight between two women. The police were called and several officers from the 70th Precinct were
dispatched to the scene. Outside of the club, there was a confrontation between police officers,
patrons, and bystanders involved in the scuffle. For reasons that remain unclear, Officer Justin Volpe
thought he was "sucker–punched" by Louima and arrested him on charges

Police Brutality
Police Brutality Not only has Police Brutality exposed hidden racism, but it has begun to cause
separation in our nation. All of these Police Brutality cases such as Alton Sterling, Mike Brown, and
Trayvon Martin just to name a few, all have happened within the last 3 years, and they were all
documented on camera, exposing the reality to millions around the world. The conflict didn't stop at
the shootings though, many big–name Athletes stood up for the altercations and asked for attention.
I am going to go over each individual shooting, the athletes that stood up for them, and political
leaders that spoke on it. Beginning with Alton Sterling, the video depicts the man immediately being
hit and thrown to the ground, but there is a foreshadowing story to this. Apparently, a witness said
the police were called because Mr. Sterling was selling CD's outside, and the gas station owner saw
it as loitering. Following this, the recorded confrontation happened where the police held him down
and shot him. Not only was this an unarmed man, but this was an African–American man, and this
police vs black conflict has been very apparent as of late. Now for Mr. Sterling, may athletes took
to twitter, for example, NBA player Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) tweeted: "Innocent lives man..
No restart button on life. People are taking lives like they're playing a video game.. HAS TO
STOP! #AltonSterling" and Colin Kaepernick (@kaepernick7) followed up on Instagram, "This is
what

Police Brutality
When one thinks of police misconduct many not too distant stories might go through our heads.
Most adults will remember how they felt when they saw the brutal beating of Rodney King on their
local news station; or the outrage they experienced when they heard that the evidence in the OJ
Simpson trial had been tampered with. But thanks to new guidelines, procedures and even civilian
groups who now "police" the police, instances of police misconduct may soon start seeing a decline.
In the past police misconduct was loosely defined, if at all. But with recent cases receiving so much
news coverage legal definitions have been worked out. The term "police deviance" includes brutality,
...show more content...
The officers were investigating a burglary when they happened upon the multi–millionaire and Notre
Dame graduate. An investigation by the family's attorney revealed that DuBose cooperated with
the officers' investigation until they began to "harass and intimidate" him (Amnesty
International 1999a). The officers claimed that DuBose charged at them with a pair of nunchakus
sticks, a martial arts weapon that he allegedly wrestled away from one of them. Several onlookers
said DuBose was shot in the back (Perry A3). To add insult to injury after shooting DuBose the
officers stood over his body for more than ten minutes before calling an ambulance (Amnesty
International 1999c). An autopsy report revealed that DuBose was shot twelve times, six in the
back (Perry A3). When asked to explain how a young man of DuBose's stature could end up being
killed in this manner San Diego's police chief called it an isolated incident––an aberration (Jeffries,
2001)
Ms.Cheng, a member of the Oct 22 Coalition say that as of 1990 more than 2000 deaths have
resulted because of police brutality. In more than 30 cases suspects have been shot, killed or injured
by NYC police officers in questionable circumstances in recent years. There are serious doubts
about whether the suspects had

Essay on Police Brutality
Police Brutality
Government policies reflect choices made among conflicting values and many different people,
groups, and institutions influence policy decisions. Police brutality is influenced by many, such as
our American political ideals of civil rights and liberties, the political process in terms of the media
and our political institutions, one which the courts.
CIVIL RIGHTS:Whats are out civil rights and liberties relating to the public policy issue of police
brutality? Our civil rights and liberties are embedded in our constitution and state religion, freedom
of speech, the rights to assemble peacefully and to petition the government, the right to bear arms,
freedom of the press, the rights of the criminally accused,...show more content...
Many people in the minority community believe that white police officers are far more responsible
for abusive conduct toward minorities than any other group(2). The authors of Beyond the Rodney
King Story conclude that " Police abuse in America largely consists of white officers abusing
minority citizens. Rickie Clark of the National
Black Police Association, testified that his organization has yet to receive a complaint from a
white person claiming mistreatment by a black officer". Carol Heppe of Police Watch testified
that the "federal government has a duty to compile statistics on state prosecutions of the police
and to conduct studies of police abuse in its capacity as guranteed of the civil and human rights
of all U.S citizens"(4). Though our civil liberties and rights are supposed to be guaranteed, it
clearly seems as if they are deeply violated when it comes to police brutality, especially against
minorities. Ronald Hampton, a retired D.C. police officer and executive director of the National
Black Police Association says "Politicians and police have said that for us to deal with this
effectively you almost have to be willing to give up some of your rights and privileges"(5). Though
we have rights, the police seem to have more. "–Police men have the right to stop one when one is
driving a car and ask to see ones license and registration. –Police men have the right to briefly ask
one questions on the

Police Brutality: Excessive Force and Lack of Accountability

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