Police Brutality Essays

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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Essay On Police Brutality
Police brutality is a repetitive issue throughout American history needing to be fixed. Not only is
that playing a role into how the public perceives them but the media as well has a vast impact on
how the public perceives them. What the media is doing to the image of the police force is
negatively impacting their image. Example of this are seen time and time again to where the media
only talks about the negative things that the police force does rather the positive. If the general public
is constantly being told all of the negative things that the police force does, then the public will see
them as a negative influence. To fix this the media would need to better understand the facts first
before publishing. Next rather than publishing only the...show more content...
"Police need to learn more than logistics of policing but also the broader significance of their role
in society," (Swart). The biggest impact on how others perceive others is by personal interactions.
So if a police officer gives off a negative impression one is likely to remember that interaction for a
long time. The interaction itself plays a huge role on their general image of the public. The police
force as a whole needs better training on what their role is for the community. "When you're
training's all about shooting, handcuffing, the physical part – and not about the verbal part – it can
create an imbalance," (Swart). The way that the public is treated by police officers at times is
unacceptable. With getting the responsibility of having a badge and gun can negatively impact a
person, that responsibility could get to someone's head and one could abuse that power. "If he hasn't
been trained in that yet, he's going to go straight to something he does know: handcuffing, defensive
skills, shooting," (Swart). This alone could be the negative impact on how an officer is being

Police Brutality Police brutality is something that has been around for decades, and the problem is
that it is not as blatant as it was starting as early as the 1800s. The different perceptions from
different stereotypes have different people with premeditated assumptions of each stereotype being
true. Social media has only made everything worse; all the pre–consumed thoughts are placed with
no one knowing the actual case of a white police officer killing a black adolescence male. The
problem within society has everyone disengaged from a possible major issue. The sociological
factors play a huge role when it comes to racism and police brutality in the 21st century. Each aspect
of this issue has a certain amount of significance considering that the history of police brutality and
racism has changed overtime. The most recent information of police brutality has been presented in
the media. This research examines the sociological and psychological ways in...show more content...
Police testimonial deception is the use of false or misrepresenting statements or intentional
omissions of fact by the police in writing or in speech, to further an arrest, or the seizure of
evidence or a criminal prosecution (McDonald, 200). This is a way in which police officers use
to get an individual arrested when there is not enough evidence to be proven guilty. There are
many psychological tactics used by police officers when in a difficult situation. When police do
certain things to trick system it makes it even harder for future officers. Later after the OJ Simpson
case, commission found the police regularly using deceptive testimonies in pursuit of arrests and
convictions. Officers would lie in court about how evidence was obtained to insure the conviction
of one, while others would act as careful as possible because legal authority was not present and
legal agencies are thought to be

Argumentative Essay On Police Power
The police play a vital role in today's justice system; they are the heroes that catch armed banked
robbers, stop kidnappings, and catch murderers that terrorize communities: or at least that is how
they are portrayed. While police activities are much more mundane than the public may think,
police are given total authority over the public to keep the streets safe. In Steven Lukes' article,
power, he gives a general definition of power as "the capacity to bring about outcomes" (Lukes 59),
but that in actuality, a single definition for "power" is very controversial. Lukes gives synonyms
such as "authority, influence, coercion, force, violence, manipulation, and strength" (Lukes 59), but
chooses his words carefully to reveal the many...show more content...
Results from this study suggest that when people, such as police officers, are given the authority to
use whatever force deemed necessary by an authority such as the police department, they feel
justified using their "power" however they feel. David Lester conducted a study in which he found
police officers attain an "expectation of harm" through their schooling at police academies (Lester
186). Lester found "shifts in...attitudes during both academy training and the period of working"
(Lester 186) to officers being less willing to admit to the existence of police brutality. It seems that
the departments do not see the occurrences as brutal, but as self–defense.
The most famous case of police brutality occurred on the night of March 3rd, 1991, when Rodney
King was pulled over by LAPD officers. A video taken of the encounter shows King being
savagely beaten by metal batons long after being subdued. The LAPD responded, saying the
department had "inadequate supervisory and management attention", noting that "of approximately
1,800 officers against whom an allegation of excessive force or improper tactics was made from
1986 to 1990, more than 1,400 had only one or two allegations. But 183 officers had four or more
allegations. Forty–four had six or more, 16 had eight or more, and one had 16 such allegations"
(West Valley College). Clearly, a vast majority of police officers abuse their power. But clearly this is
not on an individual level;

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
Forty individual with varies education level, and job occupations were recruited from varies
location. Some were old acquaintances; others were family members, friends, and co–workers. The
entire group of contributor attended high school, but not all graduate.
Only six of the participants have obtained any college credits. The entire group had some experience
with dealing with police officer some positive, others negative. Four of the participant's ether had
family members that were in law enforcements, wanted to be part of law enforcement, or new a
family member that was trying to get into law enforcement.
Those with a higher degree then an associate degree were not included in this experiment; nether
were those who never attended high school.
The materials that were used are as followed, computer, Internet, questioner, and news article. The
instruction were as followed all forty individual had to first write down what they thought of law
enforcements, and their opinion on the militarization of police departments in the United States. All
they had to use was their own opinion based on experience with police officer, what they have heard,
and what knowledge they might...show more content...
The questioner that was later given to each individual had only five yes or no questions. There
was no correct or wrong answer it all was based on their own opinion with some knowledge from
the research that they had done before the questioner. The reason for the questioner was only to
compare later on with what they had written down before they had done any research on the topic.
Three videos were mandatory for them to watch all the other research that they did was independent,
but had to come from a news

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

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
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

Police Brutality Report
Because of police brutality, communities won't trust the police anymore. The society needs to find a
solution to police brutality. Police officers should have the goal of building trust and forming a
relationship with communities and citizens especially with African Americans. I think that an
effective solution like psychological evaluation would help monitor cops who shows signs of mental
disturbance that might conflict with their work. Additionally, when the police are writing their
report paper about an incident that happened, the police should try not to cover up the incident but
rather write what really happened. Another effective solution is that, the police officer should be
able to make good decision. For example the police should

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

A Report On Police Brutality
Student Name
Instructor
Date
Course
Police Brutality
There is various forms of human rights violation currently in the United States, however; Police
abuse remains the most serious of them all. Police brutality is, therefore, the use of excessive
force or even unnecessary force by the police while they are dealing with civilians. People are left
wondering if the police are doing the jobs they were appointed to do under the law. They act in ways
such as the use of guns and pepper sprays to intimidate civilians, racial profiling, false arrests, severe
beatings, unjustified shootings, police corruption and even sexual abuse among others (King). The
truth of the matter is that such incidents usually go un–noticed and worse of unreported. Police
brutality is an issue of contention given that they have the authority to apply force when necessary.
Hence, when do we say that police brutality has occurred, what causes it and how do we end it.
Currently, there is inadequate report statics of police brutality incidents or complaints. The reason
being that there is no requirement that states that any of the law enforcement agencies must report
such statistics. Hence, all the data that is presented is based on the ones reported voluntarily. In fact,
the federal bureau of investigation stated that they cannot handle such cases when there is no
reliable information that they can analyze (Dokoupil). Police brutality remains to be high in areas
where there is a high prevalence of criminal

Police Brutality Argumentative Essay
In 2015 an American citizen was killed every 8 hours at the hands of the police; the very people that
are responsible for preventing and stopping crime. Most of these victims are targeted for being
anything other than white as police believe that unarmed minorities are dangerous no matter the
situation. That's why police brutality has led to the increased deaths of African–Americans,
Native–Americans, Hispanics, and the LGBT community based only on the color of their skin or
self–identification. This excessive force by the U.S. police needs to be punished to further prevent
the casualties of more people.
Usually, people who commit homicide are convicted and sentenced to many years of incarceration
but almost all police that has murdered are never found guilty. For example, Darren Wilson, a
28–year–old white police officer, killed Michael Brown, a black 18–year–old, after shooting at least
10 rounds at him. Just imagine losing your child just two days before their first day of college over
cigarillos. Then a mere three months later Wilson was found not guilty even with the amount of
compelling evidence against him proving that police have always, subjected minorities to apparently
discriminatory treatment and have physically abused minorities while using racial epithets(Collins,
Cynthia 2). Even though Michael deserved some punishment Wilson had no right to take it to the
extreme and shoot a...show more content...
The violence that some officers exude to minorities should only be used in extreme, desperate
situations not when a teen steals some cigars or is walking home with a hood on. Besides showing
an interest in racial justice and issues of race helps to break down barriers, exposed as false
perceived misunderstandings, and shed light on commonly held perceptions of a race–infused

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

The Conflict Of Police Brutality Essay
We, as humans, come into conflict on a daily basis at all times of the day. We encounter conflict on
all levels in our home lives, social lives, entertainment and careers. Conflict is also brought to our
attention second and third handedly through word of mouth and the mass media and the internet.
Personally, locally, nationally, and globally conflict and problems surround us. Instead of
addressing personalized conflicts, I would like to attempt to provide critical analysis on a crucial
social issue facing the United States. This issue is police brutality, especially against minority,
particularly black Americans. I will attempt to do this with the root cause tool of critical analysis and
problem solving. The conflict of police brutality has made national and international news. It has
also sparked a new social movement. While police brutality is not limited to minorities, the rate that
it used against African American individuals is alarming. To further the problem, no perpetrator has
been brought to justice and the victims and their families are left behind or blamed. I will be using
Root Cause Analysis model of critical analysis. This strategy consists of five steps. They include:
Define the Problem
Collect Data
Identify Possible Casual Factors
Identify the Root Cause(s)
Recommend and Implement Solutions
This unit's readings on

Thesis Statement Of Police Brutality
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION/STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Excessive force and police
brutality have become common terms for anyone keeping up with today's current events. In 2014,
the media covered numerous cases of excessive force that resulted in the deaths of several people of
color (Nelson & Staff, 2014). The most widely covered cases by the media in 2014 were of Michael
Brown, an 18–year–old black male shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson,
Missouri; and Eric Garner, a 43–year–old black male in Staten Island, New York who was put into a
choke by police officer Daniel Pantaleo until he lost consciousness and stopped breathing (Nelson &
Staff, 2014). These cases brought attention to the seriousness of police brutality and the curiosity of
how often it occurs (Brown, 2015).
The media coverage of excessive force has caused outrage among citizens across the nation. The
cases in Ferguson and New York have stirred up major debates about excessive police force and
the meaning of justice for all within our judicial system. Protests and riots have ensued in cities
across the nation and the cases are affecting us all, whether it is protesters blocking major
highways during rush hour, or citizens burning down local businesses out of anger and frustration.
The issue of excessive force needs to be addressed and the main question people want answered is,
what causes police to use excessive force? Research has been conducted on variables such as the
race of police

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 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

Police Brutality Essays

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