Police brutality
[Name of the Writer]
[Name of the Institution]
Police brutality
Introduction
Police brutality is termed as the excessive or unnecessary use of force by the police while they are dealing with civilians. It would not be wrong to say that police brutality is one of the most recurring issues, taking into account that several movements have made a massive contribution to address this issue in public discourse. There is clear description of police brutality found in different areas of life and different departments of life, such as the photos of German shepherd seen stacking the Civil Right marchers in the 1960. Another illustration is that of police officers who are seen blasting the people who were marching with the fire hoses or the footage of the infamous Rodney King who was beaten in 1991 (Chatillon et al. 2018). The history of police brutality can be traced back to Industrial Revolution in 1870 when the workers who went on strike were harmed physically. Many cases of police brutality can be traced back to the Civil Rights Movement in 1960 in which high power water hoses were used by the officers to knock down the civilians to the ground. Moreover, dogs were used to attack the protesters. Here, it is asserted that the police brutality is not meant to be physical only, as it can be in the form of emotional or psychological torture, much like visualizing all those images of torture and brutality on some kind of social media. It is important to note that there is different version of police brutality such as encompassing hostility, harassment, verbal abuse and intimation along with different forms of mistreatment. The code of conducts draws a clear line between possessing atrocity and using it in legal ways, ensuring that police has no right to be brutal towards the public.
Discussion
Research, news and even human thinking asserts that there is a sparse relationship between the use of force by the police and police violence. Still, there are different actions labelled by general public that infers police brutality in the form of unfair commands, threats and physical force that is used as one of the major component of imposing and practicing that brutality. There is a clear difference that exists between the unfair usage of power and the excessive use of power. Police brutality can be traced back to many historical events taking into account that police brutality has become a perception and an ideology rather than a fact that can be denied by logic (Miller et al. 2019). There are different examples and versions of police brutality that can be seen while skimming the history of laws and order. One of the illustration is, lying to the investigators. It is highlighted that police are seen and recorded tampering in the investigation in terms of the cases such as the case of Mike Brown. The police officer lied to the investigators about the events and the cases that never happened, although truth was revealed but the policeman was suspended for 12 hours only. There are several other examples that shows police brutality such as racial profiling (Miller et al. 2019).
It is highlighted that the law enforcement officers use skin color or race as the basis of suspecting others. Gregson is one of the realistic example of it because he was caught several times targeting men of color along with the issuance of the warrant of arrest against them. Another dimensions of police brutality are the planting of evidence by the officers taking into account the gross misuse of power. This case was evaluated by the use of body camera footage that showed the officer planting a fake evidence because of which the victim had to stay in jail for several days (Miller et al. 2019). Sexual assault and rape cases are one of the major example of police brutality, taking into account that the New York Police was found to have case of a young teenage girl for having marijuana. The woman was taken and was forced to do sexual acts, eventually getting raped. Another version of this brutality is seen in the form of witness tampering, highlighting that the police officer tries to change and create the evidences that were not present before by using threats, coercive measures and bribes (Smith et al. 2019).
Historical background
One of the traces of police brutality can be traced back to “The Great Migration” also termed as an interaction between the African Americans and the White police. The White Americans reacted with great aggression and hostility toward the presence of Blacks and the attitude of the Whites was exacerbated by the ingrained racism stereotyped thinking. Under this hatred, it was assumed that Blacks, if they look different and somewhat not good looking, they should be engaged in all the immoral and unacceptable doing of the society, that paved the way for segregation between the white and blacks. In the year 1950, there were a lot of brutal police departments that had implicitly reconceived their missions, meant for policing African Americans, lamenting the protection of white men against the black men (Miller et al. 2019).
World War II is another incident that limited the code of action of the blacks, forgetting that they have played a central role in the world War II. As blacks moved ahead to assert their liberties and rights, no one listened to them and their requests were negated as quickly as they were received. Taking into account the migration of rural whites to the other cities, the White terrorism organizations such as Ku Klux Klan operated openly in different Southern Cities where the police brutality against African Americans, who were abetted by the political leaders and government along with the public stakeholders such as judges and district attorneys. One of the thought provoking notion is practice of brutality by the African American people against the African American people guided by the actions of white good cops and the underlying ideology to be enacted in the department. There are different dimensions in which brutality can be observed by analyzing the current, and last record of the police using its powers (Smith et al. 2019).
Racial Relationship
The depiction of slavery right from Civil Rights Movement of 1950 and 1960, depicts police brutality where White Americans are seen having a staunch belief that they need to provide racial regulations to the minorities. In the present scenario, it is observed that a lot of white men are looking to control the black people. There are a lot of cases of brutalization, racial bullying and degradation of black men in the form of public display that infers marginalization of this minority group (Miller et al. 2019). Today, legally condoned brutality is derived from the institutionalized racist foundations that are meant to prevent minorities and blacks from any kind of progression in the field of social economics and political framework. A central role is played by the local and federal government laws that are meant to play an active and systematic role in enforcing some social constraint for imposing barriers for minorities (Jennings et al. 2018).
According to Embrick, (2015), there are only two nations or populations who are currently living in the United States, one of them is White privilege and the other is hated and the less valued blacks. This result was authenticated by the Kerner Report depicting results by retrieving data from National Advisory Commission which was recommissioned by President Lyndon B Johnson, it is highlighted that the recent killings of blacks by the officials meant for law enforcement are a clear depiction of the lack of regard for the lives of Black who are living in the United States (Miller et al. 2019). Embrick, (2015) also highlighted that the White Privilege is one of the leading cause of racial inequality in the United States. There are several examples of this practice such as the Watts Riots and Detroit Riots because of which about 1000 people were arrested and more than $100 million worth of property was damaged (Smith et al. 2019).
Over-protected Whites
According to the information collected from social psychologists and practitioners of diversity training, it is highlighted that brutality can be traced back from the idea of “over protected Whites”. United States is a country, that has majority of the white people and they are naturally given supremacy and privilege of living and it diminished the existence of black people (Miller et al. 2019). Some are even the white people themselves who get targeted under the impact of sophisticated Whites. In a nutshell, class difference is one of the major ideas that enforce brutality, which can be in the form of some illogical commands and maltreatment due to lack of social status. Firstly, blacks are targeted because they don’t have enough resources that can help them get a privileged position, also it is their color that push them back in the walk of life (Miller et al. 2019).
Moreover, there are several cases in which whites, who are not good looking or unbale to use any influence behind their back. There are several events, self-narrated by the blacks sharing that they are forced to get their luggage checked and they have to face strict orders in case of any kind of negligence. There are several examples of this situation, such as the shooting of Michael Brown who was an unnamed teen in Missouri and shot by a police man. The death of Alton Sterling is another case which behooves to say that it is proved that there is no sound logic for justification of the extremist attitude that is applied on the colored victims (Jennings et al. 2018). According to the information that is retrieved from PEW Research Centre, it is brought into insight that the minorities are of the view that the race relationship are getting worse with the passage of time. In the past, there were not many resources and options to be brutal with every increase in power, it is highlighted that the races are attacked in different ways. In contrast, white is of the view that the attitude towards the races have increased due to knowledge and positive attitude that is encouraged by the global respondents (Jennings et al. 2018).
According to a researcher named Carter, (2016), it inferred that the unfavorable feelings to the minorities especially black are the product of social attitude, because this brutality is and learned from the society. He also highlighted that race is termed as one of the motivations in some trainings and lessons such as shooting that involves black males and the police officers (Chatillon et al. 2018). According to the CNN report that was published in 2015, the poll results conveyed that when minorities were asked about their notions and believe towards criminal justice system, about 69% of the respondent were a strong believer of the fact that white men are treated in a better way as compared to the black people. On the other hand, about 42% of the people agreed that the whites are treated better than the black people (Jennings et al. 2018).
Excessive use of force
According to Smith (2013), it is inferred that the police is using its authority and power more than they are supposed to do. In the United States, there is a lack of trust between the officials of law enforcement officers who are black because of the perceived belief that the blacks are of less value so they are readily dispensable. There are two dimensions in the use of power, and force. White police officers use excessive powers on the black people, and then these powers are exercised to such an extent that the black people are not even given representation in the department of legal affairs and pollical framework. A lot of blacks are of the view that they are treated with more harshness as compared to the white people in different areas of life such as checking booths, when there is a crime or when they are accused of something that is not allowed by law. Moreover, if the ratio of recruitment is analyzed, it is found that there is more recruitment of white police as compared to the black men. As reported by Smith (2013), it is quoted that the example of Officer Pinheiro who planted fake evidence in order to arrest a man in the case of drug smuggling is one of the clear depictions of this brutality that was practiced on blacks (Smith, 2013). Legal framework is used as one of the ways that is employed to practice the discrimination between two groups, taking into account that when authority is in the hands of dominant people, then it is hard to nip the evil (Chatillon et al. 2018).
Police perceptions
It is asserted that all the aspects forwarded by the police and the restriction employed by them can be accepted if there is an underlying essence of appropriate and justifiable intentions to accomplish peace and harmony. This ideology is connected with the overall perceptions associated with the use of firearms by the policemen, asserting that police is allowed to use firearms to save their life or the life of others but the application is a reverse in present scenario. There are different cases of unnecessary and excessive use of force on the people (Jennings et al. 2018). Every now and then Blacks are shooted and there is no check and balance on their actions because they are guided by the idea that Blacks are the real cause of all misconducts and immoral act in the society. There are numerous video recording of the white policemen hitting and threatening white people just one the basis of hunch without any sound logic (Jennings et al. 2018). It would not be wrong to say that while judging Blacks, evidences are left far behind and the sole evidence driver is their assumptions and the measure of errors that committed by the Blacks. Under the impression of this attitude, there are a lot of Blacks who are detained, shot and stopped at different places for investigation, taking into account that it lays the foundation of a negative image of Blacks in front of others (Jennings et al. 2018).
Stereotyping is one of the major ideology that shapes the perception of police towards brutality. According to Nadjoeski (2015), where it is found that the negative views about the Blacks are a key to negative attitude of the police. It has been proven by the historians that the Blacks have always been treated by brutality harshness and threats. There are different examples such as Walter Scott Case in which the police office shooted an individual out of anger and hatred (Jennings et al. 2018). The most critical point is, the idea of negative perception that helps to formulate a more negative image in the eye of black generation because usually, people are brought with a learned idea that blacks are the cause of all mishaps and immorality. Police use deadly weapons to interrogate those who are found guilty of some crimes and there are a lot of people who died during this interrogation and there is no action from the high authorities. It would not be wrong to say that there is a subconscious connection between criminality and Blacks that has a major impact on the way law enforcing authorities respond to the people around (Jennings et al. 2018).
Proposed solutions
Taking into account the research done by different researches and the accumulations of incidents, it is highlighted that there are solutions that can be brought into practice in order to curb police brutality.
Incorporating diversity
It is proposed that police recruitment should be based on diversity so that homogeneity can be incorporated. As a result of diversity, policemen would be aware of the diversities they have and companionship will reduce hatred (Brown et al. 2019).
Tests and Trainings
It is asserted that the police should be trained and tested in terms of personality assessment and their attitude assessment that can help to analyze the attitude of the cops toward other people. Moreover, it will also include an assessment of drugs consumption and the use of restricted things because many of the extremist cops are found to be addicts (Chatillon et al. 2018).
Education
It is proposed that the place officers should be asked and trained to get education before getting recruited, it is one of the tools that can help policemen realize that their job is worth paying and they have earned it so they should adhere to the code of conduct (Chatillon et al. 2018).
Ban racist policing
It is proposed that the police officers should be taught that biases in policing is not allowed. All the policies should be formulated in coordination with the homogenous approach and there would be no space and acceptance for biases (Brown et al. 2019).
Obeying constitution
Another idea that can stop police brutality is the provision and practical approach to law and order, specially constitution. It is asserted that unreasonable searches and seizures should be banned. In short, Amendment fourth should be introduced as necessity taking into account that the police officers have to present the authentication and warrant for any kind of search (Brown et al. 2019).
Inclusion of say
One of the basic and significant idea that can help to mitigate police brutality is the inclusion of say, if all the people, major and minor communities will be included in the scenario of decision making then, there would be a positive approach to the law and order (Chatillon et al. 2018).
Security check of cops
It refers to the use of technological devises to keep a check on the cops such as bodily cameras and recordings with online coverage, these will help to address the racism and the cruel attitude of the police (Brown et al. 2019).
Conclusion
Police brutality is one of the most discussed topics that is still unaddressed. An analysis of the research and the proposed solutions for police brutality highlights that it is an issue that demands special consideration because if law making bodies would be corrupt, then there is no future of the country, keeping world role aside. It is something that is against the framework of humanity and how humans are supposed to be, because law is something that is guided by homogeneity and if it is not equal it is not law. In a nutshell, it is highlighted that serious efforts and initiatives are required form different social, moral and ethical departments along with self-contribution from the policemen to realize that they are the protectors of law. People feel safe just become of them, they are the ones whom people look for when they have to encounter something that is not according to the code of conduct so, they should be aware of their worth and significance as it is something that position law enforcing bodies superior to the other areas of work and life.
References
Brown, D. (2019). Police Brutality through the Eyes of the Brutalized. In Critical Storytelling in Millennial Times (pp. 13-21). Brill Sense.
Chatillon, A., & Schneider, B. E. (2018). “We Must Summon the Courage”: Black Activist Mothering Against Police Brutality. In Marginalized Mothers, Mothering from the Margins (pp. 245-258). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Jennings, J. (2018). Police Brutality, Riots, and Public Opinion: Then versus Now.
Miller, C. (2019). The impact of police racial bias and brutality towards unarmed African Americans on African American families with minor children (Doctoral dissertation).
Smith, H. (2019). Police Brutality and Crime Clearance Across the Midwest.
