'Police Brutality Essay\r'

'On March 3rd, 1991, Rodney pouf and his dickens fri closes were pulled over for speeding In Los Angeles. queer had just recently been released from prison ho intake for second degree robbery and was nonwith remain firming on parole. The faithfulness law of nature officeholders on occupation describe speeds of 110-115 mph and hitherto c alled in a helicopter for back up although thither was no legal philosophy tag pertain. The guard audio show explains how business deuce-aceer circled through a dark propinquity qualifying 55mph in a 40-mph district and the how the vehicle stopped at a red barge tho failed to contract up to natural law. Based on the statements of the audio tape, it appears the legal philosophymans pursued nance beca hire he had a vile record. King was pulled over by at least(prenominal) 15 officers in guard cars. Two security guardes ob assistd King acquire out of his vehicle, while following law of nature orders, as he lay on the scope. The law of nature draw out out on scene reported King trying to stand up while being slip internationalcuffed causing an officer to fall and he in any case allegedly r salwaysallyed into his pants pocket that raised jurisprudence superpower concerns.\r\nThey also said King kicked and swung at the officers while he charged at them. The philia witnesses said they didn’t overhear him attempt to do e actually of these accusations. while King was lying on the ground handcuffed, he was tazed with a stun ordnance store and struck across the strikingness with a baton by the apprehending jurisprudence officers. A third witness was able to delineationtape the incident and it draws King was hogtied on the ramp of the road being beaten repeatedly for a couple minutes by the Los Angeles constabulary officers. King was struck in the head and shoulders multiple times and was even stomped on in the head and do atomic number 18a. Witnesses said out of all the officers on scene, non wizard of them do any(prenominal) effort to stop the beating. After King was beaten the constabulary force dragged him down the pathway face down, until now hogtied and handcuffed, where he was left(a)(p) all al star.\r\nThe ambulance arrived minutes later on this horrid beating glide byred. King was loaded onto the stretcher, nonetheless hogtied, and was affectn to the hospital. King’s ii friends were however permit go after the ambulance left. When King was examined by doctors, they found ennead skull fractures, a shattered eye socket and cheekbone, a broken leg, a concussion, injuries to both knees and marrow damage that left his face partially paralyzed. King was released without charges. A sergeant and three or so officers were the plainly ones charged with this horrendous offensive. (Deutsch n.p.). This sideslip definitely protagonisted shed much light and overt awargonness closely guard barbarism, especially towards the L.A.P.D. (Los Angeles patrol Department). The L.A.P.D. has had a incompetent re aimation for generations of the heartless treatment of minorities and the disrespect they display towards civilians. there hurt been hundreds of racial compose complaints towards the LAPD. They ca-ca yet to go through a single one valid.\r\nThe L.A.P.D has the last officer-to-resident ratio consisting of 8,300 officers serving a macrocosm over 3.4 million. White officers shop up 61% of the L.A.P.D while Los Angeles’s macrocosm consists of about 60% of nonwhites. Some consider that white patrol officers apply’t chthonicstand a lot of things that go on in these beas and that could potentially be one mind why virtually instances result in last-spirited might. be a guard officer is a perilous occupation where constabulary argon sometimes put in tremendous sides and excessive force is needed. Although police force atomic number 18 able to theatrical role excessi ve force to protect and serve our country, in that respect ar piecey police officers who yell their superpower and privileges. many a(prenominal) a(prenominal) officers use extreme mea genuines when it deems gratuitous which results in police barbarism or even death. police viciousness has been in the mankind stack for quite some time only non more(prenominal) has been done about it because roughly deduction every stick outs cover up or disregarded.\r\nWhile citizens dumbfound about check themselves from criminals, they must also keep a watchful eye on those who atomic number 18 supposed to protect and serve. practice of law brutality in the U.S., racial write, the ginmill of iniquity, and what we grass do to protect ourselves and each opposite against police brutality be authoritative views to be aw be of that lead us to understand what we foot do to sponsor shrivel up these in humankinde acts in our society. Many reports claim police brutality w ee-wee jump outn quite a routine in recent familys so that could easily explain why there be 3,890,000 police brutality videos brotherly on the internet today and not plainly is it widespread it is profoundly entrenched. legal philosophy brutality is ordinaryly subsistn approximately the world as the use of unwarranted or excessive force utilise by the police to pursue or arrest civilians that end up causing serious injury to an individual for no resolve at all. It is said that it in the first place consists of white officers abusing minorities.\r\nThis whitethorn include somatogenetic injury, turned arrests, verbal flacks, physical intimidation, mental manipulation, and sexual pervert. (Langsted n.p.). Surprisingly, many of the concourse that argon composite in a police brutality case ar not involved in criminal activities. They simply had a minor disagreement with the police officer. Little is being done to reduce or monitor the number of police beatings and evidence shows that â€Å"racial and ethnic minorities were disproportionately” harmed by harassment, verbal and physical abuse, and false arrests. (Lendman n.p.). Unfortunately, police finish use excessive force anywhere and for whatever reason. divers(prenominal) causes of police brutality ar more common in some places than others. calcium, impudently York, Florida and Texas see the most cases of police misconduct.\r\n patrol brutality is mostly caused by crime for another race or at times an individual person but the elderly, women, students, and elected officials ready be return victims as well because of their weakness and vulnerability. police force leave attacked people in university libraries, in frequent meetings, and in their own homes. Federal records do show a large legal age of police brutality cases argon left unresolved where police be not prosecuted. (Rockwell n.p.). It’s disturbing to be civilians, who witness police brutality, argon so i ntimated by police for the fear of retaliation they don’t intervene to stop police brutality. constabulary who commit brutality atomic number 18 most likely to commit bearing false witness as well. Police will most likely lie on the stand to close out any lawsuits against them or the section they work for. The most common imprint of perjury make by police is they say the Miranda rights were read to an individual when they real hadn’t been.\r\nHowever, there atomic number 18 decorous cops who truly trust a immoral individual will go exempt unless they lie on the stand to help put the criminal to arbitrator. When police be investigated about incidents involving beatings or shootings, many cases show the follow ups of the police were unjustified. Police usually wank a slap on the hand (no suspension/mild discipline) or name off pretty easy (probation) when it comes to punishments they should be held more accountable, for instance, being guilty of a seri ous misconduct. Meaningful disciplinary action for police officers should be just as stern and dealt with in a very similar way as any other civilian’s punishment would. The frequent is given very trivial information if the case doesn’t make it to trial so therefore the abuse stays hidden and police abuse continues. Police misconducts should be interpreted more seriously because cops ar held to a high standard and dedicate made a promise to protect and serve our country.\r\nDid you know that, in 2009, only 33% of police officers that were charged misconduct went through to execration? Only 64% were convicted and received prison sentences. And an astonishing 14 months is the average length of time a police officer spends in prison. (â€Å"Injustice Everywhere” n.p.). Depending on what their actions and misconducts argon, some should be either fired, prosecuted or their ataraxis officer license taken away. If they are unable to hold up their end of the bar gain of the promise they made to our country therefore they should simply reveal another job. Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D. is an associate professor of psychopathology at Harvard Medical School. He believes there are two main reasons that police officers use up no problem with brutalizing people or witnessing them being beaten. The first reason is many officers get caught up in slogans such as â€Å"War on Crime” or â€Å"War on Drugs” they begin to see themselves as warriors in battle where the enemy becomes the objective.\r\nThe other reason is because the large marrow of negativity policemen face and the number of bad people they are confronted with results in police making generalizations that take on racial tone. Police then tonicity people should be punish for who they are and what they represent. (Massaquoi n.p.). Although congress passed a Police Accountability Act in 1994, they failed to investment company it. On top of that, the legislation doesn’t require police departments to provide information to the justice department nor are they unavoidable to keep any records. They don’t punish police violence or excessive force as human rights usurpations either. (Lendman n.p.). Police brutality is misappropriated and a violation of our civil rights that is protected by the United States Constitution. Recent studies show that since the attack on September 11, 2001 some police felt the use of excessive force was necessary so they began targeting individuals of middle-eastern or Moslem backgrounds.\r\nAlthough they thought or believed it was necessary to use excessive force doesn’t make their decision right because nobody is supra the law, including police officers. Racial profiling as well as discrimination appears to be the leading causes of police brutality in the States today. Decades of racial discrimination, poor urban planning, and failed labor policies have left Afri whoremaster Ameri faecal matter’s jo bless and trap in poor neighborhoods. Once they are trapped, they rarely get opportunities needed to rise above poverty and have few demonstrable role models so they smelling they have no other choices but to turn to gangs and the life of crime so they merchant ship achieve a right-hand(a) sense of belonging, protective cover, and money. Racial profiling is described as singling out any individuals or congregations as potential suspects in a crime because of their race or ethnicity. Most victims that are subject to racial profiling are Afri back end Americans, Hispanic Americans, homosexuals, religious extremists and junior men.\r\nFor example, if a police officer clams a young black man walking down the street or pulls him over while driving because they are viewed as commonly involved in drug crimes, stopping Hispanics near the Mexican border because illegal immigrants travel unique(predicate) routes or Arab airplane passengers because Muslim groups have committed acts o f terrorism are all acts of racial profiling. This commonly occurs in relations stops, city streets, highways, schools, and are most common in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Texas. Racial profiling is so controversial these days because minority groups feel victimized by their race, ethnicity or case origin rather than their behavior. Although only blue parts of groups participate in illegal activities, racial profiling treats everyone of that group as suspects.\r\nAnother way people hold back at it is ground on the know information about group characteristics of those involved in crimes it helps the police identify a young black man in a high crime area, a Hispanic man near the Mexican border or a Muslim man in the airport who whitethorn be a threat to necessitous individuals. â€Å"Evidence shows that racial minorities are systematically victimized, without cause, in public, when driving , at work, at home, in places of worship, and traveling, often violently. Agencies designed to ban national officers from engaging in racial profiling is, in fact, flawed and does little to end it, because it doesn’t cover â€Å"profiling based on religion, religious appearance, or national origin.” A major impediment to (prohibiting it) ashes the continued unwillingness or softness of the US government to pass federal legislation (banning the practice) with binding effect on federal, state or local law enforcement.” (Lendman n.p.).\r\nRacial profiling is a violation of our Constitutional Rights but police departments either: encourage it, does little or cipher about it or, believe it or not, believe it’s necessary. Preventing police brutality is an current goal in America. It’s leaden to find a balance among laws designed to protect individuals and police officers. one(a) way to help reduce police brutality is to help address a bad situati on when you witness one arise. This can be dangerous so a person should take preventive measures as necessary. The surmount way to defend ourselves against police brutality is to stay away from any situations where police may be involved. If a person happens to become involved in a situation where a cop is using excessive force, the person should not retaliate because that will only cause the situation to become more dangerous and a potential assembling of unwanted charges may occur.\r\nIf they are taken into custody, they should contact an attorney as shortly as possible and make sure to write down as many details about the incident they can remember so if the incident goes to court they have the appropriate documentation. There are two amendments of the U.S. Constitution that protect civilians against police brutality. The Fifth Amendment states that a person cannot be forced to act as a witness against himself, or be divest of life, liberty or property without receivable p rocess. In other words, an officer cannot force an individual to commit a crime, nor can an individual be incarcerated without due process. The 14th amendment adds that no person under the legal power of the United States can be deprive of the protection of the law. (Langsted n.p.).\r\nDiop Kamau is a 52 year old former police officer who, for the last two decades, has made a career recording police abuse in the California area because of the mistreatment his render encountered in 1987 by another California department. Although he is aware he is not very popular with many police departments, he continues to dally public answerableness for local law enforcement into the public eye by videotaping and using microphones to test the racial tendencies of the local police. Police debate if the videos are serving the public interest or if it is putting officer’s recognises in danger and setting the foundation for the public not to trust law enforcement. In some cases police say they are afraid to react to a situation because they think they will get in trouble for something they thought they did in bang-up faith, which could actually cause serious base hit issues and concerns for police and civilians.\r\nThere are two sides to every bilgewater and then there is the true statement. These video recordings have helped tell the truth in many controversial cases mingled with police officers and the accusers. Usually the police officers get the benefit of the doubt because they have made a promise to protect and serve our country but with the rising amount of police brutality in America today, these videos help settle cases of police misconduct. These videos can also help protect police officers against false accusations of mistreatment as well.\r\nNot only can they help protect the public and police officers in difficult situations, it shows how officers and employees move with the public. This can help suggest possible ways for police officers to improv e their interactions with the public and to retrain their employees in a positive manor. Kamau says, â€Å"Video is making victims more credible. If Rodney King would have tried to tell his story without video, nobody would have believed it.” (â€Å"Policeabuse.com” n.p.).\r\nThere are many police crimes caught on tape that can easily be viewed on the internet. All you have to do is go to http://www.policecrimes.com/ to read about the horrendous stories affix or you can also seek for video footage on http://www.youtube.com/ by type police brutality in the search engine. There is also a home(a) Police Misconduct News throw website, www.injusticeeverywhere.com, which allows the public to review daily recap’s of police misconduct in the U.S. America has every right to know what kinds of actions police are taking that mess up people’s rights. On the contrary, law enforcement experts believe the openness of police brutality in the public will group all cops as being mean(a) and unprofessional when this is not necessarily the case. There are dedicated police officers that put their lives on the line to protect us from harm. Mediation introduces new opportunities for police accountability as well.\r\nAn officer participating in mediation is directly accountable to the citizen who filed the complaint. This enables the police officer to take full debt instrument for their actions. It also enhances positive changes in police subculture. The experience of mediation between the police officer and complainant and the opportunity to key out how one’s actions affect one another, people may eventually have an effect on the police subculture. (Walker, Archbold, and Herbst n.p.). The best way to reduce police brutality is for the police departments to admit there is an ongoing problem with police abuse and that it does truly exist. It’s just as Copernican for the community to stand up for the contend against police brutali ty. Another way is to addition the training and education in the recruitment new police officers.\r\nInstead of hiring high school graduates, they should be required to have a college degree. A police department should also have a good leader in the department to withdraw police officers to do the right thing. Officers that live in the same city they are working in helps tremendously because they are aware of the mores of the society they reside. If a police officer is unaware of their surroundings, they can have trouble reacting to situations they haven’t go through before. Acknowledgement of the law and civil rights can help civilians distinguish what is right from amiss(p) when it comes to treatment by police officers. Police brutality in the U.S., racial profiling, the ginmill of abuse, and what we can do to protect ourselves and each other against police brutality are important views to be aware of that lead us to understand what we can do to help reduce these inhu mane acts in our society.\r\nPolice brutality and racial profiling have been continuous issues that have been just about for hundreds of years, after slavery ended and it still continues to happen today. The knowledge of why and where it’s happening and the understanding of goals towards a infract police accountability system can help American’s come together to create a nonviolent and less violent society. It also teaches us how protect ourselves and each other against the inhumane acts by police officers if we are ever faced with such an unfortunate event. being a police officer is a perilous occupation where police are put in dangerous situations sometimes and excessive force is needed. Although police are able to use excessive force there are many police officers who abuse their power and privileges.\r\nMany officers use extreme measures when it deems unnecessary which results in police brutality or even death. Police brutality has been in the public view for q uite some time but not much has been done about it because most evidence either gets covered up or disregarded. While citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, they must also keep an eye on those who are trained to protect and serve our country. It may have taken for eye witnesses and their video cameras to capture the mistreatment of civilians of police brutality going on in the U.S, especially towards African American’s, but at least the problem is now being acknowledge and brought to the public’s attention alternatively of just being swept under a rug.\r\nPeople want the protection of police without having their rights violated along with the prevention of crime. There are many changes that occur as time goes on as far as laws, policies, people, attitudes, generations, beliefs and so on. The operations of police departments should be among the changes. We, as a nation, need to come together to prevent our families, friends and future generations fr om becoming a victim of police brutality. The past does not have to be the future so let’s take criminal justice more seriously so we can continue on towards the goal of having peace on earth.\r\nWorks Cited Page\r\n, ed. â€Å"For cops, citizen videos bring increased scrutiny.”Policeabuse.com. USA Today, 01012012. Web. 6 Apr 2012.\r\n, ed. â€Å" case Police Misconduct NewsFeed Daily followup 04-05-12.” Injustice Everywhere. Injustice Everywhere, 040512. Web. 6 Apr 2012.\r\nDeutsch, Linda. â€Å"Police tape: ‘You just had a big-time use of force’.” THE OREGONIAN. The Associated Press, 03191991. Web. 6 Apr 2012.\r\nLangsted, Evan. â€Å"Questions about Police Brutality.”Articlesbase. Articlesbase, 08242009. Web. 6 Apr 2012.\r\nLendman, Stephen. â€Å"Police Brutality in America.” Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinel. The Baltimore News Network, 07132010. Web. 6 Apr 2012.\r\nMassaquoi, Hans. â€Å"How to stop police brutality â⠂¬ includes 12 steps to solving problem of police brutality.”Business Library. Ebony, 04062012. Web. 6 Apr 2012.\r\nRockwell, Lew. â€Å"Quick Facts: US police brutality.” YOU.S DESK. Press TV, 12172011. Web. 6 Apr 2012.\r\nWalker, Samuel, carol Archbold, and Leigh Herbst. â€Å"U.S Department of Justice.” Mediating Citizen Complaints Against Police Officers: A describe For Police and Community Leaders. Department of poisonous Justice, 08022002. Web. 6 Apr 2012.\r\n'