Preview

Police Brutality

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
570 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Police Brutality
Police officers are government officials who are appointed to enforce the law and maintain order in society. While placed in dangerous and stressful situations, a law enforcement official has been trained to administer the law in an unbiased way that will maintain the trust of the public and not violate a citizen’s rights (Cooper 1930). While police are trained for this there is still a major problem known as abuse of authority. Abuse of authority occurs when men and women in law enforcement disregard policies, rules, or laws in which they are trained and are to properly administer while on duty. One form of abuse of authority is police brutality. Police brutality is the use of excessive force by an officer in the form of physical abuse, verbal abuse, and through psychological intimidation (Mangan,2000).

http://www.deadanarchists.org/cooper.html
According to recent studies there are thousands of reports each year of officers who use excessive force and violate the human rights of their victims. In many cases police go too far when they excessively punch, kick, and beat people who pose no threat (Mangan, 2000). When this type of brutality occurs, it should be considered a criminal act and investigated as a crime.
When used properly, and as a last resort, I believe there are certain situations making it necessary for officers to use force. Law enforcment officials are trained and expected to use force anytime they believe their own or fellow officer’s life is in danger.
Law enforcement officers are in daily contact with individuals who are confrontational and trying to resist arrest. The officer faced with these challenges has only a moment annalyze the situation, and at times, has no other choice but to use force against the opposing person.
A common example of proper force would take place if police found someone operating a vehicle irratically. Once police had pulled

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Junior Project Paper

    • 1931 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Police Brutality is the use of excessive or unnecessary force by police when dealing with…

    • 1931 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the main conflicts occurring in the United States today deals with police brutality and the relationship between police officers and their communities. Two Books Argue the Case for Police Reform From Within, an article in the New York Times, stated that approximately one-thousand people in America are killed annually at the expense of police officers. This number is shocking to many due to the fact that the amount of violent crime and deaths of on-duty police officers has decreased greatly and continues to do so. This article talks about how police enforcement abuses their powers and how they are thought to have too much power which leads to this abuse. It discusses cases that deal with the Fourth Amendment right of American Citizens and where police have used deadly force in instances that it was not necessary, leading to a movement known as Black Lives Matter.…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    As stated on the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) website, “every day, law enforcement officers face danger while carrying out their responsibilities. When dealing with a dangerous-or unpredictable-situation, police officers usually have very little time to access it and determine the proper response.” Proper training techniques about how to access and handle situations teach officers how to implement use of force. “The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in its study, Police Use of Force in America 2001, defined use of force as ‘the amount of effort required by the police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject.’” There are many instances of abuse of how the use of force protocol is abused by an officer and very little done about…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    It can range from vulgar words and slurs used, ranging to excessive force used to detain or stop an a suspected criminal. The use of force is an area in which police officers must exercise good judgment. (Chapman, 2012) Often police have exercised great judgement, but more recently with the invention of image and video capturing devices, more cases of police brutality have been captured and recorded. One of the most agreed upon arguments of researchers is the point at which the use of force crosses the line from reasonable to excessive is necessarily hard to define and fraught with controversy. (Chapman, 2012) Often the complaints of excessive use of force, and police brutality are classified differently across different counties, states, and countries. Many researchers like Christopher Chapman choose to include every report of force used by the police in data used for research. The problem that arises is one of a lack of definition. In order for us to start effectively studying, and accessing police brutality, excessive force must have a universal police definition. It must be able to interpreted, and looked upon when officers actions are in question. By also setting a definition, officers will have a set limit to refer to when making behavioral…

    • 1999 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Police Brutality Theory

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Police brutality is overstepping the use of force necessary to contain a situation. Moreover, as discussed in “What is Police Brutality,” written by S. Danilina, “Police brutality the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with citizens.” Consequently, many citizens do not understand correct framing of police brutality. Moreover, one does not understand the substantial list of the types of police brutality. I will discuss in my paper three topics. One, the types of police brutality. Many assume that police brutality consists of physical force or…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Police brutality is the unlawful use of power, act or authority by the policepersons on the civilians (Russell-Brown 2009). Police brutality is an unfortunate corollary of the dangerous job of protecting society from its worst citizens, an anomaly attributable to the characteristic of individual police officers and the police department (Holmes and Smith, 2008). The actions can be employed with either the use of firearms, other lethal and non-lethal weapons or the improper use of holds or restraining techniques (Belur, 2010). In the United States, the brutality by police officers has been passed on from the time memorial. Police have used forceful methods in trying…

    • 3484 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Police officers who participated in using excessive force, many times did not face any consequences, and when they did, their charges were very minimal. In his article titled, “Must We Live With Police Brutality,” David Jones uses insight from the Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, Sheldon Leffler. Leffler states, that “’the department has perpetuated a police culture in which officers may be emboldened to conduct themselves in a manner that runs contrary to ... the law.’” (Jones 9). Police officers are supposed to be trusted authority figures that help protect people and enforce laws, instead of hurting people and acting as if they are above the law. Police officers, however, were not the ones who were protecting themselves from the consequences. It was those who oversaw the police departments and the local government who over protected these police officers. In the case mentioned above of the Haitian immigrant who fell victim of police brutality, the mayor of New York City, at the time, as well as the police commissioner turned a blind eye to how often police were using excessive force and unneeded brutality. Jones continues to explain how higher ups in the government and police force seemed to encourage officers to release anger and hate onto people who break the law (Jones 9). This attitude gives the idea that using force and viciousness is necessary to keep crime rates down, which is not…

    • 1976 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The use of force by police in the discharge of their duties can both be reformed and controlled without compromising the capacity of the police to maintain public safety and enforce the law. Violence in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. Violence is most typically an outgrowth of conflict when peaceful dispute mechanisms fail. The use of force by police frequently occurs in situations that are characterized by violence prior to the arrival of police. Crime, particularly violent crime, has been a major concern of the American population for decades.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Furthermore, citizens along with constituted bodies of the state, feel free to disregard the laws and apply violence in a hazardous way, because the government is not strong enough to restrain such incidents. For instance, Zwach (2015) introduces a case of police brutality against a minority male, which resulted ultimately in his death (p. 190). Court of justice, however, concluded that the police officer was not responsible for such a lethal resolution of the events (p. 191). Unfortunately, very often, police officers of the US do not follow the proper procedure of detaining a suspect belonging to racial minorities. Moreover, they may also take away the life of a innocent citizen without facing a legal punishment (p. 202). Hence, police violence occurs in the countries with weak leadership, because police officers rarely get accountable for their misconduct that is directed toward an ‘undesirable’ part of the…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Therefore i will be explaining the conflict going on about police brutality in the world today. Though what goes on with the police may seem wrong you never know the other side of the story. Police brutality happens for many reasons, one reason is because many departments don’t provide adequate training in nonviolent solutions. Another reason is because standards for what constitutes brutality varies widely.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The use of force was a little exaggerated when the teenager was slammed into the concrete. The police are meant to protect and serve the community. Officers should be trained properly not to resort to violence and abuse their power. The authorities are placed on a pedestal by the rest of the society. The image, rules, and the codes of ethics within the police force should be upheld at all times. If officers find it ok to use brutality to resolve issues, then they don't set good examples to dispute resolution between individuals. Police abuse is one of the most severe violation human rights in the United States. Officers…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Officer Use Of Force Essay

    • 1493 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Officer use of force is on the rise within the Delano Police Department (DPD). Within the last 12 months, the department has observed a total of 46 use of force incidents. In comparison, over the same previous 12 month period the department had 20 use of force incidents. This figure represents over a 120 % increase. In reviewing the use of force reports for these force incidents, in every incident officers either had to use physical force such as their hands, police batons, or brute force to control the suspect being taken into custody after providing clear directions to the uncooperative person. In the previously reported year, in 33 % of these incidents either an officer or suspect, or both, was injured during the arrest culmination.…

    • 1493 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Justifiable Police Force

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The force used by a police officer cannot be more than what a reasonable person would say is necessary to make a valid arrest, detain a suspect, or to protect another police officer or another person. Once the officer has decided that the use of force is necessary for the above situations the officer will have to use a force option that is reasonable from the use of force continuum. The use of force continuum is as follows: officer presence, verbal commands, hands-on techniques, impact weapons such as baton Taser or OC spray, and finally deadly force is at the very top of the continuum. Many departments do not call it the “use of force continuum” anymore they have changed out the word continuum with the word options. This is because the word continuum implies that the officer must always start at the lowest option on the continuum and work up until the suspect/arrestee has stopped what they are doing and comply with your commands. For example, it is irrational for the officer to start at the bottom of the continuum with presence, then…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Police Brutality

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Police work is dangerous. Sometimes police put in situations that excessive force is needed. But, because some officers use these extreme measures in situations when it is not, police brutality should be addressed. The use of excessive force may or may not be large problem, but it should be looked into by both the police and the public.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For consecutive decades, police brutality has grown into a controversial topic of discussion which has also led to the worldwide trend of #BlackLivesMatter. The first instance known of police brutality started when policeman John M. McManus had beat a prisoner named Michael Maher with a club. Brutality is using excessive force for unnecessary violence. The term police brutality means the law enforcement is enforcing this brutality upon prisoners and innocent or guilty alleged suspects. Not only can law enforcement physically use this force, but they can also use it mentally and verbally in order to trigger someone’s emotions so that the suspect can react in order for the police to lawfully use “self-defense”. Force that is looked upon as excessive can lead to many potential charges such as domestic violence or even murder.…

    • 219 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays

Related Topics