Police Brutality Research Paper

917 Words4 Pages
John Allen 5/5/08 English IV Per. 1 Are Police Brutal? Over the years, many U.S. citizens have proclaimed that police officers have been using their tactics in brutal ways. Others state that they are just doing their job. A lot of people have died because of police officers and the reasons are clear, it is due to criminal activities they have undertaken and then refuse arrest which later causes a spark to ignite between the authorities and the civilians. Other times it is proved that police men just take advantage of their rights and brutally use force against citizens. Are police officers considered fair or brutal towards people? No one can deny that police officers have abused of their authority specially in big cities. Amadou…show more content…
Racism is a huge example. Members of racial minorities bear the brunt of police brutality and excessive force in many parts of the U.S....Reported abuses include racist language, harassment, ill-treatment, unjustified stops and searches, unjustified shootings and false arrests (Randall). African Americans are the ones who usually end up being harassed by cops. “In bigger towns, blacks are more likely to commit violent acts, police officers concerned with self preservation are more likely to use violence when dealing with them” (Kester police…show more content…
There are also criminals who fight with officers when they act erratically, trying to get away. Data for 2003 shows that police used force at a rate of 3.61 times per 10,000 Calls-for-service that is a 0.0361% (Heather MacDonald). There is times when force must be used for the public’s and the cops safety. Just imagine if someone had a gun and was waiving it around in a public place where there are innocent people, and that someone had a finger on the trigger threatening to shoot, what is the responsibility of an officer? Unfortunately he must use force to try to protect him-self and innocent people around the scene. The police and the armed forces have many things in common, the U.S. military has become involved in police actions and the police have begun to employ military tactics and weapons. Between 1995 and 1997 the Department of Defense gave police departments 1.2 million pieces of military hardware, including 73 grenade launchers and 112 armored personnel carriers The Los Angeles Police Department has acquired 600 Army surplus M-16s. Even small town police departments are getting into the act (Gredes

More about Police Brutality Research Paper

Open Document