Police Misconduct and Forces of Deviance

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Discuss the MOVE incident in Philadelphia as an example of police misconduct. Be specific and use detail to illustrate. In your opinion, was this an example of a “few bad cops”? Or an example of deeper misconduct problems? Explain your position.

MOVE was an activist black liberation group based in Philadelphia in the 1970s. In 1985, the police obtained arrest warrants for the group and attempted to storm their headquarters located in a residential block in Western Philadelphia. After an armed standoff and firefight, a decision was made to use a bunker bomb dropped from a helicopter. A huge explosion occurred along with a large fire in the residential block, killing eleven people, including five children, and damaging over 60 homes (Demby, 2015).

The social tensions which led to the bombing could be felt then and continue to characterize metropolitan police, although on a significantly lesser level. Residents in the area at the time recall a climate of mutual distrust between police and black communities, and how the response of law enforcement was to militarize and see increases in incidents of police brutality (Demby, 2015). Although the true nature of facts regarding the incident is disputed, it was evident that the misconduct and deep racism were deeply involved in the police department and government, leading to the mayor at the time. The egregious decision to use such high powerful explosives in residential settings, and supposedly ordering to fire on those attempting to escape the fire showed the twisted moral compass and lack of accountability for the misconduct in this incident (Yuhas, 2015).

Discuss the Rodney King incident as an example of police misconduct. Be specific and use detail to illustrate. In your opinion, was this an example of a “few bad cops”? Or an example of deeper misconduct problems? Explain your position.

Rodney King was an African-American male who was driving with his friends, and after supposedly running a red light, was ordered to stop by a police cruiser. Fearing his probation would be violated, King did not stop, ensuing a high-speed pursuit by cruisers from various local police agencies, particularly the LAPD. When eventually stopping, Rodney King was shocked by high voltage tasers and severely beaten by police officers despite being unarmed. (Kappeler, Sluder, & Alpert, 1998).

This incident was an example of deeply rooted misconduct issues in the LAPD, based on several factors. First, when an amateur tape was available of the beating, the LAPD was not interested in it, and vehemently denied it when released publicly. Second, the working environment at the LAPD, led by Chief Gates established a highly militarized force indoctrinated with aggressive tactics (Kappeler et al., 1998). A scholarly research by Davis (1994) focusing on the King incident argues that the legal paradigm was created where police brutality in the LAPD and law enforcement across the country was effectively decriminalized. It became a double standard of criminality as significantly other rules seemed to have been applied to the police. In turn, the conduct led to social dysfunction in the relationship that formed between the population and law enforcement, particularly great cynicism from minorities.

Discuss the Jeffrey Dahmer incident as an example of police misconduct. Be specific and use detail to illustrate. In your opinion, was this an example of a “few bad cops”? Or an example of deeper misconduct problems? Explain your position.

The incident began when Dahmer, a convicted sex offender met and lured a 14-year-old Asian male Sinthasomphone to his apartment. There, Dahmer drugged and sexually abused him, until by chance Sinthasomphone was able to escape. The police arrived and Dahmer convinced them that he and Sinthasomphone were romantically involved. The officers left the boy in the care of Dahmer without conducting a background check most likely due to both racial and homophobic tendencies. Eventually, Dahmer killed Sinthasomphone and continued his serial killings (Kappeler et al., 1988).

The incident seems to reflect the nature of deeper police misconduct problems ongoing in the Milwaukee Police Department at the time. Chief Breier took an inherently hardline approach, classifying the population as good or bad. Thus, determining whether the police was willing to take the resources to intervene, promoting this culture which was most often based on prejudices of race and other aspects, leading to discrimination in a city that was primarily white (Kappeler et al., 1988). Ultimately, the incident was a clear definition of police neglect based on both social tendencies and MPD culture at the time.

It was an example of poor handling and demonstrated misconduct at a deeper level beyond individual officers despite their defenses that they saw no warning signs or callousness which forms from working in such environments (Chicago Tribune, 1991).

References

Chicago Tribune. (1991). Among all the horrors of the Jeffrey…Chicago Tribune. Web.

Demby, G. (2015). I’m from Philly. 30 years later, I’m still trying to make sense of the MOVE bombing. NPR. Web.

Kappeler, V.E., Sluder, R.D., & Alpert G.P. (1998). Forces of deviance: Understanding the dark side of policing. Prospect Heights, Il.: Waveland Press.

Yuhas, A. (2015). Philadelphia’s Osage Avenue police bombing, 30 years on: ‘This story is a parable‘. The Guardian. Web.

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Police Misconduct and Forces of Deviance

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