Category: African American

Inequalities And Discrimination In The Workplace

Abstract

This paper explores the many challenges minorities’ face in the workplace. Over the past 100 years African-Americans have struggled with being considered as equal as the white counterpart and women as equal to the male gender, in life and at work. African-American minorities have made major educational and career advances, but still struggle significantly with equality in pay and promotions in the workplace. Discrimination against minority groups starts outside of the workplace and it is a major issue still relevant today in the U.S. To understand how discrimination still has a place in the modern day workplace, we must first analyze how it remains a huge part of our day-to-day culture. This paper goes on to discuss the wage gap between a gender and race, the disproportion of African-American and female leaders within top executive positions, how to implement several strategies to remedy these inequalities, and the benefits to the workforce for doing so.

Inequalities and Discrimination in the Workplace

There is a deeply ingrained problem in our society; black and whites nor females and males are truly treated equally. The 13th amendment abolished slavery in 1865 and three years later the 14th amendment was created to grant equal protection of laws to the same group of people. In 1870, the 15th amendment gives African American males the right to vote and in 1920 the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote. Despite the promises of these new laws, the former slaves and their descendants, along with other racial and ethnic minorities, did not receive equal treatment under the law (“Civil Rights: Law and History,” n.d.). Why is racial and gender inequality still major problems in the workplace today? Why does the wage gap still exist? What strategies can be implemented by organizations to reduce inequalities? These topics will be discussed and addressed in this paper.

Racial Inequality

It is important to understand that there is no group of people in the U.S. that has been treated equal to the white male. For years, minorities have battled to be considered equal to white men in life and the workplace. African-Americans have always been a part of the U.S. workforce at first as unpaid slaves, this fact shapes the evolution of African-Americans and the racial inequality still felt by many today. The slow progression of racial equality within the workplace lead to the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). EEOC is responsible for enforcing, among other laws, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination based on race or color in any aspect of employment (“African-Americans in the American Workforce,” n.d.). There are many benefits to the EEOC, it holds companies accountable for recruitment, hiring, work assignments and promotions to ensure that their employment practices do not enable discrimination. Kilhefner (2016) explained:

Racial inequality in the workplace isn’t always an issue of simply who is and isn’t hired it can also be about who is promoted and who can move into positions of power. Discrimination may not always be obvious, as it can take on forms that appear fair in practice but have disparaging effects on minorities within the workplace, or even the industry. Discrimination limits employees in their access to superior positions and their career advancement.

Employers have a responsibility to employees to ensure that everyone is created equally within the organization and must be intentional about reducing racial inequality.

There are five important components to reducing inequalities which are recruitment/promotions, trainings, company policy, diversity awareness/initiatives, and behaviors. Developing a recruitment strategy that promotes workplace diversity is an effective way to improve attitudes about employees who represent different races and cultures (Mayhew, 2016). The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission strongly recommends that employers provide training to employees about unfair employment practices and laws that prohibit discrimination and harassment in the workplace (Mayhew, 2016). It is imperative that all employees at every level understand that discrimination is an unlawful act and it will not be tolerated within the organization. Human resources professionals are responsible for developing policies that will benefit the organizations in many ways. A written company policy states where the company stands, and the values it believes in. Enforcing a zero tolerance workplace rule is the best way to minimize the incidence of racism and discrimination (Mayhew, 2016). According to Mayhew (2016), diversity awareness programs focus more on the factors that improve workplace relationships such as mutual respect and appreciation for differences as well as similarities. Implementing diversity programs and initiatives helps with the progression of an inclusive corporate culture. Lastly, behaviors exemplified by upper management of disapproval for discrimination is important for everyone to see. Upper management’s behavior sets the tone for employees, who often emulate the positive work habits and practices that leader’s exhibit (Mayhew, 2016). Racial inequality remains a major problem in the workplace because organizations are not focusing on the issue at hand. Eliminating racial inequality from an organization is an ongoing strategic process, and the company must allocate time and resources to make certain it is successful.

Gender Inequality

Women are 50.8 percent if the U.S. population. In 2017, there were 75,175,000 women aged 16 and over in the labor force, representing 46.9% of the total labor force (Catalyst, 2018). In comparison to men, women are represented almost equally in total percentage of population to the workforce, and the percentages of low and mid-level positions. Men are promoted to first-level managerial positions 30% more often than women, according to a new study released by McKinsey & Co. and Lean In (Noman, 2016). As we climb the ladder for management levels, the gap widens although women have been earning more degrees than men for decades. Women statistically have fewer chances of obtaining top level positions and earn less than men doing the same jobs at every level. The corporate world was male dominated for some time, but women claimed their stake because they deserved equal treatment to their male peers.

Gender inequality starts before a generation enters the workforce, like racial inequality. At times, young girls in school or at home are not supported or discouraged when choosing challenging careers. This habit needs to change, regardless of one’s race, gender, disability, religious belief, etc., all people should be supported and encourage to their aspirations. Rejecting this ugly pattern will help our future generations decrease or fully eliminate gender inequality when they enter the workforce.

Facing our issues with the current workforce, there are strategies to help decrease gender inequality. Companies should state that they want to hire, support and promote women (Trachsel, 2014). Having a written document of goals and objectives lets employees, stockholders, customers, etc., know where a company stands on certain issues and how they plan to remedy the issue. Make flexibility and work-life balance a part of the wider company culture (Trachsel, 2014). Work-life balance is a very significant factor in today’s workforce that affects employee morale, especially to women who are mothers. A work-life balance ensures you can be the best parent and role model to your child, while also excelling in your position at work. It is essential that organizations does not limit their talent pool, the most qualified candidate should always be hired. Organizations should aim for a 50-50 gender split in all their teams – right up to the executive floor (Trachsel, 2014). Addressed are just a few strategies employers can implement to reduce inequalities specific to woman and there are many more to battle this disparity.

Pay Disparity

The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women be given equal pay for equal work in the same establishment (Facts About Equal Pay and Compensation Discrimination, n.d.). Although the Equal Pay Act has been established, pay disparity remains a significant problem in the modern day workplace. Women earn less than men even when doing the same job and black males earn less compared to white people; male and female. That fact leaves African-American women at the bottom of the wage gap; similarly, to their number representing top executives positions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the weekly median earnings of white men at $971, white women at $795, black men at $710 and black women at $657. We must face the unfortunate reality is that there is a clear wage gap between all groups no matter the position, length of time in the position or educational level achieved by the employees. The fight for equal pay isn’t just a battle for women or African-Americans and helping close the wage gap will benefit everyone, including the U.S. economy. Closing the gender wage gap can mean the difference between living above or below the poverty line, between having access to high-quality child care, schools, higher education, or only being able to afford poorer quality alternatives, no pre-kindergarten, or any post-secondary education (Martinelli, 2015).

Eliminating the pay gap for women and minorities should be a goal for companies around the globe. Enforcing equal pay will boost employee morale and reduce employee turnover resulting in a higher bottom-line, overall benefiting the organization. Leddy (2017) explained there are ways and benefits to closing the pay gap,

It starts with leadership allocating the resources and investments needed to analyze and close identified gender pay gaps. Monitor pay equity continuously and make necessary pay adjustments as gaps are identified or during your regularly scheduled performance review and merit raise processes. Leaders should also talk about why pay equity is the right thing to do, as a matter of compliance and as part of your talent strategy. Pay equity concerns should be integrated into your policies, as well, to emphasis transparency.

To successfully implement this strategy organizations need to invest in systems that can detect the wage disparities before they can begin to close them. Resources have to be allocated to remedy this issue but the return on investment will be significant for the organization.

Conclusion

The disparities highlighted in this paper, illustrates the severity of the unequal workforce we are a part of and proves that we are still separate and unequal. Racial and gender inequality both begin outside the workplace, for that reason the elimination of this issue must start outside it as well. To remedy these issues within the workplace we must admit that it is still the culture of our world today. It starts with people believing that everyone deserves equal rights and opportunities. Organizations must realize providing equality for all employees should the corporate standard and enabling inequality is not only morally wrong, but also an unlawful act. When minorities are treated well, they perform well and that benefits the organization; therefore, eliminating disparities should be a corporate goal for everyone.

References

1. African-Americans in the American Workforce. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/reports/american_experiences/african_americans.cfm
2. Catalyst. (2018, April 19). Women In The Workforce: United States. Retrieved from https://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-workforce-united-states
3. Civil Rights: Law and History. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://civilrights.findlaw.com/civil-rights-overview/civil-rights-law-and-history.html
4. Facts About Equal Pay and Compensation Discrimination. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/fs-epa.cfm
5. Getting to gender equality starts with realizing how far we have to go. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://womenintheworkplace.com/#about
6. Kilhefner, J. (2016, July 14). Facts About Racial Inequality in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://woman.thenest.com/racial-inequality-workplace-20004.html
7. Leddy, C. (2017, April 18). Closing The Gender Pay Gap: A Strategic And Operational Advantage. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/adp/2017/04/18/closing-the-gender-pay-gap-a-strategic-and-operational-advantage/#1b1ab66d21a7
8. Martinelli, V. (2015, October 09). Closing the Gender Wage Gap Benefits the Economy. Retrieved from https://www.careersingovernment.com/tools/gov-talk/career-advice/on-the-job/closing-the-gender-wage-gap-benefits-the-economy/
9. Mayhew, R. (2016, October 26). Workplace Programs That Reduce Racism and Discrimination. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/workplace-programs-reduce-racism-discrimination-11533.html
10. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics. (2018, January 19). Retrieved October 4, 2018, from https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat37.htm
11. Noman, N. (2016, September 28). Men get boss-level promotions 30% more than women. Retrieved from https://mic.com/articles/155344/biases-and-low-promotion-rates-keep-women-from-becoming-ceos-mc-kinsey-study-finds#.Ti5LEHypr
12. Trachsel, H. (2014, October 29). Six ways to fix gender inequality at work. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2014/10/six-ways-fix-gender-inequality-workplace/
13. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: UNITED STATES. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217

Racial Profiling In America: Past Present And Future

Is racial profiling happening in America today? Do certain ethnic groups get targeted more than others? These are some of the many controversial yet frequently asked questions today. It is often the topic on our nightly newscasts and debated by politicians. Merriam Webster’s definition of profiling is “the act or process of extrapolating information about a person based on known traits or tendencies”. Their definition of racial profiling is “the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense”. This paper will look at the history of racial profiling, the laws that have influenced this topic, and its relation to police practices.

Racial profiling is not a new issue rather it dates back to the time of slavery. During the 16th century, African Americans were, “considered the property of their masters based on a view that they were naturally unequal and inferior people” (Rocque, 2011). In 1963, the Philadelphia Court system granted the police the ability to apprehend any African American whether free or enslaved. This provides an excellent example of one of the first instances of racial profiling. One of the outcomes of the Union victory in the Civil War was that the Confederates were forced to recognize the federal government and all of its laws which included acknowledging slaves as free and granted all people equal protection as declared by the Emancipation Proclamation. Unfortunately, these federal laws existed but many of the states passed their own laws which defeated the federal intentions. These state laws known as the Jim Crow laws were a way for the states to regain control of the slaves and lower their status. As indicated by M. Roque, “Many states passed Jim Crow laws, which had the effect of maintaining forms of discrimination in legal, social, and economic forums” (Rocque, 2011). It wasn’t until the mid-1900s that these laws began to fade and the courts began to develop a new reform. M. Roque also stated, “In the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, the Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine, and the civil rights acts passed in the mid-20th century attempting to restate and reinforce a policy against segregation” (Roque, 2011). The passing of this act made illegal discrimination towards race, religion, sex, or national origin in public facilities. It is not only the African Americans that suffered under discrimination but also included such groups as Latinos, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. While these improved laws now exist unfortunately discrimination has not died and has led to racial bias and targeting based on ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation.

As indicated by Dr. Kamalu, “The phrase ‘racial profiling’ has been primarily used to denote police bias and stereotypes in its law enforcement practices on the basis of racial and ethnic consideration” (Kamalu, 2016). In the 1980s, the use of drugs, specifical cocaine, was growing. This was the beginning of the “war on drugs” and a key example of the contemporary use of racial profiling. It was a common thought that minorities were the primary users of illegal drugs. Based on that theory, minorities were targeted by law enforcement agencies in searching for drugs or information on the sale and movement of drugs. The feelings by society were that “the stereotypical association of minorities as the primary users of cocaine by the majority population driven by negative popular media coverage of the issue reinforced the notion that Black and Hispanic minorities, especially males are criminals” (Kamalu, 2016). The 4th Amendment to the Constitution grants citizens the protection against unwarranted searches of their private residences, belongings, or being. This use of racial profiling sparked many court cases in the 1980s. It highlighted the legality of certain searches and arrests and the beginning of the controversial debate over racial profiling.

There is a thought process that assumes society is always in a state of conflict, this is known as the Conflict Theory and was originally developed by Karl Marx. These theorists believe that those with the power are in charge and use the government and its laws to keep this power. As stated in the article Conflict Theory and Racial Profiling: An empirical analysis of police traffic stop data, “ In essence, laws are made which serve the interests of the privileged and the police are used to suppress and control any segment of society that poses a threat to the status quo ( Black, 1976, Dahrendorf, 1959, Quinney, 1970, Turk, 1969, Vold, 1958)”. If you follow this theory and its presumptions, you assume that conflict will always be present among the classes and the highest in society will utilize the police to protect their interests. Typically, those in power are the wealthy and the majority leaders while the minorities are the lower classes. These theorists go on to assume that more police presence will be located near the minority classes in order to “keep them under control” and then there will be higher arrests, etc. in the lower classes. (Petrocelli,Piquero & Smith, 2003). Many studies have been conducted relative to conflict theory and police practices. Conflict theorists argue that these studies indicate the support of their theories. Although conflict theory relative to racial profiling data is limited, the article suggests there is a correlation between the theory and an increase in stops of minority groups. (Petrocelli,Piquero & Smith, 2003). In this same article, they cite a study of racial profiling done in Washington, DC which they state highlighted a focus on young African American Males. It claims the following was found, “that the Rapid Deployment Unit, a unit designed to target drugs and potential riots, seemed to focus their efforts on the “urban ghetto,” an area of Washington where 40 percent of the Black population lives below the poverty level”. (Petrocelli,Piquero & Smith, 2003). Conflict theorists continue to defend their views but much evaluation of outside factors should be considered when evaluating their information.

The job of the police is to protect and serve their community. Their presence should help to not only solve crimes but deter criminals as well and become an integral part of their community. They should not be seen as the enemy. In this vein, the idea of “community policing” is growing and having success. Why then is this the topic of racial profiling and police use such a hot topic and what is spurring it on? This topic tends to creep up more when looking at felonies and misdemeanors and the methods police use when conducting a stop and search.

Police involvement in solving a crime can be placed on a spectrum. First, they can be involved by either being called directly by a victim or by coming across a crime as it is being committed. In this situation, they investigate and act based on testimony and evidence found. Secondly, they can become involved when there is a crime against the state. For example, a violation of a traffic law. Finally, police work to try and deter crime before it happens. This final method’s ideology is that the presence of police or the consequences of committing a crime will prevent a person from committing that crime. As you move across this spectrum, the use of hard facts to make a decision to one of the conjecture increases (del Pozo, 2001). This is where a grey area develops. For example, one goal of a police department is to prevent crime. The police cannot be everywhere so how do you decide what areas are best to target or whether or not to conduct a search while not crossing the line into racial profiling? This is a major dilemma.

There is a large debate over the use of racial profiling by police officers today. There are supporters who claim the practice is productive and not meant to be a racial item but rather it utilizes the laws of probability in trying to factor out the most likely scenario. They also feel it is justifiable since the end result, to lessen crime, is a moral reason. Those against racial profiling claim that certain minority groups are being unfairly targeted and it is a form of discrimination. They feel it infringes upon your own rights as a citizen of the United States.

The topic of race has become more common in policing discussions today. The decision to search a car, home, or being is a tough call by a police officer. If they suspect foul behavior it could prevent a crime but could also lead to a claim of racial bias. If a community feels the police are utilizing racial profiling it can cause tension and distrust within the community. Today the court’s system has enacted some legislation to help protect control racial profiling. In 2001, Congress introduced legislation to end racial profiling but the bill lost support after the wake of the attacks on September 11, 2001. Some states have enacted “stop and identify” laws. The laws vary from state to state but in general allow an officer to detain a suspect and require identification to be provided.

There have been some studies done to determine the extent of racial profiling in the United States. Many agencies are now collecting data on their stops. To date, results have been conflicting. Reviewing stop and search data is important as it can ensure the correct charges were given but also that the rules for probable cause were followed by an officer. For example, a study was done using Rhode Island Police Traffic Stop data. Upon initial review, one could conclude that racial profiling was being used. Of those stopped, the number of African American men was 53% higher than the number of Caucasian men. Yet when further researched the following was found, “Use of independent variables such as time of day, the age of the driver, and the predominant race of the neighborhood eliminated evidence of racial bias” (Anthony, Grossi & Higgins, 2018).

Despite the studies, creation of laws, changing practices of the police, racial profiling related to police practices continues to be a topic of much research and debate. Racial bias or discrimination can not be tolerated. At the same time, the methods that police use when making decisions must also be considered. A high-crime neighborhood may be more likely to be patrolled because law enforcement’s job is to monitor and guard the citizens of their community. As we continue to move towards the future, lawmakers, citizens, and law enforcement need to work together. The sooner we realize that we are all on the same side of the issue, the more reasonable it is to expect meaningful change and adoption of best practices.

Police Duties And Police Brutality: Where Is The Border?

Introduction

This paper will review the literature on the controversy of the topic of police brutality. Police brutality is the unwarranted or excessive and sometimes illegal use of force against civilians by police officers. Forms of police brutality varies from assault and battery to mayhem, torture, and even murder. This issue has been going on for decades. A new study finds that fatal police violence may be a key explanation for the death of young men in America. Researchers claim that police forces have become a significant issue for public safety with serious effects on society. Data from 2013 to 2018 found that the sixth leading cause of death for people between the ages of 25 and 29 among all race categories is lethal police brutality. The report also showed that the lifetime risk of death from police abuse is greatest for men and women of all races, between the ages of 20 and 35 (Lockhart, 2019).

This has brought up concerns with a few questions. What is the main reason behind police brutality? Is it possible to prevent? How should they be punished? And the impact of police brutality on society. The review on this research paper was carried out using both media and academic sources. The media sources are from The Independent, Vox, Smithsonian Magazine, Business Insider, etc and the academic sources are from European Journal of American Culture and Case Western Reserve Law Review. This is of course a very sensitive topic, which is why the process of researching the topic was quite difficult. However, this paper might help urge people pay more attention to police brutality. People might or might not do anything about it. What’s going to happen next?

The main reasons behind police brutality

One important factor which allows a culture of police brutality to develop is that police officers do not seem obligated to take care of their community engagement with a group level of accountability or transparency. A person does something inappropriate during this case and is never reprimanded for his or her behaviour. The consequence is that, due to the routine duties of the cop, the police official tends to pursue violent methods on the official. Local law enforcement authorities have enough weapons to conquer a small nation. The use of the heavily armed police squad presence has risen to some 50,000-80,000 events per year, and many municipal and state authorities have formed the attitude of ‘us against them’ against the people they are supposed to represent (Welch and Mewhirter, 2017). Another factor is that police do not receive adequate training for every situation. It should be noted that in the absences of such supplemental training, police are likely to consider violence acceptable. However, the most controversial reason is believed to be racism.

Black people are more likely to be shot by police than their white peers. A FBI analyses showed that the US police kill black people at disproportionate rates: 31% of police murders in 2012 were blacks, but just 13% of the US population (Crime in the U.S. 2012, 2012). Although the research is incomplete because voluntary reports from police departments around the country are funded, it demonstrates the vast differences in the way police use force.

In line with the Guardian report on 2015 police shootings, the differences appear to be much higher for unarmed suspects. Racial minorities comprise roughly 37.4% of the total US population and 46.6% of the victims, army and disarmed, but they account for 62.7% of police killing of unarmed civilians (Swaine, Laughland and Lartey, 2015). Such differences in police force usage reflect the broader scope of racial inequalities in the overall criminal justice system in the United States. Blacks are much more likely to be prosecuted for drugs, even though they no longer consume or sell them. And black prisoners make up a large number of prisoners (Lopez, 2015).

The socio-economic factors — like poverty, unemployment, segregation and police brutality when it comes to violent crime — explain some of these inequalities, which lead to more crime and violence in black communities. As a result, police appear to be more active in black areas — and in these areas police interventions are more likely to be required, from traffic stops to arrests and shootings. But a review of Sentencing Project has found that in different periods of time over the past few decades only about 61 to 80 percent of black overrepresentation has been explained by the highest concentrations of Black populations (Racial Disparity | The Sentencing Project, 2020). This suggests that, because of other factors, such as, likely, racial prejudice or previous criminal records affecting prison sentences, up to 39 percent of the racially unequal prison population is present.

A further analysis by researcher Cody Ross from 2015 found that ‘There is no connexion between county-level racial bias in police firefighting and crime levels (even racial-specific crimes rate) that indicates that the racial bias in police firefighting is not to be clarified in this data set as a response to local crime levels.’ (Ross, 2015). The racial profiling of individual officers is one of the potential causes. Research reveals that officers in game simulations are fired faster by black offenders. Joshua Correll, a professor of psychology at the University of Colorado, said that it is likely that the predisposition that lead to more deficient results in the field.

Ethnic inequalities have been the cause for criticism of policy over the past few years, resulting in the campaign Black Lives Matter which, due to the recent killings by the Brown police in Ferguson, Eric Garner in New York City, Tamir Rice in Cleveland and Freddie Grey in Baltimore, among others, has gained national prominence. Some have become worried about disparities and high-profile murders that black lives are less important for the police, because almost every African American may be the eventual target of the shootings by the police.

How to stop police brutality

Police brutality can only be eliminated if the public and the police work together.

In recent years there has been a significant amount of police brutality in America. The abuse of the police may be a topic covered by articles of reporting, forums and paper writing. Many unjustified police killings have been carried out, leading to many police departments being scrutinised. National campaigns and demonstrations against violence were joined by the general public. The police have also been put under a microscope by various police commissions to identify individuals who present a three. The formulation of legislation aimed at mitigating police brutality should be undertaken rather than the role of the police forces.

Important progress has been made in the use of deadly force in the field of police brutality. While there is still intolerable level of violence by lethal powers, national information shows reduction in the number of people shot and killed by police in our 50 largest towns since the mid-1970s, the average of 35-40%. The racial disparity among people who were shot and killed was significantly decreased in this: from the 1970s onwards, from about six coloured people to one white person, up to three coloured people to one white.

A rigorously qualified law enforcement agency will certainly be a positive objective which should be followed according to local circumstances. Citizens’ organisations in some areas have traditionally urged law enforcement officers to obtain more education and training in their attempts to address the issue of police brutality. Today, however, it seems to be less important for many police forces because of the drastic increase in the number of Yank law enforcement officials in recent years. By 1970, only 3.7% of the law enforcement officers in the country were trained for four or more years. By 1989 the figure had risen to 22.6%, and 65% had at least some experience in college (Lamont, Macleod and Wilkin, 2011). The level of training among new hires with around two years of school in many departments is the highest.

Instead of being regarded as the only police subordinates, police policies would be open to public scrutiny and discussion. Open policymaking allows police officers not only to take advantage of community feedback, but also provides police officers with the ability to demonstrate to the general public why certain tactics or procedures might be required. It may help to predict problems and avoid disasters before they occur.

Another key goal here would be to persuade the local government agency to enact and enforce a formal physical force use policy. It should specifically restrict physical strength to particular circumstances to the narrowest possible range. Of example, the baton use policy would prevent law enforcement officers from targeting the residents of ‘non-target’ locations, such as the top and back, where there may be permanent injuries. Mace should be used for defence rather than offensive purposes. Strictly monitored and checked should be the use of electronic stun guns, as they require considerable potential misuse because they do not leave marks or bleeding. The policy would specify that after any overt use of force, the police officer submits a report that the reports will be reviewed by senior officers immediately.

Conclusion

In many communities up to now, police brutality remains obvious. The key perpetrators of such brutalities are racial and ethnic groups. Such police brutalities mainly target minorities or marginalised groups such as the poor, hence the powerless, the elderly. It is true that the cops use unnecessary force to arrest suspicious people and also to defend themselves, but they have to use the force excessively, so that the safety of the public and cops can be avoided. Race should even never be a sign of illegal activity. It should even be remembered. When suspecting crimes, it should not be treated as an element. This crime is to be stopped by the cops and the authorities, the government and therefore the public in general. Such four ideologies are closely linked in order to restrict the violence of police forces.

Wider community support could be gained from a well-organized, coordinated campaign against police brutality. The key is to turn this support into practical requirements and develop strategies which translate those requests into concrete reforms.

The brutality of the police goes beyond the unwarranted force and death which occurs when people interact with the police. The wounds contributed not only to physical injuries. There are still mental wounds for the victims and their families. In order to dehumanise the victim, the police should be more concentrated. The methods mentioned above might not fix anything right now, but it’s a beginning. To learn a way to calm down a station will help develop community trust.

REFERENCES

1. FBI. 2012. Crime In The U.S. 2012. [online] Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
2. Lamont, E., Macleod, S. and Wilkin, A., 2011. [online] Nfer.ac.uk. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
3. Lockhart, P., 2019. Why Police Violence Needs To Be Treated As A Public Health Issue. [online] Vox. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
4. Lopez, G., 2015. Black And White Americans Use Drugs At Similar Rates. One Group Is Punished More For It.. [online] Vox. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
5. Ross, C., 2015. [online] journals.plos.org. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
6. Swaine, J., Laughland, O. and Lartey, J., 2015. Black Americans Killed By Police Twice As Likely To Be Unarmed As White People. [online] the Guardian. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
7. The Sentencing Project. 2020. Racial Disparity | The Sentencing Project. [online] Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
8. Welch, R. and Mewhirter, J., 2017. [online] The Washington Post. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Correll, J., 2002. [online] Pdfs.semanticscholar.org. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
2. FBI. 2012. Crime In The U.S. 2012. [online] Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
3. Kristian, B., 2014. 7 Reasons Police Brutality Is Not Going Away. [online] Business Insider. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
4. Lamont, E., Macleod, S. and Wilkin, A., 2011. [online] Nfer.ac.uk. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
5. Lockhart, P., 2019. Why Police Violence Needs To Be Treated As A Public Health Issue. [online] Vox. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
6. Lopez, G., 2015. Black And White Americans Use Drugs At Similar Rates. One Group Is Punished More For It.. [online] Vox. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
7. Ross, C., 2015. [online] journals.plos.org. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
8. Swaine, J., Laughland, O. and Lartey, J., 2015. Black Americans Killed By Police Twice As Likely To Be Unarmed As White People. [online] the Guardian. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
9. The Center for Popular Democracy. 2020. 15 Things Your City Can Do Right Now To End Police Brutality. [online] Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
10. The Sentencing Project. 2020. Racial Disparity | The Sentencing Project. [online] Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].
11. Welch, R. and Mewhirter, J., 2017. [online] The Washington Post. Available at: [Accessed 6 April 2020].

The Epidemic Of Police Brutality In The United States

Police brutality is one of the biggest traumas in our country. It is “One of several forms of misconduct which involve undue violence by police members.” In other words, officers take advantage of their power which in result causes injustice for the victims of police brutality. Although it is illegal, police tend to get away with almost any wrongdoing. Leonard Moore’s article Police Brutality in the United States, reads that “Americans among victims of police brutality are African Americans.” They are at a higher percentage of being victimized by police brutality, in comparison to Caucasian Americans. There has been many cases of police brutality against minorities; however, there is little justice being served. Brutality results in the fear of citizens because of the harm that they portray on people.

The population of African Americans in the United States is 39.2 million, which is 12.6%. Four months into this year, 2018, there has been 466 people murdered due to police brutality. “In the year of 2017, 987 people were fatally shot by police 25% were African Americans.” (Moore) The harm of these crimes leave a sense of trepidation not only for African Americans, but also many other nationalities in our nation. The number of incidents caused by brutality is growing at an alarming rate. As a result of action not being taken, officers feel that they have a right to take advantage of vulnerable citizens. Each year in America there are roughly 1,000 people injured by cops, which is far to many. That number could easily decrease if affirmative action were taken.

The question at hand is why are police allowed to do these crimes to our people? There have been years of protest, and many riots against this atrocity. However, there hasn’t been a change in the system, nor has there been justice to those who lost their lives due to cops. In 1991 four white police officers from Los Angeles pulled Rodney King over because of a high-speed chase. Without remorse, all four officers beat 25 year old Rodney King on a 81 second footage. Police were captured kicking and clubbing Rodney King 56 times. Rodney suffered 11 skull fractures. This erupted into the biggest riot in US history. The Los Angeles Riot had “63 deaths, over 2,000 injured people, 1200 arrest, and $1 billion worth of damage.” This wasn’t the only riot because of police brutality. Back in 2014 once again a white officer Darren Wilson not only shot, but killed 18 year old Michael Brown. Officer Wilson claimed that Brown was acting violent towards the officer and charged at him. However eyewitness stated that Brown was trying to depart from Wilson, he also tried to surrender by raising his hands. Brown turned his back and began to run, then stopped and turned back around facing the cop to surrender. Brown was shot six times to death. This corrupted the people of Ferguson, making it top 7 on the most eruptive riot in the us. However in 2014 another riot approached making this the top 4 in the US. This time, the officer shot and killed Tamir Rice, a 12 year old boy. The officer was reacting to a 911 call stating that there was a man with a gun at the park. Rice had a fake toy gun and had done no harm to anyone. In every case that was just stated, not one police officer was fired, or prosecuted for the crimes they had committed to each African American male.

In conclusion police brutality has been an ongoing problem in America and has yet to come to an end. Regardless of the amount of riots and protests, it seems as if there is little being done by the government to lower this drastic number of deaths and injuries. Many victims run or react out of fear. If there were laws and consequences put in action then the number of deaths and injuries would drastically go down. More must be done in order to protect African Americans from the horror of police brutality.

Police Officers vs. African Americans

Is it “ To Serve & To Protect” or “To Serve & To Disrespect” ? Police brutality has existed for decades undetected but got worldwide exposure from the “ leaked footage” of the 1991 police incident in Los Angeles displaying the harsh beating of Rodney King by law enforcers. This event , in addition to all of the officers that were shown on tape got acquitted of all charges, led to riots happening all over Los angeles for 6 whole days. What led us as a people to commit such barbaric acts ? Was it frustration of inequality ? Was it us finally taking a stand against “The White Man”? African Americans have a long , dark , and very twisted history with this country and its “Law Enforcers” , but yet we still pray for the day that equal justice will be served in the court of law if an unarmed African American youth is gunned down by a police officer.

Police brutality has been forced upon the African American community for over 50 years . Dating back to the late 1920’s , African Americans always had a higher percentage of being killed by police officers than any other race in the U.S. During this time , studies were being conducted and analyzed with many of these confrontations being initiated by police officers(Survey conducted in Chicago & Cook County between 1927-1928). Between 1931-1932 , over 14 volumes of published findings of crime related and police tactics was shown to the public , one entry being titled “ Report on Lawlessness in Law Enforcement”, in response to President Hoover forming the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement. Fast forward 30 years later to the Civil Rights Movement era and you see police attacking peaceful African American protestors with fire hoses and police dogs. For example : Southern states started openly accepting the abuse of African Americans and allowing Klu Klux members to terrorize the families of said minorities as a fear tactic. As a result , African Americans (beginning in the 70’s) who started joining local police forces went through horrendous recruitment training and would turn against their own people/community in order to receive praise/acceptance from the white police officers and to be viewed as a “Good officer of the law”.

In recent years police brutality has been on an uprise with many African Americans , youth or adult, being gunned down by “Officers of the Law” or severely beaten and verbal abused as a form of submission . September 15th of last year (2018) , a 19 year old named Anton Black was killed by 5 police officers while they were trying to restrain him in order to get cuffs on his wrists, with one of the officers saying how Black had “superhuman strength” and that it ‘scared’ him. Anton had went into cardiac arrest after being restrained by the team of officers after 2 minutes and was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital shortly. 4 years prior , a man named Eric Garner was another victim/example of police brutality. Witnesses reported that Garner had just broken up a fight which is why Law enforcers were called on the scene that day, but seemed to know the officers and told them he had done nothing and to leave him alone as they had prior history harassing him.At that point garner was surrounded by 5 police officers and they all started tackling him down to the ground with each of them holding down apart of his body while one officer still had Eric in a chokehold as his fell on his knees and onto the floor while shouting out 11 times “ I can’t breathe” before the team eased up their stronghold on the man and tried to check for a pulse. When EMTs arrived , Garner had already lost consciousness and had a heart attack while being transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead an hour later. These two deaths , in addition to countless others deaths/mistreatment of African Americans, stirred up more hatred and resentment towards Police Officers and the Justice System as a whole.

While there is a high level of resentment towards Law Enforcement Officers , many seem to not know what it actually feels like to be in the line of danger every single day with the possibility of not coming home later that day or ending up gravely injured. All officers of the law are not bad as how they are perceived by the media even if the bad may outweigh the good, but there are those who grew up as minorities and never experienced police brutality personally so they’re perspective on Law Enforcement Officers may differ than a majority of said race. For example : Officer Jesse Hartnett is a good example of what some might call a “good cop” , while being injured in the line of duty( 3 bullets shattering his arm and damaging the nerves along with it), Harnett has been praised by the community for his courage and his generous nature towards those who lived on the streets , often buying them food or beverages while stopping to make small talk to those who passed while on his patrol, being called a “compassionate officer”by Commissioner Richard Ross.

Another example of a “good cop” is the story of about James Roberts and how a police officer helped him make it in time for his job interview. Roberts was lost while on his way to secure a job interview after struggling to get one for years and asked an unnamed officer for directions , knowing that he would not make it in time , the officer offered the late businessman a ride to his interview and wished him luck & god bless after dropping Roberts off in front of the building where his interview was scheduled. These are prime example of Police Officers committing acts of generosity but they often go underappreciated and overlooked by the public due to how their image is portrayed in the media or rather how certain officers take the law into their own hands.

The Hate U Give: Police Brutality against African Americans

The Hate You Give is a great novel that expresses the topic of police brutality against the African American society. Though the novel centers around that, it has multiple topics that surround police brutality like a web. The story follows a young girl named Starr Carter, a girl who lives in Garden Heights who is dealing with an internal conflict. She lives in two worlds and this book covers her journey to realizing that she shouldn’t let them change who she really is inside. One of her worlds is Garden Heights: her neighborhood, her home where she was born and raised. She feels like herself in this world, she doesn’t have to hide anything at all. Her other world is Williamson Prep, in this world, she can’t be herself. She must act a certain way, talk a certain way, and absolutely cannot let her classmates think she’s ghetto.

This conflict makes Starr Carter feel like she’s ultimately different from others. Proof of this comes from page 74, “ Williamson Starr is non confrontational. Basically, Williamson Starr doesn’t give anyone a reason to call her ghetto. I can’t stand myself for doing it, but I do it anyway.”. Finding her voice, though it is the main conflict in the story, isn’t the only conflict she deals with. The death of Khalil ignites the fire in her to speak up, and reveal her feelings through protest. His death marks the breaking point of her silence, she can’t drown her feelings, she can’t and will not hold her tongue. Just like everyone else who knows Garden Heights as a homestead, she demands just for Khalil.

Khalil and police brutality aren’t the only voices driving the young high schooler. Why she finds it a necessity to not hold her tongue is because Khalil isn’t the only one of her childhood friends that died in the story. In chapter 12, it is revealed that Natasha also died in front of Starr when she was just a young girl. Starr doesn’t tell a soul about it until the story reaches the point of Khalil getting shot. These two forces change Starr’s character dramatically, Willliamson Starr dies in the process. It is crucial to note that Starr dealing with the passing of Khalil and breaking her silence isn’t easy at all, She grieves hard. At times she is outraged, others she’s depressed. Keep in mind that no one at Williamson knew that she knew Khalil yet. The interview at the police department is the first time she reveals what happens to Khalil and what pisses her off the most is that they ask questions only about Khalil which pisses her off and rightly so because she remembers what her father said before the funeral which was to not let them twist her words. She even points out to the investigators that they are looking for answers to justify Khalil’s death.

These events show that Williamson starr’s death evokes a change in Starr. Those who witness this change are Chris, Hailey, Maya, and her family. This change also lets Starr realize who her real friends are. Hailey is completely ignorant to the death of Khalil and the feelings of Starr. Once starr begins to post pics on her tumblr in relation to Khalil’s death, Hailey unfollows her marking the dissonance between the two. Unfortunately, Hailey can’t see that there are two sides to the issue of Khalil’s death. She can’t see past Khalil being a drug dealer, She can’t see why Khalil is another victim in the cycle of police brutality. Hailey’s response acts as another catalyst for Starr to speak up on Khalil’s death. Luckily, Starr has friends on her side. Maya overhears Hailey’s comments on Starr’s change and immediately checks Hailey. Maya understands that you can’t just eat the food the media gives you, you have to see the issue from every angle.

Then there’s Chris, another ally for Starr. Beyond romantics, you can see he truly cares for Starr through his efforts to comfort her. He constantly makes efforts to live in her world. Starr is in outrage when she sees that the day school’s off to protest Khalil’s death is only used to hangout and have fun. She storms off and Chris comes in to see why she’s angry, and comes to realize why himself. There isn’t a page in the story where Chris goes against Starr in any way, shape, or form. He shows true companionship by not wavering to Starr’s change.

Starr’s journey has many obstacles to cross in the novel. Her Uncle is one of them. Uncle Carlos, whom she spent most of her life being raised by while her dad was in prison, tries to justify the actions of 115 to Starr in chapter 15. Then she asks a crucial question to Uncle Carlos. She asks if him and her were put into 115 and Khalil’s place, would he have shot her? He answers no. This event is a testament to Uncle Carlos’s character as someone who is very knowledgeable about the situation at hand, so much so that this chapter shows his dissonance on the topic.

Police brutality is a very sensitive topic but is definitely surging in today’s media as proof that there is a definitive inequality between people, especially the non-white demographic, and the police. People are beat up, strangled, and tackled for so much as standing in one place for too long. Starr, like many of the general public, is aiming to end that unjust way of monitoring the public. Khalil represents one of the many that are killed and forgotten by the police, he represents the Starr’s call to action, he represents one of the many reasons why the handling of police brutality and how it is handled in the court system itself violates our rights and our freedoms. To compare the rights of cops to the rights of the people in court is like looking at a seesaw. Angie Thomas brilliantly translates that issue into a story for all ages, ethnicities, and etc. The novel itself is a bold statement of hers because it does what a few public officials aren’t able to do which is acknowledge that police brutality does exist and that it is an unjust problem.

Maverick is another character in the story that ails Starr in finding her voice. He’s arguably her biggest motivation in the novel because even through childhood he taught Starr, Seven, and Sekani the Black Panther Ten Point Program but that event is only part of Maverick’s contributions to Starr’s development as a character. There’s a part in the book that does a wonderful job explaining why some communities have drug dealers. Maverick tells Starr, “You got folks like Brenda, who think they need them to survive, and then you got the Khalils who think they need to sell them to survive. The Brendas can’t get jobs unless they’re clean, and they can’t pay for rehab unless they got jobs. When the Khalils get arrested for selling drugs, they either spend most of their life in prison, another billion-dollar industry, or they have a hard time getting a real job and probably start selling drugs again. That’s the hate they’re giving us, baby, a system designed against us. That’s ‘Thug Life.”(Thomas 168-169). This event not only teaches Starr why there are drug dealers in Garden Heights but it also tells the reader that there are two sides to the situation of police and the convicted. The news try their best to demonize those like Khalil when in reality, Not every situation that deals with the killing of a subject isn’t a black and white picture as some people believe. There’s a reason for every action, and put people in time out time and time again doesn’t do anything to prevent the crime. Offering alternatives would be a better way to end crimes.

Seven’s vehicle comes up short on gas, so the teenagers leave the vehicle while they search for a corner store. As they approach the road where Khalil was killed, the youngsters discover a gathering of protestors reciting, ‘A hairbrush isn’t a weapon!’ Ms. Ofrah remains on a squad car, driving the dissent. The police require the protestors to scatter. For a minute, Starr flashes back to Khalil’s homicide, however transforms that torment into a boisterous yell. Ms. Ofrah heads toward Starr. She gets some information about the uproars on Magnolia, seeing DeVante’s wounds, yet they console her he’s alright. They tell Ms. Ofrah the Only Us for Equity office is alright as well. She says that regardless of whether it wasn’t, it was only a structure. Ms. Ofrah inquires as to whether Lisa knows where she is. Starr lies, however Ms. Ofrah doesn’t trust her. After Starr demands that she needs to accomplish something, Ms. Ofrah drives her to the front of the dissent.

Starr stammers, yet the group calls for Starr to talk. The police request the dissidents to leave. Starr presents herself and considers One-Fifteen a criminal. She yells at the police that until there’s evidence that the police care about equity for dark individuals, dark individuals will continue challenging. She expresses that the reality Khalil lived could easily compare to how he kicked the bucket. The police give the protestors until the check of three to scatter. The group yells, ‘Khalil lived!’. This event helps Starr find her voice by having the crowd of protestors support her in protest. Their support tells Starr that she’s in the right.

The Issue Of Racial Profiling And The Use Of Force

Racial profiling is an issue that has been witnessed for many years and is still seen increasing today. It is an affair that affects millions of citizens every day. Individuals now in our societies are scared of the police officers that swear to protect the wellbeing of all the citizens in the community. This constant fear of being targetted breaches the ability of individuals to make their own decisions and do what they desire without facing any consequences. There are a lot more restrictions and consequences for the actions of the minorities in our societies, and therefore a greater emphasis must put on this matter of contention. We need more attention on racial profiling and the use of inappropriate force because not only does it target the mental health of the victims, it decreases the level of trust in the police services, and it also infringes upon sections 12 and 15 of their Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

One of the most important consequences of racial profiling that needs to be brought to attention is the significant impact it has on a victim’s mental health. Along with affecting their mental health racial profiling also negatively influences the social development, and overall well-being of the victims (Hakim, 2016). Through conducted tests, it has been proven that “discrimination, such as the targeted killing of blacks by police, and the violence exposure, seeing videos of police killings can lead to mental health effects (Nadal, Griffin, Wong, Hamit, Rasmus, 2014). For some, it is the constant fear of being racially discriminated which leads to the occurrence of high levels of anxiety and depression (Hakim, 2016), and for others it is the lack of self-esteem that results in the health diseases (Nadal et al. 2014). The victims are diagnosed with health conditions such as obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and higher rates of stress (Hakim, 2016). Keeping these stakes in mind there needs to be more attention put towards this issue because it is the individual’s physical health that is being compromised because they are constantly fearful about their surroundings. As stated above, the constant occurrence of racial profiling and the use of force traumatizes the individuals leaving a lifelong harm to their mental health and the development of youth for the rest of their lives. *Tips on adding a concluding statement*

Secondly, racial profiling and the use of force leads to the lack of trust and confidence that individuals have towards all police officers. Through the research conducted by Legewie (2016), it is seen that the “leading cause of death of African Americans is homicide….. Black males were killed approximately two times a week.” When it comes to showing trust and confidence in police officers it is easier for the white respondents then it is for the minorities of the community, instead, they showed the lowest amount of trust (Tyler 2005). The increase of lack of trust amongst the minorities comes after witnessing police officers engaging in race-based harassment and racial profiling (Tyler, 2005). It is the abuse of authority by police officers that triggers the lack of trust amongst the public and also stopping them from cooperating with the police (Tyler, 2005). In an interview conducted by Hakim (2016), a young African American states, “[I] am fearful for my life. If I walk by a policeman or someone with authority, being a black man in this country, in general, is just a threat by itself. I feel scared.” This needs to be brought to light because the more the police participate in racial profiling and the more they use force, there is a decrease in the number of individuals who cooperate with them and those individuals who trust them. As stated above, constantly witnessing members of their community being negatively treated will automatically deter individuals from turning to the police because of the fear that they are going to be the next victims. *What more should I add to this, can I add more*

Lastly, there is a need for bringing more attention to racial profiling and the use of force by police officers because these actions of the police infringe sections fifteen and section twelve of the guaranteed rights from the Canadian Charter Rights of Freedoms. Section twelve of the charter guarantees individuals the “right to not be discriminated against on the basis of race, national or ethnic, origin, color, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability (Potter, 2016).” Similarly, section twelve of the charter protects Canadian citizens from the use of excessive abuse, and use of force by the members of the law (“Guides to the Canadian Charter,” 2019). As seen in the description of these sections, the act of racial profiling infringes upon section fifteen and twelve of the victim’s rights because as mentioned above when it comes to dealing with minorities, police officers tend to use a lot more force then they would when dealing with the other members of society.

To conclude, racial profiling is a reoccurring issue that needs to stop because of its impacts on the lives of the victims. It is the impact it has on their mental health, the loss of trust in the police services, and the infringement of rights, that requires an increase in the attention given to this issue. As seen above, racial profiling results in problems of social development of the victims that witness it on a regular basis. Observing racial profiling also leads to individuals avoiding interactions with police officers, and it also infringes upon the rights that the government guarantees to each of their citizens. With bringing more attention to this conflict police officers must focus more on maintaining their procedural standards so they are able to ensure that no one’s rights are infringed upon, their actions are not causing negative impact on the lives of these individuals, and with this they will be able to maintain authority and build a trust-based community.

Police Brutality against African Americans: Causes and Prevention

America has been trying to achieve justice for everyone for many decades. One of America’s first attempts at gaining equality was the introduction of Civil Rights. “Civil Rights are the rights of citizens all citizens to political and social freedom and equality”. Some examples of civil rights include the right to vote or to be treated fairly by the legal system. The Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s was a long time when civil rights, particularly for African Americans, were greatly violated. Jim Crow laws were also enacted that kept African Americans to a second-class status. To continue, this led to segregation. Segregation mandated separate schools for black students, prevented voting, and banned interacial marriage. African Americans took action and started protesting for their rights. Then the police brutality came to the center of all this. Police brutality is just one of several forms of abuse African Americans endured during this movement. Police Brutality is defined as police misconduct which involves undue violence by police members. Although it is illegal, it’s still occurring under the color of law today.

History

Police Brutality was first introduced into American press even before the civil rights movement in 1872, when the Chicago Tribune reported on the beating of a civilian under arrest at the Harrison Street Police Station. Police Brutality has had a nationwide increase. The brutality started out as used to oppress strikes of African Americans attempting to gain their rights. Police brutalizing working-class people and arresting them without cause. A common occurrence during the civil rights era was African Americans were sprayed down with water hoses by officers and attacked by police dogs. Back in 1985 only one out of five people thought that police brutality was a serious problem. Although the cases of brutality seemed a lot more extreme during the Civil Rights Movement, cases will prove that it’s still common.

Cases and Police Accountability

Rodney King

In March 1991, members of the Los Angeles Police Department harshly beat an African American suspect, Rodney King. Someone caught videotape of the incident, leading for it to blow up in the media and face criminal charges against several of the officers involved. The court acquitted four police officers at trial in April of 1992, which led to huge rioting. “The Los Angeles riots of 1992 commenced, causing 53 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damages to 3,100 businesses, and nearly $1 billion in financial losses.” After the trial, two of the four officers were convicted and received 32-month prison sentences.

Archie Elliot

Police brutality became more commonplace after the Rodney King Case’s upset. In 1993, African-American Archie Elliott was handcuffed and placed in custody on a police cruiser by two police officers in Prince George County, Maryland for driving under the influence of alcohol. While cuffed, with a seat belt fastened over him, and the windows rolled up, he was shot at 22 times because the officers believed that they saw him pointing a gun at them. The police officers were not criminally indicted by a county grand jury and were cleared to return to duty. The reason for the dismissal of the case was due to not enough evidence pointing to foul play.

Dorismond

In 2000, 26-year-old Dorismond was shot during a confrontation with an undercover police officer in New York City. The police officer approached him to ask where he could purchase drugs. Dorismond said he was not a drug dealer, but the officer still shot him. Later, the officer claimed it was Dorismond who caused his own death by grabbing the officer’s gun. The question still remains why the gun was pulled out in the first place. A grand jury decided not to indict the officer in Dorismond’s death.

Robert Davis

On October 9th, 2005 retired elementary school teacher, Robert Davis, was arrested and brutally beaten by police on suspicion of public intoxication. He was attacked by four police officers, who said he was resisting arrest when they tried to handcuff him. The beatings were caught on camera, but the officers charges were cleared.

Tyree King

13-year-old Tyree King was shot and killed by police in Columbus, Ohio in 2016. Officers said in a statement they reacted when he started to pull what looked like a gun from his waistband. They later determined that the weapon was a BB gun. Officers involved received psychological support counseling and were encouraged to take time off to recover from the incident.

97% of the cases of police brutality that were tracked in 2015 did not result in any officer involved being charged with a crime.

Black Americans V. US Police Department

African Americans account for 13% of the population, while being 27% of victims to police brutality. And 35% of the cases are proven that the victim is unarmed. A study was released that identifies if police officers use their personal bias against suspects. One of the things they looked at was what they called “threat perception failure”. In the study, officers believed that the person being accused was armed and it turned out not to be the case. Obviously, these results were more likely when the suspect was African American. The Black community has every right to say they can no longer trust the police force. As a result, the social organization of the Black Lives Matter Movement has made an impact on the world in response to the violence and racism that African Americans face by police officers. Also, studies have shown that ‘Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police in the United States than White people. More unarmed Black people were killed by police than unarmed White people last year,”

Causes

Law enforcement officers say they are anxious confronting African Americans who they perceive as violent or criminal. There stereotypes come from the history of enslavement, genocide, and segregation. Police officers are legally permitted to use force when expected. Law enforcement often believes they deserve more power over society. This is interpreting that police believe that they are above the law. Officers who are trained improperly and officers with personal problems have a higher chance of pulling their gun on any suspect. But use of force should depend on a victims behavior, no matter what their race is. “Violence used by police can be be very unlawful, especially in the context of political repression”. In the situation of a crime, officers can become angry and filled with adrenaline, which alters their judgment. Typically this is the cause of assault on the victim. The Civil Rights era was one of the worst downfalls of law enforcement. But Police Brutality has grown even more dramatically over the past decade. “In 2015, the percentage of people who have confidence in the police hit its lowest since 1993 at 52 percent”.

Prevention

In the United States, police are increasingly using police body-worn cameras. The Constitution states that police officers are legally allowed to shoot in the instance that they feel the need to protect their lives or an innocent life or to prevent the suspect from escaping and posing a dangerous threat to the of bystanders in society. The Supreme Court Decision of Tennessee v. Garner made it possible to shoot a fleeing suspect ONLY if they may cause harm to innocent people so that authorities are not just shoot every suspect that tries to escape. In order to ensure that police are well trained and to mitigate the risk of police brutality, police recruits undergo approximately three years of training. Mass shootings have killed 339 people since 2015, where as police shootings over the same time span claimed the lives of 4,355 people.

The Factors of Police Brutality in America

Imagine selling CDs on the sidewalk in front of the corner store, to then be pressed by multiple police officers asking for you to empty everything from your pockets. To refuse, would mean to give up your life. Consequently, you are thrown to the ground by four New York City police officers then place you in a chokehold, as you utter the words “I can’t breathe’ while gasping for air. This is what happened to Eric Garner. His refusal to empty his pockets meant the difference between life and death. Police brutality makes life difficult for people that looks like me because it mainly impacts African American men and women.

Police brutality and mass incarceration are one of the biggest problems in the United States. Police brutality is demonstrated when a police officer approaches an individual and they have to think about if they are going to live another day. It is a persistent problem in America that must be stopped. Police brutality is legal in this country. It is! It is functionally legal for police to brutalize people in America. Most media outlets don’t even report the vast majority of instances because it is legal. I believe the model of police brutality is not limited to police officers physically harming us, but also them harassing us. Black and brown people are being arrested for things that don’t necessitate an arrest. The people that are appointed to be our protectors often mistreat, intimidate, brutalize, arrest, and detain us for seemingly insignificant complaints and suspicion.

Reports of police brutality have been noted for more than 146 years (Shaun King, 2019). If this is true police brutality has been going on for an extremely dreadful century. The word “police brutality” first showed up in America in 1872. The Chicago Tribune reported the beating of a guy arrested at the Harrison Street Police Station. From 1872, when an officer beat a man that was under arrest, until 2019 when a female police officer walks inside of another man’s apartment and shoots him multiple times; the accusations have only mushroomed. If you allow me to accelerate the hands of time to September 23, 2019, I would share the story of two 6-year-old children who were arrested at an elementary school in Orlando, Florida. One of the girls’ names was Kaia; she had a tantrum as a result of a sleep disorder that prevented her from a restful night on the day before this incident. School staff members grabbed her wrists to stop the tantrum, which is not an illegal offense. Kaia resisted and began to kick at the staff, as young children often do. Later, the resource officer at the school was called in for assistance and proceeded to arrest her. The school principal said specifically “I want her arrested.” Their brains have barely developed. It confuses me how children are arrested for minor behavior issues. There is not much information about the second child but we know that these kids are being arrested for minor behavioral tantrums, while those in authority demonstrated a grave misuse of power. The various forms of police brutality do not have to replicate physical assault, but it can be as devastating as the arrest of a child that has not even reached double digits.

Police brutality impacts all races and ethnicities, but I believe it is unjustifiably imposed in Black and Latino communities, primarily. This has become an epidemic that allows civil servants that work for the citizens to use their authority to inflict emotional and physical pain and suffering on American citizens. This 2010-2016 graph illustrates the annual rate of police shootings per 100,000 people by race. in the United States of America at the hands of humanity.

Over the past 10 years alone over 10,000 men, women, and children have been killed by American police. American police on average kill at least 3 people a day. Sometimes it is many more, sometimes it’s 12 or 13 people a day. But the bottom line is none of the officers who kill these people are never held accountable for their repeated crimes against humanity Two court cases, Tennessee v. Garner and Graham v. Conner have effectively legalized police brutality, and police brutality will continue to remain fully legal until it is fully confronted head-on.

October,3,1974 15 year old Edward Garner was accused of stealing a wallet with 10 dollars in it. When Memphis police officer Elton Heiman had seen Edward crawling up the fence trying to get away the officer shot him in the head killing him. Knowing he had not had possession of a gun. Edward was in fact unarmed, the officer had no reason to believe that Edward was a physical threat to anyone. Going back to Tennessee during slavery in 1858 as did 20 other states which had a law that was fully legal for an officer to shoot at a fleeing suspect in order to effect an arrest. The use of deadly force against Edward was not just excessive but extreme. A full nine years later The sixth circuit court of appeals a federal body, sided with Edwards dad and ruled that the 120-year-old law that allowed an officer to shoot and kill Edward should be struck down immediately because it violated the fourth amendment protection against unreasonable seizures. Tennessee v. Garner is a big court case that explains why police brutality is wrong. But, in the middle of the court case is a “poison pill” -Sean King. The poison pill is really just one word that would change the course of what police would say to justify their decision for killing civilians, again primarily black people. “ where the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm either to the officer or others, it is not constitutionally unreasonable to prevent escape by using deadly force.” Police officers just have to say the phrase “I believe” in order to be excused from the crime that they committed. This is why I claim that police brutality is legal in the United States.police brutality will continue to remain fully legal until it is fully confronted head-on. I would go on to continue the second court case, but I didn’t only want to talk about court cases. Here is a story about a boy named Anthony Heild, he was an African American male who had a mental disorder. One day Anthony walked out of the house with no clothes on having a mental breakdown. The neighbors had seen Anthony but they weren’t afraid of Anthony they were felt bad for Anthony instead. Soon the police arrive pointing their guns at a kid with a mental disability, looks at Anthony’s book bag that is not on him and the police officer says he has a gun on him and the officer shoots at Anthony. The crazy thing about this is the trained officer points a firearm at someone not committing a crime and that’s bothering. The other thing I don’t get is Anthony had a disability so why does this give police the right to get to shoot anyone they want just because of the fact that they have a weapon on them. Police brutality is an issue and I believe there should be a change.

Let me hit a quick point about guns in America.America is one of the few countries that says it is constitutionally legal to bear arms. I am not saying we should not have the right to bear arms it’s just in America police use the advantage of having that weapon to shoot to kill. The United States of America is the only country that has more guns than people. The only country. And to allow officers to carry that weapon and protect is not what occurs in the United States. Police brutality will continue to remain fully legal until it is fully confronted head-on.

As a result of my research, I have come to the understanding that police brutality is an issue that is generally impacting the African American community. Police officers that are appointed to be our protectors often mistreat, intimidate, brutalize, arrest, and detain us for seemingly insignificant complaints and suspicion. Police brutality is a crisis that is nationwide and it must be stopped. It is applicable to stop police brutality but based on the legality of the law that lets the officers harm us, which is far from okay. The reasons we start movements like black lives matter is because of police. The black community does not trust the police because they constantly target us when they are not committing a crime. African Americans are being shot while unarmed, Justice is never served, which is allowing police to keep their jobs and keep living their daily lives as if they never did anything wrong. Police officers should be held accountable for their actions. But, Police brutality will continue to remain fully legal until it is fully confronted head-on.

The Consequences Of Racial Profiling In The USA

The United States it is said to be the land of opportunity where everyone has a right to succeed and be equal, but is it actually true? Racial Profiling has been a problem since the beginning of time, and it is still continuing especially throughout the United States. Racial Profiling is known as different groups of races that are being accused of everything because of their skin color; as a result, they are more of a target towards police officers. Racial Profiling has affected minorities living there, the community, and has occurred in our society for as long as can be. Thankfully, there are five sources that can help demonstrate evidence on how this is true.

First, racial profiling has played a role in our lives, it begins to impact minorities who live there as well. Police officers have started to take more actions in arresting, pulling over, and accusing a huge population of African-Americans, Latinos, and even a few Asians. As this continues, it causes many minorities to feel emotions of being afraid, angry, and humiliated since they feel they have lost all power and dignity they had. For example, in New York, African-Americans and Hispanics have felt they are being harassed and humiliated by police officers arresting them in public, and the article, “Jim Crow Policing” by Bob Herbert believes that “The nonstop humiliation of young black and Hispanic New Yorkers, including children by police officers who feel no obligation to treat them fairly or with any respect at all is an abomination” (Herbert 43) which introduces evidence towards how citizens of color feel attacked by police officers. In LA, the police department began to cause minorities to fear leaving their own homes because of accusations of stealing nice cars they owned or being pulled over for little actions that were not necessarily causing problems. In the article, “LAPD searches blacks and Latinos more. But they’re less likely to have contraband than whites” by Ben Poston and Cindy Chang explain how a man named Bryant Mangum was pulled over near his own house for having a white BMW with tinted windows. The officers assumed that since he was African-American he must have stolen the car or been a gang member; as a result, they started to search his car without him giving consent to do so. Afterwards they found nothing and left him alone, “I can’t even enjoy it where I live. I’m more worried about cops than criminals” ( Poston and Chang 6). If this continues then many minorities will eventually not leave their homes and feel as though they are trapped in an unequal community.

Second, racial profiling has occured in our communities by causing more complaints to spread about inequality to minorities, riots in individuals, and some fights that were revealed on videos in LA. In the Ted Talk by Jamil Jivani, he explains how he feels unsafe ever since the age of 8. To continue this, he explains how the mayor states “All residents of the city believe that there is no racial divide in the city of Ferguston” as there is a riot occurring at the same time about racial profiling. Jivani was soon arrested for false accusations of someone else, which afterwards he furiously filed complaints. As he met the officers who falsely accused him, he understood they were flawed as well and started to come up with some solutions to stop racial profiling in our community. Some examples he gave were increasing complaints, talking to the police officers more, and cameras on their body armor. In the article, “The Bias in Fresno’s Justice System” by Reis Thebault and Alexandria Fuller discuss how in the Fresno community minorities of mostly African-Americans are more targeted, especially in schools since “Black and brown students were suspended and expelled at higher rates than white students-a statewide trend that is particularly profound in Fresno” (Thebault and Fuller 4). As known, there have been some video evidence from some citizens who were being attacked by police officers for small actions prevented, for example, they were beaten up for speeding. A group of police officers began to swarm the citizen and one by one beat him up badly. Nobody was able to do anything because they were afraid the same thing would happen to them, and it was also going to be their first encountered evidence on how police officers are demonstrating racial profiling.

Lastly, racial profiling has started to impact our society since there have been more complaints made by citizens who were either African-American or Hispanic/Latino since they felt racially profilied from police officers. In the article, “What Racial Profiling? Police Testify Complaint Is Rarely Made” by Joseph Goldstein discusses how police officers do not see a problem about racial profiling because they were never confronted directly about it by minorities. Eventually, they are put through court, and instead of coming clean the police officers started to explain how there have been complaints, but it was never about racial profiling. Additionally, as this continued there have been proof regarding to racial profiling complaints that were discovered, and the observations were “…Mr. Esposito’s office recieves about 30 complaints from the public involving race each year, which are labeled under a board category of “general dissatification” (Goldstein 2) which demonstates how police officers do not acknowledge racial profiling complains; additionally, they ignore it. The judge who played a part in this situation was also very confused to know that the police officers kept on stating how there were no complaints about racial profiling; in addition, the judge asked multiple times if the police officers were sure that what they are saying was right. Sadly, the case was closed afterwards since Charles Ortiz, a retired Bronx precinct commander testified that nobody filed any complaints about racial profiling, so the judge decided to close the case dealing with racial profiling complaints.

Overall, racial profiling is a big occurrence everywhere in the United States with a majority of citizens who cannot stop the preventions of police officers racially profiling other minorities. Racial profiling is known as a group of different races being accused of problems because of what they look like, mostly not looking white. Thankfully, there has been multiple evidence to help support that police officers throughout the Unites States have demonstrated racial profiling; thus, giving minorites the ability to stand up for themselves. Additionally, the main three sub points contained how racial profiling is affecting minorities, the community, and society.

Work Cited

1. Goldstein, Joseph. ‘What Racial Profiling? Police Testify Complaint Is Rarely Made.’ The New York Times. 12 May 2013, p. 4.
2. Herbert, Bob. ‘Jim Crow Policing.’ The New York Times, 2 Feb. 2010, pp. 43-44.
3. Jivani, Jamil. ‘How racial profiling hurt everyone, including the police.’ Youtube, 8 Oct. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCX_Th-IjjE&t=193s. Accessed 14 Nov. 2019.
4. Poston, Ben and Chang, Cindy. ‘LAPD searches blacks and Latinos more. But they’re less likely to have contraband than whites.’ Los Angeles Times, p. 7.
5. Thebault, Reis and Fuller, Alexandria. ‘The Bias in Fresno’s Justice System.’ The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2018, p. 5.