Category: Police Brutality

Imagine seeing your best friend getting killed by a police officer in front of your eyes for no legal reason and doesn’t get in trouble for it. The Hate U Give is a fictional book by Angie Thomas, about a boy named Khail and a girl named Starr, that is inspired by real life police brutality situations. Angie Thomas was interviewed by the Chicago Humanities Festival and explained why she decided to write a book about police brutality. Thomas stated that when she was a senior in college, Oscar Grant lost his life because a cop shot him and did not get in trouble for it(“Angie Thomas: The Hate U Give’) She also stated that she was inspired to write a short story to explain why people were so mad at the police who shot Oscar Grant (‘Angie Thomas: The Hate U Give’). Oscar Grant was a 22 year old African American man who got fatally shot by an officer and was unarmed, and sadly passed away leaving a 4 year old daughter behind in 2009 (Head). Angie Thomas stated that the hardest part of writing this book was the ending because it was in the same week that Philando Castile and Alton Sterling lost their lives (‘Angie Thomas: The Hate U Give’).

Philando Castile was fatally shot and killed by an officer Jeronimo Yanez who stated “that he had no choice” because he was scared that Castile was going to grab his gun and shoot him (Berman). That was not the case, Castile was pulling out his I.D to show the officer that his firearm is legal (Berman). Officer Yanez also stated that “I thought I was gonna die. And, I was scared because, I didn’t know if he was gonna, I didn’t know what he was gonna do” (Berman). So officer Yanez decided to open fire on Philando Castile because of the fact the he was reaching for something in his pocket. This explains why Angie Thomas decided to write a book about police brutality. Police brutality can show a horrible inhumanity and unkindness toward people. Philando Castile was an African American man who was shot, and killed by a police officer who had an assumption that Castile was going to shoot him because of the color of his skin (Berman). The officer who killed Philando Castile was sent to jail a year after he fatally shot to death (Berman). Even though Officer Yanez was imprisoned for his fault, his action still showed police brutality against race and made an awful assumption that ended up killing an innocent person.This is a connection to The Hate U Give because Khail was an African American who got shot while unarmed and so was Philando Castile due to the cause of police brutality.

Furthermore, police brutality inspired Angie Thomas book The Hate U Give by the death of Trayvon Martin in September 2012. Trayvon Martin was an African American teenager who was killed because of his race. Volunteer neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin after a confrontation in February. Georage Zimmerman was suspicious of the teenager, because he was walking in the gated community and talking on the cellphone doing so ( “Racial Profiling”). People accused Zimmerman of targeting Trayvon Martin because of his race.“Trayvon Martin was an African American teenager who was serving an out-of-school suspension at the home of his father’s fiance on February 26, 2012. Upon returning from a trip to a nearby convenience store, Martin was noticed by George Zimmerman, a volunteer neighborhood watchman. Driving in his car, the 28-year-old Zimmerman trailed Martin as he walked throughout the gated community, talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone”( “Racial Profiling”).Zimerman also stated that he called the police and told them that he believed that Martin was up to no good and was going to get out of his car and follow Martin on foot ( “RacialProfiling”). The dispatcher told Zimmerman that they did not need that to be done , however Zimmermen did not listen to the dispatcher and eventually confronted Martin( “Racial Profiling”). “At some point, a physical altercation between Martin and Zimmerman occurred, which ended when Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest, killing him” (“Racial Profiling”). Zimmerman claimed that Martin attacked him first, Martin’s family states no such attack has happened (“Racial Profiling”) . “A surveillance video of Zimmerman at the police station on the night of the shooting later showed he had no visible injuries or blood on his clothing, casting further doubt on Zimmerman’s claim he had been attacked by Martin”( “Racial Profiling”). The Police found out that Martin was unarmed and intaily did not arrest Zimmerman, that did not last for long, because the police “bowed to public pressure” and arrested Zimmerman in April ( “Racial Profiling”). This is yet another example of police brutality and why Angie Thomas will be so annoyed and triggered enough to write a book about it.

To conclude, That is why Angie Thomas chose to write a book about police brutality to tell the people what’s going on and how it is being taken care off. Also, she is trying to raise awareness about police brutality toward racism, so in the future hopefully police brutality toward people with different races will decrease and the pain of losing a loved one for no legal reason. Police Brutality can show unfairness and cruelty to the people of different races because of the fact that lives are being lost and hearts are being broken. The Hate U Give was a way Angie Thomas was saying that police brutailty is wrong and needs to be immobile and stopped because it is simiply wrong.

Although many people believe that police brutality is possibly warranted and justified, it’s often linked to racism, and prejudice. Some consider police brutality to be only towards black people, because four out five people shot by police were black. Causing movements to begin one for black people and police. Showing that there is A common belief against police officers across America is that they harass and discriminate against black people, and but are fair and kind to white people.

A problem with police brutality is that officers face no punishments for killing unarmed and young black people, who have yet been convicted or of proven guilty of a crime. In the cases involving the police shooting of black person, they say it was self defense. Which judges are quick to believing a police officer’s claim of self defense, especially when there is no other evidence besides the word of the officer involved because the person they killed can’t speak. For example a Georgia cop shot and killed a young black boy, and the grand jury declined to indict Euharlee police Cpl. Beth Gatny for involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct in the death of 17-year-old Christopher Roupe. Even though the teen’s family said he was holding a Wii controller when he went to answer the door. The police, however, allege he had a pistol in his hand when he was shot in the chest, which was false. There was discrimination by the police officer in the first place when he assumed that the young black boy had a gun, when he was opening the door to his home without warning was immediately shot in the chest. Then the officer was not trialed for involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct for the murder an of 17 year old black boy Christopher Roupe (Krayewski).

Just knowing about police brutality and prejudice towards black people causes problems for many people including the police. It also greatly affects the youth just knowing or hearing police the shootings affects the young black community (Thurau and Wald). Making them learn at a young age to hate or fear the police. Because the police have killed or arrest their; fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, friends in there community. Making it very difficult to trust the police as adults when you have a fear that they will just be arrested, beaten or even killed for being black.

Social media and the internet have be bringing awareness to the police brutality towards Black Americans. It is a the reason why these issues have been brought to attention in recent years. Making many acts of police brutality much hard to try to conceal. Also dash cameras have been installed in police cars across america for years which records what happens front of the vehicle. But body cameras also allow for more footage and audio (Wiley). Which all played a huge role in the case of a white police officer in Lorain, Ohio who was fired for stopping his daughter’s 18 year old black boyfriend Makai Coleman for no reason other than him being black. And admitting that he was going to make up the reasons to arrest Makai (Branigin).

Prejudice against black Americans is a very real problem in today’s society. Making police brutality a serious and horrible thing that affects many black people in Americans. By making many live with the fear of potential racism and prejudice among the police officers. Which strongly affects the black community, which makes them think that they will be stopped in harassed possibly for simple being black. This could be simply because some police officers are racist, or a common prejudice in the police force. But there is so much that still needs to be done about police brutality, and treatment of black people in America. There is still justice that needs to be given to the families of those wrongly murdered or harassed by police due to police brutality. Also the officers that wrongly took so many lives of young black Americans need to be held accountable for their actions and prejudice.

Work Cited

1. Branigin, Anne. “White Ohio Cop Fired for Detaining Daughter’s Black Boyfriend for No Reason: ‘We’ll Make Shit Up as We Go’.” The Root, Www.theroot.com, 22 June 2018, www.theroot.com/white-ohio-cop-fired-for-detaining-daughters-black-boyf-1827045783.
2. Thurau, Lisa H., and Johanna Wald. “Police Killings, Brutality Damaging Mental Health of Black Community.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 15 Sept. 2018, www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/spotlight/2018/09/14/police-brutality-damaging-black-communitys-mental-health/1218566002/.
3. Wiley, Maya. “Police Brutality: Body Cameras Help Citizens and Police.” Time, Time, 9 May 2017,
4. http://time.com/4771417/jordan-edwards-body-cameras-police/
5. Krayewski, Ed. “UPDATED: Cop Shoots 17-Year-Old Boy Who Answers Door, Nothing Else Happens GBI Says ‘Case File’ Still Open.” Reason.com, Reason, 17 July 2014,
6. https://reason.com/blog/2014/07/17/cop-shoots-17-year-old-boy-who-answers-d

In recent years, police brutality has surfaced social media exposing those who serve us to stop people from making the wrong choices. Now, we not only have to worry about criminals running around but also those with the responsibility to protect us “police officers.” In an article published by the Washington Post, last updated Aug 3, 2017, states, “Since 2006, the nation’s largest police departments have fired at least 1,881 officers for misconduct that betrayed the public’s trust, from cheating on overtime to unjustified shootings.” Citizens who have been attacked have been left with physical and emotional scars that can never go away; in some cases, it has even caused death. In addition, they have broken the public’s trust and are now seen as a threat to the people. There are countless numbers of police officers who work in the force to seek joy from killing.

Many reports have been filed relating to police brutality because of excessive force, racial profiling and threatening comments. For example, New York City’s police officer Daniel Pantaleo, who used a combat move that is not permitted within the NYPD, ended Eric Garner’s life with a chokehold death. Many witnesses have said that Garner did not resist and that Pantaleo was using excessive physical force to bring Garner into custody. Not only was Garner’s death unjustified but has opened the public’s eyes on the threat policing can become for the public. Furthermore, a group of men consisting of black and Hispanic ethnicity, in Connecticut, were stopped by Stephen Barone, a Hartford police officer, after receiving a dispatch on a group of men suspicioned of trespassing. They were verbally attacked by Barone saying, “ If anybody wants to fight or run, I’m a little trigger-happy, guys.” The group of men were concerned about his comments and were later told that he had a gun after telling them they needed to be checked for narcotics or weapons. However, not only was he investigated for this encounter but as well as a traffic related incident. While we acknowledge that not all officers are like this we should not overlook the fact that many officers aren’t fit for the title due to their way of thinking when confronting suspicions or danger. Moreover, one can say that many of those who fall victim to police brutality consist mostly of blacks, Hispanic, Latinos and African Americans. In an article, by Huffington Post, last updated, Aug 12, 2018, implies that, “Cases in which black people were killed by the police or died in their custody have risen to national prominence in recent years, often prompting protests nationwide.” That same year, Botham Shem Jean who mistook an off-duty Dallas officer’s apartment for her own was fatally shot by, and Stephon Clark was shot dead in his grandmother’s backyard by the police in Sacramento.” Police officers had no reported difficulties with the victims. This only demonstrates the kind of people that are allowed into the police force and because of this many police officers should be relieved of their jobs.

Unfortunately this is not the only way police brutality has affected the public. Citizens who have been attacked have been left with physical and emotional scars that can never go away; in some cases, it has even caused death. One solution for police brutality would be suiting officers with body cameras to prevent the occurence of misconduct and generate a record of any tragic or unprovoked encounters. For instance, an unarmed black teenager by the name Michael Brown was shot to death by a white police officer in Ferguson. Witnesses later reported that the actions taken by the police officer were unjustified. After the ruling that the officer not be charged, the Brown family later pressed the grand jury to ensure that every police officer in the country be suited with a body cam. This led to the White House funding state and local police with $75 million in order to purchase the body cam devices (Weise 46).

Works Cited

1. Alang, Sirry1, sma206@lehigh.ed., et al. “Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda xxxxxfor Public Health Scholars.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 107, no. 5, May 2017, pp. 662–665. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.303691.
2. Burbank, Chris. “Opinion | Ending Police Brutality Starts With Firing Dangerous Cops.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Aug. 2018, xxxxxwww.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-michael-brown-ferguson-police-shootings_us_5b6b3859e4b0530743c67bd2.
3. Gold, Michael. “White Police Officer Fired After Telling Group of Mostly Black and Hispanic Men He Was ‘Trigger-Happy’.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2018, xxxxxwww.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/nyregion/trigger-happy-police-fired.html?rref=collection/timestopic/Police Brutality and xxxxxMisconduct&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection.
4. Lee, Jasmine C., and Haeyoun Park. “15 Black Lives Ended in Confrontations With Police. 3 Officers Convicted.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 May 2017, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/17/us/black-deaths-police.html.
5. WEISE, KAREN. “Will a Camera on Every Cop Help Save Lives or Just Make a Tech Company Richer?” Bloomberg Businessweek, no. 4483, July 2016, pp. 44–51. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mth&AN=116811052&site=ehost-live.

When innocent people are killed by a police officer, we tend to get very upset, angry and in some cases retaliate against the police department. Many families in the United States alone have been unfortunate in this matter and left to bury a loved one due to this the careless behavior of a police officer. In the eyes of the community, the police department is looked to be its protector. They are viewed as those who take an oath, put their lives on the line and do what need to be done to save lives and keep criminals off the street. There is no such thing as a perfect policeman or woman but there are about 75% who take the job serious and try to do it right daily. The other 25% start out with great intentions in mind but allow power to take over. Being a police officer has it advantages and disadvantages like many jobs, but learning to work the job with dignity and respect for everyone is a whole different ball game.

Police officers who take the law into their own hands and choose not to handle each case with care are putting themselves in the characteristic of the 25%. These are the times when the unlawful activities start to take a rise. Victims of police brutality come in a wide range of methods. Many times the police are not made to take responsibility for these actions because these cases are often hid from the public eye. In a few cases, the victim is willing to bring a case forth but tend to back off when they fear retaliation. While other cases, the victim does nothing because they feel that nothing will be in the first place. One prominent example of this is Betty Shelby. She is a white female police officer from Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was on duty one day when she came in contact with Terence Crutcher. Long story short, she called him “a bad guy” and fatally shot him even though his hands were in the air, and he was obeying her command. This incident is just one of the many cases were people have lost their lives due to a police officer being trigger happy. These incidents have brought about the feeling of fear, insecurity and hatred towards an office that was designed to protect us. The first known case of police brutality was the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles, California in 1992. This case made national headlines when the police involved in his beating were not found guilty of their acts even when the beating was caught on tape. King, an African American man was ordered to get out his car. He complied with the orders of the officers and deliberately beaten and kicked just because of the color of his skin. Police brutality has taken many different shapes since this time but the fact still remains the same. Many people are losing their lives for absolutely no reason and the saga continues.

The violence among the U.S. citizens prompts the violation of human rights. This is a national and institutional problem because police are protected by the United States with the use of guns, beating their victims, using techniques of choking along with the use of brutal pressure. For example, a man was stopped and beaten by the police. According to (3) “police body cameras show Johnnie Rush being beaten, choked and stunned with a taser”. The acts of these police were very cold-hearted and only make up a small portion of the force they represent. In some cases police brutality is not always a physical act. There are many forms of police brutality such as, false arrest, verbal abuse, psychological intimidation, sexual abuse, racial profiling, political repression and improper use of pepper spray. Many victims choose to avoid the drama that comes with making accusations because they feel that it is only going to add more problems to their life. People feel that in most cases they are going to be fighting a losing battle. They don’t want to subject their families to all the scrutiny, news reporters and people in the community who don’t agree with them. Many don’t feel that it is important enough to go through all of the back and forth to get nothing done. Other keep quiet out of fear that they will be attacked again which has happened in some cases. According to some other reading, one guy has disappeared and his family believes that the city police kidnapped him and killed him to keep him from ruining their careers.

Police violence in the United States has become a hazardous pattern. Many may wonder and speculate but no will every truly understand the negative attitudes these police officers have developed. It has been noted that these officers react towards specific races, genders, and religion. The Civil Rights Movement is just one of the many aspects of history that still causes many in the police force to act bitterly towards minorities. Even though it seems so small it still plays a major part in the general public today. Statistics show that in 2019, 992 people were shot and killed by police officers. Whereas in 2017, 980 people were shot and killed, and the number is constantly growing. African American and Hispanics have endured more brutal vitality from law enforcement than any other race. There is no logical explanation for this but it happens more than many actually report. The genre that is affected most are men. There have been some reports of women getting into altercations with police officers but not many wrongful deaths have been reported.

Many police officers got over and beyond the call of duty to make sure the things they have done related to police brutality are covered up. In most cases, these incidents are revealed through video surveillance, online activist, civil right advocates and protest. Regardless of how it is revealed, it brings closure to the victim’s families and brings an end to corrupt policing. Many cases are handled this way while others are able to escape punishment, hide behind their units and get away with some very heinous crimes. Racial and sexual abuse has been a major subject of police violence for a very long time. 1% of complaints about police using this type of force have been recently reported in Central New Jersey. According to the News Tribune and Courier News the departments have put in place programs that are designed to make sure that police brutality becomes history. Policies should be put in place such as trainings to let officer know that if they engage in such crimes, they will be held accountable. Trainings such as these will show police how to de-escalate situations instead of fuel them. These trainings will also show the police how to engage and become a part of the community in which they are patrolling. They should include cultural diversity, mental illness training, youth development, biases and racism. To totally understand the people they serve, they have to take the time to get to know them first. It takes a special officer to go into the community, stop at the local basketball court, shoot some hoops with the youth and find out about them. A community is as strong as its leaders and some police officers have forgotten that they are leaders due to the power that has clouded their brains. The misuse of power can be a dangerous thing and many people in high position forget this.

Conclusion

In conclusion, regardless of what the law requires of officers, police brutality and wrongful deaths have to change and drastically come to an end. The developing numbers of casualties is on a rise and very disturbing. Disturbing to know that police feel they have to right to take a life or beat a person just because they know they can justify it by covering up the truth. This is unjust, not right and need to be stop with haste. Human rights are being violated every time an officer commit these crimes and get away with it. It is up to the people to stand on what they believe, march and make their voice heard when injustice surfaces. Justice starts with the people and the people are the ones who will have to do everything in their power to make sure the law if followed by everyone included law enforcement. Overall, the saying “if you do the crime be willing to do the time” goes for everyone.

Introduction to Police Brutality: The Michael Brown Case

On August nine two thousand fourteen, Michael Brown, an eighteen year old African American was shot to death by a white police officer in Missouri. After a surveillance camera captured a man shoving a clerk and walking out of the store with a box of cigarettes, nine one one was called. Michael and his friend Dorian are walking in the middle of a street and are suddenly confronted by an Officer, he tells them ‘Get the f*** on the sidewalk’ or ‘Get the f*** out of the street,’ and they both replied, ‘not but a minute away from our destination, and we would shortly be out of the street”. Michael and Dorian begin to run, Dorian hides behind the first car he can see, he said. The officer gets out of his car and grabs Michael by his neck and Michael tries to pull away. ‘My friend, Big Mike, very angrily is trying to pull away from the officer,’ said Dorian. Then the officer takes out his gun and says ”I’ll shoot’ or ‘I’m about to shoot.’ Dorian then saw the gun being pointed at them and he moved seconds before he pulled the trigger. ‘I saw the officer proceeding after my friend Big Mike with his gun drawn, and he fired a second shot and that struck my friend Big Mike,’ Johnson said. ‘And at that time, he turned around with his hands up, beginning to tell the officer that he was unarmed and to tell him to stop shooting. But at that time, the officer fired several more shots into my friend, and he hit the ground and died.’He then looked at his friend “Big Mike” and saw that he was struck in the chest or upper region. Michaels wounds included a shot to the hand from close range, the official autopsy found, according to a report in the St.Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper. Michaels blood was found on the officers uniform and in his police car. At least one of the wounds demonstrated that there was a struggle inside the police car.

Root Causes of Police Brutality

The cause of police brutality is that police officers abuse their powers. Many believe that because they have a badge, they are the ones that are always right. Additionally, there is a lack of training in many police departments and a lack of enforcement of consequences and this further empowers officers to exert their power over people. They never give innocent people a chance to talk and explain their side of the situation really is no other cause than that because officers often use their powers excessively against innocent people, specifically people of color.

Consequences of Police Brutality on Communities

The effects are innocent lives are being taken away. Most African Americans and Hispanics live in fear. Police officers are seen as bad people and not all of them are bad. African American parents have the “talk” with their kids but not about the birds and bees but about what to do when a police officer approaches them. “ As a result, the black community is injured to police violence. Abusive behavior on the part of the police has become commonplace; we are used to the small harassments. According to a nineteen ninety seven joint report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Institute of Justice while men, Whites and persons in their twenties were more likely to have face-to-face contact with the police, Hispanics and Blacks were about seventy percent more likely to have contacts with the police as Whites were. An estimated five hundred thousand people were here hit, held, pushed, choked, threatened with a flashlight, restrained by a police dog, threatened or sprayed with chemical or pepper spray threatened with a gun or subjected to some other form force. “ (Nelson)

The Global Issue of Police Brutality

Police brutality is a huge issue in our community, for innocent lives are being lost. According to the Washington Post this year alone 896 people have been shot and killed by police officers. Instead of feeling protected by police officers they feel afraid to leave their homes because of the fear of not coming home alive.

Police brutality is a huge issue not only in Los Angeles but also around the whole world. Innocent people get wrongfully attacked for no reason. Police brutality is caused by police officers abusing their powers. It is also caused by the officers not being trained for certain situations. Police officers usually target African Americans and Hispanics. Police brutality is not only when officers abuse innocent people but also when officers fail to help people. The law fails innocent people by wrongfully sentencing people to jail for stuff they didn’t do.

Examples of Police Misconduct and Its Impact

Police officers think they can do whatever they want because they are the law but in reality they need to realize that people have different sides to their stories. For example Oscar Grant, who was shot dead in two thousand nine in Oakland, California. Police officers had been reported about a fight and started having a confrontation with Oscar and his friends. Grant was handcuffed, with no gun and his face was being pushed down onto the floor when an officer pulled out his gun and shot him in the back. In court the police officer who shot him claimed he thought his gun was his taser (“Officer punched Oscar Grant”). Oscar Grant had his life taken away while the police officer who shot him was sentenced to two years in jail and let out early in nine months. Oscar never got the chance to get his life back together after struggling to have a stable life he was finally doing good. He never got to watch his daughter grow up and it’s something that could’ve been avoided if the officer had not shot him.

Police officers fail when they accuse innocent people of things they didn’t do and because they are on top of the law they get to accuse who they want. For example “ Nearly two decades ago, Richard A. Jones was convicted of aggravated robbery after being picked out of a lineup by witnesses who said he stole a cellphone in a Walmart parking lot in Kansas. But while Mr. Jones, who maintains he is innocent, was serving his 19-year sentence at Lansing Correctional Facility, inmates told him he looked like a prisoner named Ricky. That resemblance would eventually lead to his freedom. Last year, a judge threw out Mr. Jones’s conviction after the original witnesses were shown side-by-side photographs of the two men and said they could not tell them apart. Now Mr. Jones, 42, is trying to get his life back on track.“ ( Hauser ) It is not fair that innocent people have to go through these types of situations, his life was stolen from him and there is nothing the law can do for him to get all those years back.

The Cycle of Police Brutality and Its Reproduction

Police brutality happens because new officers often seek to continue with traditions and standards of police behavior. These standards require new officers to imitate older officers and comply with superior’s commands or otherwise face criticism, or job loss. According to “ BAD CHICAGO COPS SPREAD THEIR MISCONDUCT LIKE A DISEASE”. “Recently released data from the Chicago police department shows that misconduct spreads from officer to officer like an infectious disease. And the same behavior that leads cops to violate the rules often predicts whether they will participate in a shooting.” This supports my claim because officers look up to each other and seek advice from older officers and if they act a certain way they will follow into their steps of police brutality. This matters because if officers show a bad example on how to act there will be no one to help innocent people in situations that are complicated.

The Broader Impact of Police Brutality on Law Enforcement

Police brutality does not only affect the victims but it also affects the police officers because it gives them a bad reputation. People are afraid to follow their dreams of becoming police officers because they fear the judgment they will get from doing that. “ Let’s be clear, my decision to become a law enforcement officer did not go unnoticed by my family. To my father, I was a disappointment, so much so that he made the following statement after he learned of my decision: “How could you? Boy, you are a traitor to our race. Not only that but you are a white man’s ni****.” Think of that, your father, the man you most wanted to be like, calling you out because you chose to be a law enforcement officer.” (Thomas) Thomas’s father was disappointed that his son wanted to become a police officer’s because of such a bad view he has on police officers and also especially because his son is African American and it is known for police officers to target blacks. This is important because people should be allowed to follow their dreams without having the fear of being accepted.

Personal and Societal Consequences of Police Brutality

Police brutality is a huge problem around the world because innocent people are losing their lives. How would you feel if you found out one of your loved ones died in the arms of police officers. “I know that it’s hard to believe that the people you look to for safety and security are the same people who are causing us so much harm. But I’m not lying and I’m not delusional. I am scared and I am hurting and we are dying. And I really, really need you to believe me.” ( Oluo ) Picture a knock at your door and its two police officers giving you news that you just lost a family member due to police brutality. Police brutality is a situation that must be controlled so more innocent lives are not being lost. I cannot imagine losing someone to police brutality. It’s hard to find a solution because police officers are the highest part of authority if police officers don’t help you who will you go to then, unless you take it to the government and they can try to help you. I feel terrible for the people that lose loved ones in their life due to police abuse, I know they wish they could do something about it but they also fear for their own lives. Police officers often do get away with their murder because they always mention that they feared for their own lives even though they are the ones that have the power to attack with weapons.

Proposed Solutions to Address Police Brutality

One solution can be officers get punishments for what they do, not just jail time but also money for the families who lost their family members. Sometimes officers should relax and consider different sides of stories. Another solution can be when police officers are training they should be trained on what to do in situations like police brutality. Instead of just hazing them or shooting them they should just get handcuffed, that is why there are many officers so they can help.

Imagine seeing your best friend getting killed by a police officer in front of your eyes for no legal reason and doesn’t get in trouble for it. The Hate U Give is a fictional book by Angie Thomas, about a boy named Khail and a girl named Starr, that is inspired by real life police brutality situations. Angie Thomas was interviewed by the Chicago Humanities Festival and explained why she decided to write a book about police brutality. Thomas stated that when she was a senior in college, Oscar Grant lost his life because a cop shot him and did not get in trouble for it(“Angie Thomas: The Hate U Give’) She also stated that she was inspired to write a short story to explain why people were so mad at the police who shot Oscar Grant (‘Angie Thomas: The Hate U Give’). Oscar Grant was a 22 year old African American man who got fatally shot by an officer and was unarmed, and sadly passed away leaving a 4 year old daughter behind in 2009 (Head). Angie Thomas stated that the hardest part of writing this book was the ending because it was in the same week that Philando Castile and Alton Sterling lost their lives (‘Angie Thomas: The Hate U Give’).

Philando Castile was fatally shot and killed by an officer Jeronimo Yanez who stated “that he had no choice” because he was scared that Castile was going to grab his gun and shoot him (Berman). That was not the case, Castile was pulling out his I.D to show the officer that his firearm is legal (Berman). Officer Yanez also stated that “I thought I was gonna die. And, I was scared because, I didn’t know if he was gonna, I didn’t know what he was gonna do” (Berman). So officer Yanez decided to open fire on Philando Castile because of the fact the he was reaching for something in his pocket. This explains why Angie Thomas decided to write a book about police brutality. Police brutality can show a horrible inhumanity and unkindness toward people. Philando Castile was an African American man who was shot, and killed by a police officer who had an assumption that Castile was going to shoot him because of the color of his skin (Berman). The officer who killed Philando Castile was sent to jail a year after he fatally shot to death (Berman). Even though Officer Yanez was imprisoned for his fault, his action still showed police brutality against race and made an awful assumption that ended up killing an innocent person.This is a connection to The Hate U Give because Khail was an African American who got shot while unarmed and so was Philando Castile due to the cause of police brutality.

Furthermore, police brutality inspired Angie Thomas book The Hate U Give by the death of Trayvon Martin in September 2012. Trayvon Martin was an African American teenager who was killed because of his race. Volunteer neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin after a confrontation in February. Georage Zimmerman was suspicious of the teenager, because he was walking in the gated community and talking on the cellphone doing so ( “Racial Profiling”). People accused Zimmerman of targeting Trayvon Martin because of his race.“Trayvon Martin was an African American teenager who was serving an out-of-school suspension at the home of his father’s fiance on February 26, 2012. Upon returning from a trip to a nearby convenience store, Martin was noticed by George Zimmerman, a volunteer neighborhood watchman. Driving in his car, the 28-year-old Zimmerman trailed Martin as he walked throughout the gated community, talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone”( “Racial Profiling”).Zimerman also stated that he called the police and told them that he believed that Martin was up to no good and was going to get out of his car and follow Martin on foot ( “RacialProfiling”). The dispatcher told Zimmerman that they did not need that to be done , however Zimmermen did not listen to the dispatcher and eventually confronted Martin( “Racial Profiling”). “At some point, a physical altercation between Martin and Zimmerman occurred, which ended when Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest, killing him” (“Racial Profiling”). Zimmerman claimed that Martin attacked him first, Martin’s family states no such attack has happened (“Racial Profiling”) . “A surveillance video of Zimmerman at the police station on the night of the shooting later showed he had no visible injuries or blood on his clothing, casting further doubt on Zimmerman’s claim he had been attacked by Martin”( “Racial Profiling”). The Police found out that Martin was unarmed and intaily did not arrest Zimmerman, that did not last for long, because the police “bowed to public pressure” and arrested Zimmerman in April ( “Racial Profiling”). This is yet another example of police brutality and why Angie Thomas will be so annoyed and triggered enough to write a book about it.

To conclude, That is why Angie Thomas chose to write a book about police brutality to tell the people what’s going on and how it is being taken care off. Also, she is trying to raise awareness about police brutality toward racism, so in the future hopefully police brutality toward people with different races will decrease and the pain of losing a loved one for no legal reason. Police Brutality can show unfairness and cruelty to the people of different races because of the fact that lives are being lost and hearts are being broken. The Hate U Give was a way Angie Thomas was saying that police brutailty is wrong and needs to be immobile and stopped because it is simiply wrong.

Although many people believe that police brutality is possibly warranted and justified, it’s often linked to racism, and prejudice. Some consider police brutality to be only towards black people, because four out five people shot by police were black. Causing movements to begin one for black people and police. Showing that there is A common belief against police officers across America is that they harass and discriminate against black people, and but are fair and kind to white people.

A problem with police brutality is that officers face no punishments for killing unarmed and young black people, who have yet been convicted or of proven guilty of a crime. In the cases involving the police shooting of black person, they say it was self defense. Which judges are quick to believing a police officer’s claim of self defense, especially when there is no other evidence besides the word of the officer involved because the person they killed can’t speak. For example a Georgia cop shot and killed a young black boy, and the grand jury declined to indict Euharlee police Cpl. Beth Gatny for involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct in the death of 17-year-old Christopher Roupe. Even though the teen’s family said he was holding a Wii controller when he went to answer the door. The police, however, allege he had a pistol in his hand when he was shot in the chest, which was false. There was discrimination by the police officer in the first place when he assumed that the young black boy had a gun, when he was opening the door to his home without warning was immediately shot in the chest. Then the officer was not trialed for involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct for the murder an of 17 year old black boy Christopher Roupe (Krayewski).

Just knowing about police brutality and prejudice towards black people causes problems for many people including the police. It also greatly affects the youth just knowing or hearing police the shootings affects the young black community (Thurau and Wald). Making them learn at a young age to hate or fear the police. Because the police have killed or arrest their; fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, friends in there community. Making it very difficult to trust the police as adults when you have a fear that they will just be arrested, beaten or even killed for being black.

Social media and the internet have be bringing awareness to the police brutality towards Black Americans. It is a the reason why these issues have been brought to attention in recent years. Making many acts of police brutality much hard to try to conceal. Also dash cameras have been installed in police cars across america for years which records what happens front of the vehicle. But body cameras also allow for more footage and audio (Wiley). Which all played a huge role in the case of a white police officer in Lorain, Ohio who was fired for stopping his daughter’s 18 year old black boyfriend Makai Coleman for no reason other than him being black. And admitting that he was going to make up the reasons to arrest Makai (Branigin).

Prejudice against black Americans is a very real problem in today’s society. Making police brutality a serious and horrible thing that affects many black people in Americans. By making many live with the fear of potential racism and prejudice among the police officers. Which strongly affects the black community, which makes them think that they will be stopped in harassed possibly for simple being black. This could be simply because some police officers are racist, or a common prejudice in the police force. But there is so much that still needs to be done about police brutality, and treatment of black people in America. There is still justice that needs to be given to the families of those wrongly murdered or harassed by police due to police brutality. Also the officers that wrongly took so many lives of young black Americans need to be held accountable for their actions and prejudice.

Work Cited

1. Branigin, Anne. “White Ohio Cop Fired for Detaining Daughter’s Black Boyfriend for No Reason: ‘We’ll Make Shit Up as We Go’.” The Root, Www.theroot.com, 22 June 2018, www.theroot.com/white-ohio-cop-fired-for-detaining-daughters-black-boyf-1827045783.
2. Thurau, Lisa H., and Johanna Wald. “Police Killings, Brutality Damaging Mental Health of Black Community.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 15 Sept. 2018, www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/spotlight/2018/09/14/police-brutality-damaging-black-communitys-mental-health/1218566002/.
3. Wiley, Maya. “Police Brutality: Body Cameras Help Citizens and Police.” Time, Time, 9 May 2017,
4. http://time.com/4771417/jordan-edwards-body-cameras-police/
5. Krayewski, Ed. “UPDATED: Cop Shoots 17-Year-Old Boy Who Answers Door, Nothing Else Happens GBI Says ‘Case File’ Still Open.” Reason.com, Reason, 17 July 2014,
6. https://reason.com/blog/2014/07/17/cop-shoots-17-year-old-boy-who-answers-d

In recent years, police brutality has surfaced social media exposing those who serve us to stop people from making the wrong choices. Now, we not only have to worry about criminals running around but also those with the responsibility to protect us “police officers.” In an article published by the Washington Post, last updated Aug 3, 2017, states, “Since 2006, the nation’s largest police departments have fired at least 1,881 officers for misconduct that betrayed the public’s trust, from cheating on overtime to unjustified shootings.” Citizens who have been attacked have been left with physical and emotional scars that can never go away; in some cases, it has even caused death. In addition, they have broken the public’s trust and are now seen as a threat to the people. There are countless numbers of police officers who work in the force to seek joy from killing.

Many reports have been filed relating to police brutality because of excessive force, racial profiling and threatening comments. For example, New York City’s police officer Daniel Pantaleo, who used a combat move that is not permitted within the NYPD, ended Eric Garner’s life with a chokehold death. Many witnesses have said that Garner did not resist and that Pantaleo was using excessive physical force to bring Garner into custody. Not only was Garner’s death unjustified but has opened the public’s eyes on the threat policing can become for the public. Furthermore, a group of men consisting of black and Hispanic ethnicity, in Connecticut, were stopped by Stephen Barone, a Hartford police officer, after receiving a dispatch on a group of men suspicioned of trespassing. They were verbally attacked by Barone saying, “ If anybody wants to fight or run, I’m a little trigger-happy, guys.” The group of men were concerned about his comments and were later told that he had a gun after telling them they needed to be checked for narcotics or weapons. However, not only was he investigated for this encounter but as well as a traffic related incident. While we acknowledge that not all officers are like this we should not overlook the fact that many officers aren’t fit for the title due to their way of thinking when confronting suspicions or danger. Moreover, one can say that many of those who fall victim to police brutality consist mostly of blacks, Hispanic, Latinos and African Americans. In an article, by Huffington Post, last updated, Aug 12, 2018, implies that, “Cases in which black people were killed by the police or died in their custody have risen to national prominence in recent years, often prompting protests nationwide.” That same year, Botham Shem Jean who mistook an off-duty Dallas officer’s apartment for her own was fatally shot by, and Stephon Clark was shot dead in his grandmother’s backyard by the police in Sacramento.” Police officers had no reported difficulties with the victims. This only demonstrates the kind of people that are allowed into the police force and because of this many police officers should be relieved of their jobs.

Unfortunately this is not the only way police brutality has affected the public. Citizens who have been attacked have been left with physical and emotional scars that can never go away; in some cases, it has even caused death. One solution for police brutality would be suiting officers with body cameras to prevent the occurence of misconduct and generate a record of any tragic or unprovoked encounters. For instance, an unarmed black teenager by the name Michael Brown was shot to death by a white police officer in Ferguson. Witnesses later reported that the actions taken by the police officer were unjustified. After the ruling that the officer not be charged, the Brown family later pressed the grand jury to ensure that every police officer in the country be suited with a body cam. This led to the White House funding state and local police with $75 million in order to purchase the body cam devices (Weise 46).

Works Cited

1. Alang, Sirry1, sma206@lehigh.ed., et al. “Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda xxxxxfor Public Health Scholars.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 107, no. 5, May 2017, pp. 662–665. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.303691.
2. Burbank, Chris. “Opinion | Ending Police Brutality Starts With Firing Dangerous Cops.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Aug. 2018, xxxxxwww.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-michael-brown-ferguson-police-shootings_us_5b6b3859e4b0530743c67bd2.
3. Gold, Michael. “White Police Officer Fired After Telling Group of Mostly Black and Hispanic Men He Was ‘Trigger-Happy’.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2018, xxxxxwww.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/nyregion/trigger-happy-police-fired.html?rref=collection/timestopic/Police Brutality and xxxxxMisconduct&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection.
4. Lee, Jasmine C., and Haeyoun Park. “15 Black Lives Ended in Confrontations With Police. 3 Officers Convicted.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 May 2017, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/17/us/black-deaths-police.html.
5. WEISE, KAREN. “Will a Camera on Every Cop Help Save Lives or Just Make a Tech Company Richer?” Bloomberg Businessweek, no. 4483, July 2016, pp. 44–51. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mth&AN=116811052&site=ehost-live.

When innocent people are killed by a police officer, we tend to get very upset, angry and in some cases retaliate against the police department. Many families in the United States alone have been unfortunate in this matter and left to bury a loved one due to this the careless behavior of a police officer. In the eyes of the community, the police department is looked to be its protector. They are viewed as those who take an oath, put their lives on the line and do what need to be done to save lives and keep criminals off the street. There is no such thing as a perfect policeman or woman but there are about 75% who take the job serious and try to do it right daily. The other 25% start out with great intentions in mind but allow power to take over. Being a police officer has it advantages and disadvantages like many jobs, but learning to work the job with dignity and respect for everyone is a whole different ball game.

Police officers who take the law into their own hands and choose not to handle each case with care are putting themselves in the characteristic of the 25%. These are the times when the unlawful activities start to take a rise. Victims of police brutality come in a wide range of methods. Many times the police are not made to take responsibility for these actions because these cases are often hid from the public eye. In a few cases, the victim is willing to bring a case forth but tend to back off when they fear retaliation. While other cases, the victim does nothing because they feel that nothing will be in the first place. One prominent example of this is Betty Shelby. She is a white female police officer from Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was on duty one day when she came in contact with Terence Crutcher. Long story short, she called him “a bad guy” and fatally shot him even though his hands were in the air, and he was obeying her command. This incident is just one of the many cases were people have lost their lives due to a police officer being trigger happy. These incidents have brought about the feeling of fear, insecurity and hatred towards an office that was designed to protect us. The first known case of police brutality was the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles, California in 1992. This case made national headlines when the police involved in his beating were not found guilty of their acts even when the beating was caught on tape. King, an African American man was ordered to get out his car. He complied with the orders of the officers and deliberately beaten and kicked just because of the color of his skin. Police brutality has taken many different shapes since this time but the fact still remains the same. Many people are losing their lives for absolutely no reason and the saga continues.

The violence among the U.S. citizens prompts the violation of human rights. This is a national and institutional problem because police are protected by the United States with the use of guns, beating their victims, using techniques of choking along with the use of brutal pressure. For example, a man was stopped and beaten by the police. According to (3) “police body cameras show Johnnie Rush being beaten, choked and stunned with a taser”. The acts of these police were very cold-hearted and only make up a small portion of the force they represent. In some cases police brutality is not always a physical act. There are many forms of police brutality such as, false arrest, verbal abuse, psychological intimidation, sexual abuse, racial profiling, political repression and improper use of pepper spray. Many victims choose to avoid the drama that comes with making accusations because they feel that it is only going to add more problems to their life. People feel that in most cases they are going to be fighting a losing battle. They don’t want to subject their families to all the scrutiny, news reporters and people in the community who don’t agree with them. Many don’t feel that it is important enough to go through all of the back and forth to get nothing done. Other keep quiet out of fear that they will be attacked again which has happened in some cases. According to some other reading, one guy has disappeared and his family believes that the city police kidnapped him and killed him to keep him from ruining their careers.

Police violence in the United States has become a hazardous pattern. Many may wonder and speculate but no will every truly understand the negative attitudes these police officers have developed. It has been noted that these officers react towards specific races, genders, and religion. The Civil Rights Movement is just one of the many aspects of history that still causes many in the police force to act bitterly towards minorities. Even though it seems so small it still plays a major part in the general public today. Statistics show that in 2019, 992 people were shot and killed by police officers. Whereas in 2017, 980 people were shot and killed, and the number is constantly growing. African American and Hispanics have endured more brutal vitality from law enforcement than any other race. There is no logical explanation for this but it happens more than many actually report. The genre that is affected most are men. There have been some reports of women getting into altercations with police officers but not many wrongful deaths have been reported.

Many police officers got over and beyond the call of duty to make sure the things they have done related to police brutality are covered up. In most cases, these incidents are revealed through video surveillance, online activist, civil right advocates and protest. Regardless of how it is revealed, it brings closure to the victim’s families and brings an end to corrupt policing. Many cases are handled this way while others are able to escape punishment, hide behind their units and get away with some very heinous crimes. Racial and sexual abuse has been a major subject of police violence for a very long time. 1% of complaints about police using this type of force have been recently reported in Central New Jersey. According to the News Tribune and Courier News the departments have put in place programs that are designed to make sure that police brutality becomes history. Policies should be put in place such as trainings to let officer know that if they engage in such crimes, they will be held accountable. Trainings such as these will show police how to de-escalate situations instead of fuel them. These trainings will also show the police how to engage and become a part of the community in which they are patrolling. They should include cultural diversity, mental illness training, youth development, biases and racism. To totally understand the people they serve, they have to take the time to get to know them first. It takes a special officer to go into the community, stop at the local basketball court, shoot some hoops with the youth and find out about them. A community is as strong as its leaders and some police officers have forgotten that they are leaders due to the power that has clouded their brains. The misuse of power can be a dangerous thing and many people in high position forget this.

Conclusion

In conclusion, regardless of what the law requires of officers, police brutality and wrongful deaths have to change and drastically come to an end. The developing numbers of casualties is on a rise and very disturbing. Disturbing to know that police feel they have to right to take a life or beat a person just because they know they can justify it by covering up the truth. This is unjust, not right and need to be stop with haste. Human rights are being violated every time an officer commit these crimes and get away with it. It is up to the people to stand on what they believe, march and make their voice heard when injustice surfaces. Justice starts with the people and the people are the ones who will have to do everything in their power to make sure the law if followed by everyone included law enforcement. Overall, the saying “if you do the crime be willing to do the time” goes for everyone.

Introduction to Police Brutality: The Michael Brown Case

On August nine two thousand fourteen, Michael Brown, an eighteen year old African American was shot to death by a white police officer in Missouri. After a surveillance camera captured a man shoving a clerk and walking out of the store with a box of cigarettes, nine one one was called. Michael and his friend Dorian are walking in the middle of a street and are suddenly confronted by an Officer, he tells them ‘Get the f*** on the sidewalk’ or ‘Get the f*** out of the street,’ and they both replied, ‘not but a minute away from our destination, and we would shortly be out of the street”. Michael and Dorian begin to run, Dorian hides behind the first car he can see, he said. The officer gets out of his car and grabs Michael by his neck and Michael tries to pull away. ‘My friend, Big Mike, very angrily is trying to pull away from the officer,’ said Dorian. Then the officer takes out his gun and says ”I’ll shoot’ or ‘I’m about to shoot.’ Dorian then saw the gun being pointed at them and he moved seconds before he pulled the trigger. ‘I saw the officer proceeding after my friend Big Mike with his gun drawn, and he fired a second shot and that struck my friend Big Mike,’ Johnson said. ‘And at that time, he turned around with his hands up, beginning to tell the officer that he was unarmed and to tell him to stop shooting. But at that time, the officer fired several more shots into my friend, and he hit the ground and died.’He then looked at his friend “Big Mike” and saw that he was struck in the chest or upper region. Michaels wounds included a shot to the hand from close range, the official autopsy found, according to a report in the St.Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper. Michaels blood was found on the officers uniform and in his police car. At least one of the wounds demonstrated that there was a struggle inside the police car.

Root Causes of Police Brutality

The cause of police brutality is that police officers abuse their powers. Many believe that because they have a badge, they are the ones that are always right. Additionally, there is a lack of training in many police departments and a lack of enforcement of consequences and this further empowers officers to exert their power over people. They never give innocent people a chance to talk and explain their side of the situation really is no other cause than that because officers often use their powers excessively against innocent people, specifically people of color.

Consequences of Police Brutality on Communities

The effects are innocent lives are being taken away. Most African Americans and Hispanics live in fear. Police officers are seen as bad people and not all of them are bad. African American parents have the “talk” with their kids but not about the birds and bees but about what to do when a police officer approaches them. “ As a result, the black community is injured to police violence. Abusive behavior on the part of the police has become commonplace; we are used to the small harassments. According to a nineteen ninety seven joint report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Institute of Justice while men, Whites and persons in their twenties were more likely to have face-to-face contact with the police, Hispanics and Blacks were about seventy percent more likely to have contacts with the police as Whites were. An estimated five hundred thousand people were here hit, held, pushed, choked, threatened with a flashlight, restrained by a police dog, threatened or sprayed with chemical or pepper spray threatened with a gun or subjected to some other form force. “ (Nelson)

The Global Issue of Police Brutality

Police brutality is a huge issue in our community, for innocent lives are being lost. According to the Washington Post this year alone 896 people have been shot and killed by police officers. Instead of feeling protected by police officers they feel afraid to leave their homes because of the fear of not coming home alive.

Police brutality is a huge issue not only in Los Angeles but also around the whole world. Innocent people get wrongfully attacked for no reason. Police brutality is caused by police officers abusing their powers. It is also caused by the officers not being trained for certain situations. Police officers usually target African Americans and Hispanics. Police brutality is not only when officers abuse innocent people but also when officers fail to help people. The law fails innocent people by wrongfully sentencing people to jail for stuff they didn’t do.

Examples of Police Misconduct and Its Impact

Police officers think they can do whatever they want because they are the law but in reality they need to realize that people have different sides to their stories. For example Oscar Grant, who was shot dead in two thousand nine in Oakland, California. Police officers had been reported about a fight and started having a confrontation with Oscar and his friends. Grant was handcuffed, with no gun and his face was being pushed down onto the floor when an officer pulled out his gun and shot him in the back. In court the police officer who shot him claimed he thought his gun was his taser (“Officer punched Oscar Grant”). Oscar Grant had his life taken away while the police officer who shot him was sentenced to two years in jail and let out early in nine months. Oscar never got the chance to get his life back together after struggling to have a stable life he was finally doing good. He never got to watch his daughter grow up and it’s something that could’ve been avoided if the officer had not shot him.

Police officers fail when they accuse innocent people of things they didn’t do and because they are on top of the law they get to accuse who they want. For example “ Nearly two decades ago, Richard A. Jones was convicted of aggravated robbery after being picked out of a lineup by witnesses who said he stole a cellphone in a Walmart parking lot in Kansas. But while Mr. Jones, who maintains he is innocent, was serving his 19-year sentence at Lansing Correctional Facility, inmates told him he looked like a prisoner named Ricky. That resemblance would eventually lead to his freedom. Last year, a judge threw out Mr. Jones’s conviction after the original witnesses were shown side-by-side photographs of the two men and said they could not tell them apart. Now Mr. Jones, 42, is trying to get his life back on track.“ ( Hauser ) It is not fair that innocent people have to go through these types of situations, his life was stolen from him and there is nothing the law can do for him to get all those years back.

The Cycle of Police Brutality and Its Reproduction

Police brutality happens because new officers often seek to continue with traditions and standards of police behavior. These standards require new officers to imitate older officers and comply with superior’s commands or otherwise face criticism, or job loss. According to “ BAD CHICAGO COPS SPREAD THEIR MISCONDUCT LIKE A DISEASE”. “Recently released data from the Chicago police department shows that misconduct spreads from officer to officer like an infectious disease. And the same behavior that leads cops to violate the rules often predicts whether they will participate in a shooting.” This supports my claim because officers look up to each other and seek advice from older officers and if they act a certain way they will follow into their steps of police brutality. This matters because if officers show a bad example on how to act there will be no one to help innocent people in situations that are complicated.

The Broader Impact of Police Brutality on Law Enforcement

Police brutality does not only affect the victims but it also affects the police officers because it gives them a bad reputation. People are afraid to follow their dreams of becoming police officers because they fear the judgment they will get from doing that. “ Let’s be clear, my decision to become a law enforcement officer did not go unnoticed by my family. To my father, I was a disappointment, so much so that he made the following statement after he learned of my decision: “How could you? Boy, you are a traitor to our race. Not only that but you are a white man’s ni****.” Think of that, your father, the man you most wanted to be like, calling you out because you chose to be a law enforcement officer.” (Thomas) Thomas’s father was disappointed that his son wanted to become a police officer’s because of such a bad view he has on police officers and also especially because his son is African American and it is known for police officers to target blacks. This is important because people should be allowed to follow their dreams without having the fear of being accepted.

Personal and Societal Consequences of Police Brutality

Police brutality is a huge problem around the world because innocent people are losing their lives. How would you feel if you found out one of your loved ones died in the arms of police officers. “I know that it’s hard to believe that the people you look to for safety and security are the same people who are causing us so much harm. But I’m not lying and I’m not delusional. I am scared and I am hurting and we are dying. And I really, really need you to believe me.” ( Oluo ) Picture a knock at your door and its two police officers giving you news that you just lost a family member due to police brutality. Police brutality is a situation that must be controlled so more innocent lives are not being lost. I cannot imagine losing someone to police brutality. It’s hard to find a solution because police officers are the highest part of authority if police officers don’t help you who will you go to then, unless you take it to the government and they can try to help you. I feel terrible for the people that lose loved ones in their life due to police abuse, I know they wish they could do something about it but they also fear for their own lives. Police officers often do get away with their murder because they always mention that they feared for their own lives even though they are the ones that have the power to attack with weapons.

Proposed Solutions to Address Police Brutality

One solution can be officers get punishments for what they do, not just jail time but also money for the families who lost their family members. Sometimes officers should relax and consider different sides of stories. Another solution can be when police officers are training they should be trained on what to do in situations like police brutality. Instead of just hazing them or shooting them they should just get handcuffed, that is why there are many officers so they can help.