Category: Police

Use of force is a dilemma not only the United States has been fighting but it’s being fought all over the world. It’s something that is very hard to put down on paper and say this is what you need to do in every situation because you can’t because every situation is just a little bit different. All police officers that have a badge and a gun have the authority to use whatever force is necessary to uphold the law, but sometimes that same use of force the officer used to keep them safe is unjustified. I would definitely put this ethical issue at the top of the list for cops because they have to face it each and every day and it’s inevitable in police work, and put their lives on the line every single day when somebody doesn’t comply with what they say or the law. In every case that I have read about or spoken with somebody in law enforcement, the officer has to make a split-second decision on what to do and choose which level of force to use whether that be his gun or pepper spray, and one slip up or misjudgment can cost you your badge, prison time, and most importantly it could cost you your life! Police work as everybody knows is extremely dangerous but nobody deserves to lose their life. According to FBI line of-duty deaths the Law enforcement officers killed and assaulted report shows that in 2018, a total of 106 officers were killed. (Fbi.gov, 2018) Before somebody becomes a police officer they have to go through intense training and everything they learn is to keep themselves or other officers out of deadly situations. I feel as if everyone should know that if you resist an officer they will use whatever tactic or force they deem necessary to relieve the threat, and that’s what they are trained to do. Another one would be if you bring a threat upon an officer they will use whatever force they deem necessary to eliminate that particular threat even if that means pulling their firearm or hand-to-hand combat. And I think the news or social media are very quick to jump to the conclusion that the police shot an innocent citizen. But what social media doesn’t understand is that they have to make split-second decisions and so many factors come into play like if it’s in a dark hallway are reaching for something and you have to decide what to do in a blink of an eye.

I was very privileged to have got on with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for my internship I learned so much and they showed me more than I could remember. But I was lucky enough to go through their milo simulator and they ran me through simulation for about 5 hours, I went through everything from using pepper spray all the way u to shooting the threat, and the decisions you have to make are so fast and if you don’t act you will get killed. The Trooper that taught me everything said they have politicians come in that go through the same simulation s and he said every time one comes in they come out with a better understanding of what the officer goes through. Before my time with OHP got cut short by the coronavirus they played some videos intense videos that they show to their cadets when they go through the academy. In those videos, a police officer was akin to a felony stop out on a back road in a small county the guy steps out with a rifle of some sort and the officer ordered him to drop it very aggressively but that officer the month before got in trouble with his use of force and didn’t want to get into trouble again so he didn’t pull the trigger like he should of when he turned that gun toward him and he ended up getting killed by this old war vet with military training with the ability to shoot and move while doing it and that’s how he killed him. All because he was caught up in if I shoot this man is it ethical and do I want to go to jail? Makes your stomach roll when you hear his screams while getting shot. What I’m trying to say is this dilemma is something that will most likely not get fixed in a long time or ever for that fact.

Use of force over the years has gotten better especially from the 80s and 90s but there’s just no winning on the subject until the opposing side sees what the officer has to go through and the decisions they have to make.

After reading the Use of Force Policy, Guidelines and Procedures Handbook I had to ask myself a few questions, And we will start off with the guidelines for use of force useful. The guidelines for the use of force are very useful while reading the handbook over the use of force it covered just about everything you could think of and explained it very well and it also includes the law part of it as well so you know what you have to have to apply that use of force which is very helpful.

The second question I wanted to answer would is should the guidelines on the use of force be revised. No, they cover every aspect and every scenario you could think of for example did you know that there are six different types of subject resistance and for every different one you have a different way of handling it from the subject being compliant all the way up to assaultive resistance. I don’t think that the rules for use of force need to be revised at this time but possibly in the near future.

The third and the biggest question is, is it followed? Well if you look to social media for this answer one would come to the conclusion that police are racist and a whole bunch of nonsense. The guidelines state that The reasonableness inquiry or an application of force3 is an objective one: the question is whether the officer’s/agent’s actions are objectively reasonable in light of the totality of facts and circumstances confronting him or her, without regard to underlying intent or motivation. This basically means did the officer or agent use, use of force correctly, or was he or she motivated by something else? I think the use of force is followed by all law enforcement to the best of their ability in that split-second decision that they’re faced to make whether stop that force with whatever they deem necessary at that time. When one officer or agent makes a wrong decision that they thought was a good one at the time puts a bad name on every agency across the country.

Another point I want to make is that has so much debate and we kind of touched on it during class and in my internship, we talked about it as well. In the video you had us watch where there was a guy on PCP who wasn’t following orders the cop had drug recognition training and realized what he was on, she ended up giving him direct orders to stop and show her his hands he did no comply what so ever, to cut the story short he reaches for the door handle of the car and she pulled the trigger but she also had another cop right next to her with no deadly for which was a taser, so you are probably saying well why didn’t they agree on to just let him taser him and that’s the end of the story, That’s where it gets tricky and I know in class I had a different opinion on this than you. She got something called auditory exclusion where you don’t hear anything that going on around you and she also got tunnel vision most likely, now I am not saying just because you get these things doesn’t make it right for you to choose the wrong use of force in whatever situation you are in. But, where I stand on this point is that if he got into that car there are a few things that could of happen, he could have grabbed a weapon, or he could get into the car and that alone is considered a deadly weapon, especially under the circumstances of him being on drugs. And she ended up not going to jail so technically she didn’t do anything wrong, but, if you look at the ethical side of her choice of use of force there are people that would say that what she did was not ethical at all and there is the side that’s going to say it was and each side has thigs to back it up on. Which makes did he or she use the right use of force there are always going to be two sides to each story or case. Which makes this ethical dilemma on the use of force so hard to understand.

Lastly, I’m going to state my opinion on the use of force. Firstly, I’m going to go over something that some people might find very controversial. Sometimes it might depend on the officer’s mood that day. If the officer might be having some wife problems or family trouble or they might be about money because well being a police officer will not get you rich. All of these things could be brought to the job and possibly taken out on somebody that is resisting arrest and they could take a little bit of anger by putting them to the ground a little harder than they normally would, or giving a ticket for going a couple over. But in my opinion that’s the farthest I think it would go in a cop’s mind I never in a million years thought that troubles at home would make or result in an officer pulling his firearm and discharging it for not the right reason. When I say for the right reason I mean the officer was in immediately or someone else was and that’s why he or she discharged their firearm.

Secondly, I’m going to talk about my opinion on how social media perceives the use of force from their perspective and the police officers’ side and what I think about it. Social media and the news loves to blow stories out of the water when they think the police use of force was too harsh r they killed someone because of their actions. For example, when a young kid or teenager gets shot by the police and they don’t listen to commands and they start reaching for stuff in their ants or jackets and its dark and you pull a phone out at three AM in the police officer mind the thinks he just pulled a gun and they end up getting shot. Then social media steps in and the headline say police shoot an unarmed teenager, but in my opinion, you have to put yourself into the officer’s shoes because like what we talked about in class their initial action will always be faster than our reaction, And that can cause the officer to lose his or her life but, it doesn’t give them the right to shoot at every little thing they find scary.

Use of force in my opinion is very simple the police officer or any form of law enforcement gives you a command to do something you literally just need to listen and comply, people who fight police over stupid things are always the ones that get arrested or they end up getting put on the ground or they have to use another form of force like a taser or lethal force. As long as you’re not doing anything wrong or have any warrants I promise the police won’t make something up to arrest you on and no unnecessary use of force will be used but they don’t understand the logic behind it they just want to argue everything the police does.

The use of force has been around for a really long time ever since police departments started and the use of force policies have been evolving ever since. Where I think it will go in the future will depend on where you live and I think that because some states like ours have different laws than say New York because we can open and conceal carry as long you are over the age of 21 and have no felonies. Meaning in Oklahoma the police officer might have to skip the other non-lethal uses of force and draw his weapon because you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. In New York, if you don’t have a license it’s a misdemeanor and if you carry one without a license it’s a felony. So most people in New York unless they’re a criminal are not going to have a gun on them so the officer can take action the way he feels necessary, that’s most likely not going to lead to lethal force.

The first characteristic of police professionalism is specialized knowledge. This is one of the basics that the police are equipped with. In this context, the police ought to have full knowledge of their activities, how they are supposed to carry out their jobs as well as fundamental skills in the areas or disciplines of their policing (Williams, 1985). These skills include full information and knowledge of the neighborhood that they are assigned to provide watch. The whole of these skills can also be explained with the notion that the police should be informed and competent.

The second characteristic of police professionalism is the ability to have and offer good judgment whenever they are faced with a situation of this sort. The police ought to be professional in their line of duty by making the right decisions about a situation and the decision should be deeply relational with the guidelines stated in the code of conduct of the police taught during their training (Williams, 1985). For instance, police officers should have good judgment in dangerous situations where they are supposed to know when to shoot an individual and when not to shoot.

The third professional characteristic of the police is integrity. Integrity in policing is all about ensuring that the individuals who work for the police departments correctly uphold the values of their service, always work on doing the morally right thing in all situations,s and have full confidence in their affairs with the public (Martin, 2011). In this context, the police also ought to avoid lust in their activities and be kind and polite. For instance, the police should act professionally by distancing themselves from acts of corruption such as taking bribes from criminal offenders and suspects.

The above-discussed characteristics of police are closely related to ethics because the notion of police professionalism is vastly facilitated and affected by their ability to act in an upright manner and according to the morals and ethics of the land. For instance, the concept of police integrity is deeply an ethical issue because that is not something that an individual requires formal skills (Martin, 2011). Further, the issue of good judgment and making the right decisions in situations is completely an ethical issue because the decision that one will make depends on the nature of the individual and how ethical they are.

Morality and integrity cannot be instilled in police officers in formal environments and training camps (Williams, 1985) as these are things that have to come from inside. Every society or community has its own defined ethics and these are things that help to shape the lives of a police officer. In that light, police officers ought to conduct themselves properly with good morals and integrity as this is what will allow them to successfully maintain law and order, treat everyone equally, and make society better (McCartney & Parent, 2015) in general.

References

1. Martin, R. (January 01, 2011). Police corruption: An analytical look into police ethics. FBI Law
2. Enforcement Bulletin. Retrieved from http://apus.intelluslearning.com/v3/course-widget/26/#/document/31765583/1/d03204f2253e50a2f2f6170a04d0d319/4b60e138ddf8176b81dcb582ac41af51/browse_published_content/393/1951/3093/2/lesson/lesson?hideClose=true&tagId=26187&external_course_id=393313&external_course_name=CMRJ100%20D003%20Spr%2019
3. McCartney, S., & Parent, R. (2015)> Ethics in law enforcement. Retrieved from http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/03897e9e-cb62-40ed-aecc-feef5caae9d2/1/Ethics-in-Law-Enforcement-1486419193.pdf
4. Williams, B. (1985). Ethics and the limits of philosophy. Retrieved from https://butterflyweeds.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/bernard_williams_ethics_and_the_limits_of_philosbookos-org.pdf

Why is police brutality a human rights issue? The term “police brutality” is referred to as human rights violations by police. For example, beatings, racial abuse, torture, unlawful killings, or indiscriminate use of riot control agents at protests. So many people reject the fact that police are not allowed to do what they want just because of the power they hold. Can you believe being stopped by the police on an everyday basis just because of the color of your skin? This is a growing problem that can happen to anyone at any time due to racism and ignorance that still exists today. People get judged more on how they look than their personalities and how they really are. Racial profiling can affect anyone, mainly the black community. One thing that bugs me so much is people use racial profiling as an excuse or “extra precaution” to keep people safe. It is only okay if the police know exactly what they look like or if the person is reported by another by their physical appearance.

Real racial profiling is when a law enforcement official suspects someone they’ve never seen before of a crime just because they look. Not only is this morally wrong and illegal, but the police might actually be letting real criminals get away while they might be taking to arrest or track an innocent person just because of their race. Another common claim that people have is that racial profiling is ok in airports because it stops the chance of terrorists. This claim simply doesn’t make any sense because you can’t just tell if someone is a terrorist for their physical appearance. Checking someone that looks middle eastern is not a valid or effective way of keeping terrorists off the plane, because, there are so many countries in the Middle East with all types of people. You can’t assume something of a whole race of people just because one group took part in a terrorist attack 13 years ago. One common misconception about racial profiling is that it only happens to one race of people, African American. Racial profiling can happen to anyone and has become more and more popular in airports that excessively check people that look of Arab or Muslim descent. In the article “Racial Profiling”, the writer explains, “After the event of 911, Arabs and Muslim descent became the main targets of racial profiling. They have reported being kicked off planes and questioned at airports just because of their ethnicity or religion.”

Many tragic incidents have happened in the past few years consisting of racial profiling and the excessive force of police brutality. For example, George Floyd, Daunte Wright, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Dante Parker, and the list goes on. They were all killed at the hands of police because of racial profiling, all of them were unarmed. There is a huge difference in the world today with the system. They treat people of color differently than they do white people, it is so sad, but it is the sad reality we live in.

A few examples of the tragedies that have happened in the past few years are George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Elijah McClain. George Floyd was an African American man that was killed in the corner, handcuffed, and pinned to the ground. He was suffocated to death by Derrick Chauvin, he knelt on his neck while he pinned him to the ground and it resulted in his death. George got justice and Derrick was charged on all counts, the other officers on the scene were all fired for not doing anything. It is so sad because things like this happen every day, and only a few get justice. We are so thankful for the person who caught it on camera or else it could’ve been a whole different story. Breonna Taylor. Breonna was a black medical worker who was shot and killed in Louisville by police officers who raided her apartment. The officers pleaded not guilty and no charges were announced for the ones that fired shots, and no one was charged for causing Breonna’s death. They were terminated and aren’t officers anymore, but there is no justice for Breonna. Elijah McClain. He was a 23-year-old black male that worked as a massage therapist. He died after a violent police encounter, the three police said that he looked like the person that was wearing the ski mask and looked “sketchy”. They pinned him to the ground and sedated him, and a few days later in the hospital, Elijah was declared brain dead. He was then taken off life support on August 30. What do all of these cases have in common? They are all black. They all were unarmed. They did not show any type of restraint or resistment. They all were racially profiled and their lives were taken from them because of it. There are so many victims out there that something like these cases happened to them, too. Say their names.

The risk of being killed by the police force for those of color is extremely high in some cases. It is the sad reality of life, but it is happening right now. The statistics are insane. How many people have died at the hands of the police? It is hard to get reliable figures on killings by the police because so many governments don’t collect or publish this data. The Small Arms Survey says that in each year between 2007 and 2012, an estimated 19,000 people were killed during ‘legal interventions’. (encounters with police) Most of the available data refers to specific countries or time periods, and are often estimated by NGOs for human rights groups. For example, in 2019 police in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, killed 1,810 people- an average of 5 per day. Kenyan, police killed 122 people. Between 2015 and 2018, over 500 people were fatally shot by the police in Jamaica, and over 300 were shot and injured. Around 1,000 people are killed by police every year in America. In countries with high rates of police killings, there is often a combination of factors including inadequate laws, racial or other forms of discrimination, insecurity or conflict, and entrenched impunity.

There is so much wrong in the police system in the world today. I know there are people that want to defund the police, but I don’t think that would help at all. I believe that we need to make a whole change to the system. Not all cops are bad, but the system is so prejudiced that there needs to be a change. We need to make better laws and/or stick to the current laws for justice to take place with police brutality. They are still doing psychological research right now to take action to improve the police system. We need to make a change, and it needs to happen now.

Police must be the last resort to be used only when necessary to protect the public from harm. Until then, municipalities will need to prepare for the impact of increased police accountability and transparency. To see real change in our society, policymakers must remove the barriers and find necessary programming. We need to be smart and follow the science.

So many people are affected by police brutality each day and the numbers keep going up. Racial profiling is a real thing and we need to make a change about that and make the cops have serious consequences when wrongfully accusing someone because of the color of their skin. Remember their names. The list goes on and on for the lives lost in the hands of police officers that are of color and unarmed.

Demonstrators Worldwide Yelled Out Against Police Brutality In The United States. The Global Society Reacts to George Floyd’s Death, on Systemic Racism, Police Brutality, and Protests in the United States. What transpired in the final moments of Floyd’s life? On May 25. the murdering of Floyd, cascading far beyond the borders of the United States. The subsequent waves of demonstrations both at home and abroad have again brought a laser-like focus to longstanding queries involving systemic racial discrimination, the unequal administration of justice in the United States, and the use of executive authority in times of national crisis, the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

It all began with a Smartphone Video Footage of a young female teenager recording the excruciating final minutes of Floyd. On May 25. that a police officer had his unrelenting knee on Floyd’s neck for 7 minutes, and 46 seconds as he cried out for air, not the 8:46 that has become a symbol of police brutality the one-minute error would not influence the criminal case against the four officers. When Daids learned about the tragedy of Floyd’s wrongful death on May 25.

It literally sucked the life out of him. When Daids learn that he was unable to catch his breath for 8 minutes and 46 seconds before his life faded away. Daids wondered if George panicked, or simply fell into receding waves of darkness into the divine light. As Daids cogitated, Floyd, when you uttered out (Mama) repeatedly, was that summoning of your invocation on your final breath?

Until now Daids deeply mourn for Floyd a fellow brother who, like him, also desires oxygen to live, and is now vanished into darkness into the divine radiance. Our breath is a gift it is our creator gifting life to us. We cannot dispose of it; deny it to anyone even for a moment and not for 7 minutes, 46 seconds as Floyd cried out for oxygen, not the 8:46 that has become a symbol of police brutality! Just as Nazarene uttered Seven Last Words when suspended from the cross, George Floyd also had his Last Words while suffocating under Derek Chauvin’s knee. Please, don’t murder me … I feel like I’m going to die … Everything aches ..Mama.

How respectful he was to the police officer Derek Chauvin, George. How courteous! Pleading and begging for his life, Please … I cannot breathe, he remained a gentle giant. Sometimes in prayer, we too realize that we desire something so desperately, akin to our need for air so that we could breathe.

July 17th, 2014, Eric Garner, a 43-year-old man, died in Staten Island after being put in a chokehold by a police officer after resisting arrest for selling untaxed cigarettes. He was later refused medical assistance after losing consciousness.

I was recently watching the documentary Bowling for Columbine, and I couldn’t help but notice the amount of brutality caused by police towards people of color and other religious and homophobic stereotypes. But it wasn’t just the brutality that the police enforced, it was the lack of faith and lack of trust towards these officers which in a world like today is curtailed to a safe and happy life.

Good morning Department of Justice and Attorney-General. I am Curtis Bock and I am here to advise you of the horrors of police brutality. With the number of issues on earth at the moment, do we really want to be feeling doubtful about our defense force?

If there’s one thing that has shocked me from reading these reports, it is how frequently this issue can occur. Moreover, how often do they result from prejudice based on the individual’s race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation? The instances of, elements of, and absence of punishments for officers are what predominantly cause the community to feel unsafe. thought of race, sex, religion, sexual inclination

I thought this was 2019, I thought this was a new era, I thought this was a day and age where I could just walk out my door and be whoever I wanted to be in a safe and loving community. Guess I thought wrong. There are many reasons surrounding brutality in the numerous communities in the nation. A main point comes from the thought of race, sex, religion, and sexual inclination. Dispute often exists between police and the citizenry. Some police officers may view the population (or a particular subset thereof) as generally deserving punishment. Portions of the population may perceive the police to be oppressors. In addition, there is a perception that victims of police brutality often belong to relatively powerless groups, such as racial or cultural minorities, the disabled, and the poor. If these cases continue it will only start to look more and more grim for the image of the police force subsequently, affecting them in the long run with the lack of trust towards them. Additionally, with the ever-increasing population of the religious, LGBT, and communities it can only mean that the number of brutal attacks on our different minorities can only increase, furthering the amount of uncertainty towards our nation’s defense force.

The instances of, elements of, police brutality and how it’s giving all police officers good and bad a bad name “Robert Davis, a retired school teacher, was beaten and arrested by four police in New Orleans. He was 64 at the time of the assault and was accused of public drunkenness. One officer was fired over the incident, one was suspended, and another was acquitted of all charges. Davis said he was teetotal and had not had a drink for at least 25 years. How do the police not rest until a criminal is brought to justice, but can’t seem to bring justice on one of their own who has done more wrong than many regular criminals? Many people wonder why the image of the police is recognized as a bad sign by the vast majority of the world. Well, this is it, the fact that people are put into higher authorial roles than others and carry harmful substances and objects to help keep “the peace” seems like a good way to severely abuse this power and take horrible punishments onto people who may not look or sound like the average “person ”. It also begs the question what is normal anymore? It certainly isn’t the stereotype it was years ago and these corrupt officers are a big example of it. This can only add to the fear and insecurities this world has with our police and justice departments. How many more innocent people have to die before the word “normal” means every human being? absence of punishments for police brutality and how it’s upsetting our community.

Police are very rarely prosecuted for shootings — and not just because the law allows them wide latitude to use force on the job. Sometimes the investigations fall onto the same police department the officer is from, which creates major conflicts of interest. Other times the only available evidence comes from eyewitnesses, who may not be as trustworthy in the public eye as a police officer. In fact, The National Police Misconduct Reporting Project analyzed 3,238 criminal cases against police officers from April 2009 through December 2010. They found that only 33 percent were convicted, and 36 percent of officers who were convicted ended up serving prison sentences. Both of those are about half the rate at which members of the public are convicted or incarcerated. This is giving people of the public the wrong picture of police officers as people who are immune to the law no matter how horrific their crimes may be. The reason for the lack of punishment comes from the government wanting to cover up the bad reports in order to keep order within the community. It’s not working, it’s only causing more disturbance in our nation, and it’s only getting worse.

Conclusion

Nonetheless, with the number of cases of police brutality there really is, there are likewise some great, kind, law-abiding policemen out there carrying out their responsibility to help protect this nation, however, they haven’t appeared on Fox News, they are out there and attempting to make a difference.

As I found out about police brutality and the horror and dread it gives, I similarly too found out about myself. I discovered that I need to help end it, but I can’t do it alone, so I trust that all of you feel the same.

Overall, this is a problem that needs to be addressed. The most important thing you need to consider is, In the event that you need to help, there are numerous ways, mostly on the off chance that you or somebody you see around you is being harassed by police, at that point, you can record it with your phone, but there’s a chance they may break it and you’ll be left with no proof of the experience. However, there is an app called Safe Space that is specially created for police encounters, and if the official makes you quit recording their experience, it’ll automatically send it to the justice department. I have the application myself and I’d strongly suggest you have it too. Take a listen, the people want justice. Give the people what they want.

Police brutality has been an ongoing issue for a significant amount of time now. It is constantly being reported by the media for events such as racism and social violations. Law enforcers are committing violent acts against those who are innocent and need their protection. This is an act of abusing their rights and freedom violation. It does not stop here, for many years, police have also been reported to mistreat their suspects and force them to make a false confession. Statistically speaking, the number of police killings of civilians has increased over the last five years peaking in 2015 at 1,187 followed closely by 2018 with a figure of 1,164. This is just another example of how there is little to nothing being done about the crisis at hand. In that same time period between 2014 and 2018, 4,962 were killed by gunshots. The common misconception about police brutality is that it is only the African American population who is falling victim to this injustice but statistics say otherwise. It is, in fact, Native Americans who make up the majority of the statistics with African Americans following closely behind them. Moreover, to further put these statistics into perspective, African-Americans account for approximately 12.5% of the overall U.S. population while accounting for more than 22% of those killed by police. Whites make up two-thirds of the American population and account for less than half of those killed by police, note, African Americans do not have the highest police-killing rate among all ethnic groups and this is because Native Americans are scarce and that is why their figure is so much higher. Furthermore, the most alarming part of this topic and the data provided is the fact that it is based on police officers, but it does not include other forms of violence committed by other parties such as vigilantes, security guards, and neighbors. There is so much injustice in the system because the rate at which officers are charged with crimes has fallen by 90% and the charge-to-conviction rate has almost vanished completely.

Additionally, it is very evident that police brutality has been an ongoing social issue for many years. Incidents go all the way back to Rodney King’s case on March 3rd, 1991. King was caught by L.A.P.D officers after a high-speed chase where they proceeded to pull him out of his car and beat him on camera. The officers involved were indicted on charges of assault, however, after a three-month trial, a predominantly white jury acquitted the officers. Another notable example is Eric Garners’ case. He was killed by N.Y.P.D officers after being confronted and placed in a chokehold as a result of suspicion. He was thought to be selling untaxed cigarettes on one of the streets in New York. While in the chokehold position, he repeatedly said “I can’t breathe” Throughout, Garner did not show any resistance but was still forced down to the ground where he met his untimely death by suffocation as multiple officers were on top of him in an attempt to keep him down. Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who was primarily responsible for Garner’s death was suspended without pay for one month. Before the suspension, he was earning an annual salary of $85,000. A grand jury found “no reasonable cause” to indict him on criminal charges and regardless of Garners’ tragic death, a U.S. Attorney said the evidence “does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Panteleo acted in a willful violation of federal law.” In contrast, in the uncommon case where the police officers are convicted, it never comes easy. To even stand a chance, the victim has to have a very strong case against the officer for the jury to believe them over an officer and the reality is that in almost all cases an officer is believed over a civilian in terms of credibility. Even when an officer is charged, they’re rarely convicted so to argue that there is fairness in the conviction is futile. For those who think it’s not a real issue and not race-based, there was an incident in 2016 where a police officer was caught on camera pulling over a woman. The woman can be heard in a state of panic after being told to reach down and get her phone. She says “I’ve just seen way too many videos of cops -” “But you’re not black,” the officer interrupted in an attempt to console the woman. “Remember, we only kill black people.” Not to anyone’s surprise, the police officer suffered no convictions but instead was made to retire. No disciplinary action could take place since he was longer employed and thus entitled to his retirement.

Police brutality is not only in the streets; it is even behind bars as earlier discussed. Possibly one of the most well-known cases is that of Sandra Bland, a story that’s not unfamiliar to most which started outside in the streets. One of the oldest and most pathetic excuses police officers use after committing those kinds of acts is that they ‘feared for their lives’ in the case of Sandra Bland. Encinia had absolutely nothing to be afraid of as he approached her car and shortly arrested her. Throughout the whole first half of the investigation, the only form of conviction made against Mr. Encinia was perjury because he was dishonest about what really happened on the day of the arrest. It didn’t end there, three days later, Sandra Bland was found dead in her jail cell having hanged herself. At least that’s what the authorities said, but that topic is still up for debate. Encinia was indicted for perjury but the charges were dropped at the price that he would never work in the law enforcement field. Although some police officers are convicted, more often than not, those charges are dropped. The unfortunate reality of the situation is that police brutalities have become normalized with less and less being done about them. All things considered, one would ask themselves why police brutalities occur in the first place. What are the reasons for the increase in the frequency of police brutality incidents? The obvious answer would be fear, but there is so much more to it. A common trend that can be seen throughout all police brutality cases is the fact that consequences for misconduct are minimal. Police officers can get away with almost anything without any major consequences. Secondly, minorities — the African American population, are unfairly targeted. The impact on American society is far greater than someone would think, it has gone as far as causing mental health issues among the black community. A black Detroit-based reporter spoke about his PTSD and mentioned the intensity of the emotions he feels when he sees police car lights flashing behind him. It is the sad reality of a great number of people who have had similar experiences as him and to think it is all from being afraid of the same people who are supposed to make you feel safe is disheartening. All things considered, it is more than clear that police brutality is a very serious problem in American society. People could begin to record their encounters with police in case something doe happens. Although far from the actual solution, they can be very resourceful. This issue that America is facing doesn’t seem to be getting the real attention that it should. People are gunned down too often and something has to change before it’s too late and the process continues to repeat itself for generations.

Police brutality has been around in America since the first police force in the 1800s, but received nationwide attention in 1991 with the brutal beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles (Davis 276). The desensitization Americans have to police brutality and the decriminalization of the systemic murder of African Americans is indicative of the larger culture surrounding policing in the United States. Through militaristic propaganda, the Blue Lives Matter movement has redirected the conversation away from the brutal killings of African Americans and thus has allowed these murders to continue in silence with no repercussions for the offenders (SOURCE).

The need to study police brutality is imperative in order to prevent more lives from being lost. The power of the police is corrupt and unchecked, and, while using that power, has allowed police officers to commit murder against mostly African American men without consequence. Currently, police brutality–particularly, but not exclusively, against minorities–is de facto decriminalized in the United States and has been so since the murder of Rodney King (Davis 275).

There have been many attempts to explain why this corruption occurs, with the most common explanation being the “bad apple” defense (Chaney 481). This excuse is most commonly used by police and states that most cops are good, but there are some bad officers mixed into the bunch. The “bad apple” defense removes policing culture from the conversation and puts the blame on a singular officer instead of asserting that corruption is part of the function of policing. Breaking the “Blue Wall of Silence” is imperative to remove so proper policy measures can be put into place to reduce the occurrence of police brutality

Literature Review

Introduction

Every serious prescription for controlling police brutality rests at least implicitly on some theory of police behavior. The exercise of officers’ authority to make arrests has been analyzed in a number of studies, as has the use of deadly force, and a substantial (but still inadequate) body of empirical evidence has been accumulated. Unfortunately, little social scientific evidence has accumulated on the use and abuse of nonlethal force, and a faint effort seems to have been made to consider whether the theories applied to other forms of behavior apply to the use of nonlethal force.

Literature Review

Past research on police brutality has applied sociological and psychological theories to the empirical analysis of arrest and deadly force (Worden 23). One prominent sociological approach to understanding the behavior of police officers is based on the premise that police behavior is influenced by the social dynamics of police-citizen encounters. For example, Donald Black’s sociological theory of law holds that the “quantity of law is influenced by the social attributes of concerned parties–victims and suspects, or plaintiffs and defendants, as well as the agents of social control themselves (Worden 24). The role of the police is best understood as a mechanism for the distribution of non-negotiable coercive force employed in accordance with the dictates of an intuitive grasp of situational exigencies (Worden 24).

This sociological theory supports the belief that minorities are more likely to be shot at by police, and the empirical evidence confirms that minorities are overrepresented among the human targets at which police shoot, relative to their numbers in city populations, but it also indicates that minorities are overrepresented among those whose actions precipitate the use of deadly force. However, the hypothesis that minorities are more likely to be the objects of police deadly force merely because of their race has received support in only a few analyses (Worden 25).

Psychological theories have also been applied in order to understand what kind of police personality seems to cause more violence. This approach highlights variation among officers in their behavioral predisposition, a variation that is obscured by the sociological approach. This perspective directs attention to the outlooks and personality traits that presumably produce different responses to similar situations by different officers. One hypothesis states that officers who are predisposed to use force have “authoritarian” personalities (Worden 26)

The first large-scale observational study of police was undertaken by Black and Weiss in 1967, where they note that almost all victims of force were “young, lower-class males from any racial or ethnic group. Furthermore, most encounters were devoid of witnesses who would support the offender,” (Worden 34).

Research Question

Worden looks to analyze the frequency and severity of two categories of behavior by police: the use of reasonable force, and the use of improper (unnecessary or excessive) force.

Sample and Methods

Most empirical research on the use of nonlethal force by police is based on data collected through the observation of officers on patrol (Worden 32). In his research, Worden recognizes the shortcomings of observational data. They may be biased as a result of “reactivity” when officers refrain from the use of force in some instances due to the presence of observers (33). Worden looks at data not only from the Weiss-Black study but from the PSS as well in order to draw conclusions on police behavior in America.

Analysis and Findings

Bivariate analyses of PSS data indicate that the use of improper force is somewhat more likely if “the citizen is black, male, and over eighteen if the citizen exhibits signs of drunkenness or mental disorder if the citizen has a weapon, and if the citizen is hostile or antagonistic,” (Worden 37) The results of a multinomial logit analysis showed that multiple variables have statistically significant effects on the use of both reasonable and improper force. Whether reasonable or improper, force is more likely in “incidents that involve violent crimes and against suspects who are male, black, drunk, antagonistic, or physically restrained to the police,” (Worden 37).

Conclusion

The analysis of Black-Reiss data and the PSS data show that physical force is infrequently used by the police and that improper force is rare in the sense that it is infrequent relative to the large volume of interactions between police and citizens (Worden 46). However, the infrequency of these events does not diminish their significance of means that efforts cannot be undertaken to reduce the frequency even further.

Additionally, the use and abuse of force by police are influenced by the characteristics of the situations in which officers and citizens interact. Officers are more likely to use force–and especially improper force–against suspects who are inebriated or antagonistic, and even more concerning, they are more likely to use improper force against black suspects. The reasoning for improper force against African American citizens has varied. Perhaps it’s just simply that the behavioral manifestation of being hostile towards police is more prevalent in African Americans. One chief of police stated that he thought some of his officers were especially fearful of black suspects; the unstated implication is that those officers might use force preemptively (and necessarily) or act (unwittingly) in such a way that provokes resistance to which they must respond with force (Worden 46).

In popular media, the reporting of individual cases of police brutality (usually caught on video) results in more attention and sensationalism. In a Washington Post article, Wesley Lowery writes about thirty-two-year-old Edward Minguela, who was standing on the sidewalk with his hands in the air when three Camden County, N.J., police officers slammed him to the ground, punched him a dozen times, and pinned him to the ground on February 22, 2018. The entire incident was captured by a surveillance camera, but this story lacked the outrage seen with Michael Brown and Eric Garner–two black men were killed by police which sparked nationwide protests. Lowery offers an explanation of why police brutality has fallen from news coverage in recent years. Written in March of 2018, Lowery explains that police brutality and criminal justice reform were arguably the leading domestic news storyline during the final two years of the Obama administration, but the issue has all but vanished from the national political conversation. It’s not because police violence has stopped or been reduced–at the time of publication, 212 people have been shot and killed by American police officers, at the same pace of three fatal shootings per day since 2015. It’s also not because reporters have abandoned police accountability, as multiple acclaimed newspapers have launched investigations, including the Los Angeles Times and the Miami Herald. Additionally, several Washington Post reporters spent 2017 investigating what happens to the “bad apple” police officers after they are fired. They often end up right back on the job.

So why has police brutality left the news stories despite it still continuing? Lowery offers several explanations, the most obvious being the election of Donald Trump, a reality television host elected under accusations of Russian interference–whose White House is plagued by scandals, constant turnover, policy reversals, leaks, and staff infighting. According to Devon Jacob, the civil rights attorney representing Minguela, “The nation has a short attention span, and frankly, is interested in what the major networks tell the nation it should be interested in.” Unlike President Obama, Trump isn’t interested in police reform. He encouraged officers to rough up “thugs” they take into custody, and told an audience of officers in 2017, “Don’t be too nice” Additionally, Trump has also faced no questioning on issues of race and policing, even after Texas police shot and killed fifteen-year-old Jordan Edwards or when an Arizona officer killed unarmed Daniel Shaver, despite Obama being constantly asked to weigh in on issues regarding police violence against African Americans.

This silence is not just caused by a lack of emphasis by news channels. In an opinion post in the New York Times by The Editorial Board in June of 2019, they explain Section 50-a of the New York State Civil Rights Law passed in 1976. This keeps the personnel and disciplinary files of the police, firefighters, and corrections officers a secret unless a judge orders them released. The main sponsor of the law, Frank Padavan, said that it was never meant to prevent the disclosure of police misconduct. However, its main function today is blocking the release of crucial information about law enforcement officials who abuse the public trust. There have been efforts to repeal it, but police and corrections unions argue that the law is a matter of safety, as they protect officers from retaliation. However, this is just another institutional mechanic in place to keep police brutality in the shadows.

Section 50-a protected Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who used an illegal chokehold on Eric Garner for five years that killed him. An administrative judge ruling on whether Pantaleo should be fired in June 2019 cannot publicly state her decision due Section 50-a. The only reason the circumstances of Eric Garner’s death are widely known is that someone with a cellphone recorded a video of police taking him down in an illegal chokehold. The officer’s previous disciplinary record–four allegations of abuse against him–is only known because someone leaked the files.

In the past, research has approached this police brutality through a psychological and sociological lens. The focus of research has been on why police choose to commit misconduct and who they brutalized while on the job. Worden in particular has looked at observational data collected by Weiss and the PSS in order to synthesize it together and create a deeper understanding of when and why police brutality occurs. However, this research has led to relatively few solutions, as seen in the Washington Post and the New York Times. The lack of improvements on limiting police brutality leads to a stalemate, where other more “interesting” topics compete with primetime news. Where the Washington Post focuses more on how the political climate has shifted away from police brutality and criminal justice reform, The New York Times offers one take–Section 50-a–on why the culture surrounding officer misconduct is shrouded in secrecy. Instead of offering theories, Worden analyses data from multiple sources to establish the frequency and reasoning for excessive and improper force by police officers.

Sociological Imagination

The concept of the “sociological imagination” was coined by sociologist C. Wright Mills in order to describe the act of looking beyond the personal troubles of individuals and see the public issues of social structure, or the forces shifting and intersecting the larger society and their impacts on individual members of society. In his own words, Mills states that the “sociological imagination enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals,” (Mills 3). The premise of the sociological imagination is that understanding the awareness of the relationship between the individual and society allows us to look at a situation from another point of view. Applying the sociological imagination to cases and situations makes it clear what issues and behaviors need to be remedied in order to prevent the behavior, or to encourage that behavior in order to change the status quo.

In Lisa McIntyre’s article “Hernando Washington,” she uses the sociological imagination to understand Washington’s behavior, instead of just labeling him as deviant. Washington’s social milieu was the South Side of Chicago, where they are ostracized from the rest of society and abandoned by their police (McIntyre 19). When his sister Leah was raped and his brother James was killed by one of the neighborhood boys, the police did nothing (McIntyre 21). This lack of empathy and response from the police taught Washington that life was not very valuable. He was on bail for a rape and kidnapping charge and had raped three other women. The one rape charge he had against him was being handled by a private lawyer. These factors all play together and taught Washington that his actions had no consequences (McIntyre 25).

Annotations:

Peter Moskos in “You Can’t Blame The Police” (The New York Times: Young, Black, and Male in America, June 3rd, 2015) believes that although police should work more sensitively in minority communities he strongly believes that most of the harm being done to these minorities are self-inflicted and the police should not be blamed. He furthers his argument by providing statistics that support his beliefs and in fact, point out the hostile nature of many minority communities. He makes it clear that he does believe that there are cases where corrupt officers need to be addressed and dealt with but in order to persuade his audience to place the majority of the blame on minorities and their communities he goes on to analyze the crime done by whites and their neighborhoods in comparison to colored and theirs. “It’s not politically correct to say so, but the reality isn’t politically correct. Over 90 percent of New York City’s 536 murder victims last year were black or Hispanic. Just 48 victims were white or Asian”; this is a quote I choose from Moskos’s article to reflect that not everyone believes training police is the solution but rather understanding that the community needs to change in order for law enforcement to.

Stevenson Reynolds, author of “Protesting the Police” ( Social Movement Studies: School of Sociology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, Jan 2018, Vol. 17 Issue 1, 48-63) reports that officers are more responsive to active Police brutality protest more so than any other mass protest. Reynolds believes this to be true based on his own proven research and the proclamation he believes to be true stating that police see these protests as potential threats and can lead to city riots. The author is attempting to reflect the mindset of law enforcement and how they are sensitive and paranoid in order to get his point across about how protest is only delaying police brutality reform. Reynolds goes on to say “While police serve as intermediaries for political elites’ interests, they are also guided by their own interests and goals as a profession”, this is an important quote because it’s a reminder that not only does training need to be reformed but mindsets as well.

Curtis Gilbert, writer of “Most States Neglect Ordering Police to Learn De-Escalation Tactics to Avoid Shootings.”( Not Trained to Not Kill: APM Reports, 5 May 2017) reports that Police department training is left to local agencies and that many agency chiefs are dismissing the importance of de-escalating tactics. Gilbert’s report mentions a variety of different cases and situations that suggest that training in certain department areas is beneficial more than others. In order for Gilbert to fully express these reports, he provides details in regards to the “Ask, Tell, Make” procedure used by officers and how different regions receiving different levels of training compare to each other; this is vital data for a report like mine.

Leonard Moore in “Police Brutality in the United States” ( Encyclopædia Britannica: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., July 9th, 2016) believes that all races have been subjected to police brutality but puts emphasis on ethnics groups and minorities due to stereotypes and profiling.“Forms of police brutality have ranged from assault and battery (e.g., beatings) to mayhem, torture, and murder”, this direct quote explains the different ways officers are capable of abusing their power and causing more harm than help. Moore’s article is an informative one, meant to convey important information and detail on why police brutality is as prevalent; in order to do this. Moore writes about events predating those of today even addressing the great migration and segregation and 9/11 with the purpose of hoping they will help the reader understand the daunting importance of these unfortunate commonalities

Deborah C. England, author of “Police Brutality” ( Nolo: legal encyclopedia, Dec 3rd, 2013) argues that police officers are government agents and any injustice committed by government officials is in violation of citizen rights and viable for a lawsuit. The author is trying to get the point across that if police officers are not willing to change or reform there are legal ways to fight back. It is clear that England did her research with this following Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871 provides for a private civil action for damages by any person deprived of his or her civil rights by anyone acting under “color” of law. In order to make a statement, England truly believes that legally pursuing justice is the next step in taking further police training and reform.

Sanjana Karanth, author of “Julián Castro Says Tackling Gun Violence Must Include Police Brutality” (HuffPost: HuffPost, 16 Oct. 2019) reports how “Castro is one of the only candidates whose plans to address gun violence also include addressing police brutality”. She is making a case for his election towards her intended audience of future and current voters. In order to get a message across she includes a video of Castro’s presidential debate and makes it known that Castro’s awareness of the negatives that plague many minorities is on his to-do list. This is relevant to my report because it shows a potential sign of progress, knowing that a politician is willing to help reform the law enforcement system allows people to believe that at least on this topic their voices and shouts for change and better training will be heard.

Amy Novotney in “Preventing police misconduct” (Monitor on Psychology: American Psychological Association) stated that the New Orleans Police Department has undergone a huge reform in training on how to restrain from being heated and overreacting. Novotney says that “The city is already seeing some positive effects: Since the NOPD launched EPIC last year, the department has seen fewer complaints against police officers,” Novotney is trying to make it known that training can work when done right and should be practiced throughout the country. In order to spread her message, she needs a genuine sense of progress and to be infectious to her audience. This is important for my own report because it reflects how my viewpoint can be a possible solution against police brutality.

Alan Neuhauser in “Can Training Really Stop Police Bias?”(U.S. News & World Report: U.S. News & World Report)Insisting that the dieters program be treated and practiced all throughout the U.S. Neuhauser expressed how the training to combat all levels of stress is believed to prepare officers during all actions within their field of work. In order for Dieter’s program to work Believes needs to gain popularity and be funded. Without a doubt, I agree it should be funded and it’s only a matter of time before some nationwide training is put in place.

Synthesis:

There are a lot of current systems in place in desperate need of reform Law Enforcements training being one of them. There have been too many cases of officers abusing their power and police brutality crippling a neighborhood. Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro said this when addressing the connection between police brutality and gun violence in America today ‘I am not going to give these police officers another reason to go door-to-door in certain communities because police violence is also gun violence and we need to address that.” Certain politicians like Castro see that there is a problem that needs fixing here. Events that can occur can even weaken the trust of the community as seen in Deborah England’s article from Nolo.com. She brings up points regarding the unreasonable searching and detaining of non-lethal civilians and suspects and how officers violate rights and in extreme cases overreact and respond in an unethical and unacceptable manner. (England, Deborah C. “Police Brutality.” Www.nolo.com, Nolo, 3 Dec. 2013, www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/police-brutality.) *(Karanth, Sanjana. “Julián Castro Says Tackling Gun Violence Must Include Police Brutality.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 16 Oct. 2019, ww.huffpost.com/entry/julian-castro-gun-violence -police-brutality-democratic-debate)

Police brutality is not anything new; the threat of corrupt law officials has plagued the United States for generations, however in a world like today where society relies on social media and everyone has a camera on them at all times has brought the issue of police corruption front and center to the public eye. Certain reforms like the body cam were a huge step in the right direction in regulating the cop’s behavior by allowing him/her to know that they are always under surveillance and any abuse of power would be documented. But reform cannot stop there. By no means do I believe that law enforcement should receive 100% blame for many of the unfortunate cases that have occurred but I do believe it starts with the police and their training. Law enforcement trainer Duane Dieter believes we can teach de-escalation by exposing officers to all levels of stress during training. He has his own program intended to decrease the risk for both officers and civilians in an approach to help the officer anticipate a sign of potential danger more accurately. Dieter believes he can help both parties and is actually actively willing to partake as opposed to Peter Moskos who essentially blames minorities for not wanting to help themselves. The Dieter program could be the next big help similar to the body cams and I believe it can be the foundation of many law enforcement pieces of training. (“Can Training Really Stop Police Bias?” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2016-12-29/can-training-really-stop-police-bias).

Postscript:

There will always be a minimum of two-sided to any and every story. This is because perspective is relative to an individual and everyone will not share the same point of view, especially not on such a controversial topic as Police Brutality. I knew that I needed to find a variety of sources over a range of subtopics within the realm of police brutality reform. I found that I was more willing to read and write about an article that shared an opposite view from my own view. I also took into account when writing my synthesis that my audience would be those in charge of police training and reform against police brutality. Because of the issues in regards to my topic, I was able to focus longer and this led to an easier writing experience.

Fortunately, I have been blessed to not have any personal experience when it pertains to police brutality, however, I have been unjustifiably profiled by law enforcement and have been made fully aware of what is at stake whenever I am approached by an officer. This is because when I was very young I was told that my color to will be seen as a threat and or as a target. I was taught that not all cops were just or fair and it was instilled in me that if I was ever confronted by an officer my only goal was to make it back home. Because of passed down knowledge, media, and personal experiences, I already had a particular outlook on this matter. Before my research, I believed wholeheartedly that law enforcement needed to be trained better, equipped accordingly, and most importantly deployed strategically. Then I started doing research and reading more and more articles. I soon found myself conflicted and overthinking. I somewhat changed my perspective and take on the matter. I realized the same way I feel that I have to make it home every day no matter what is the same way they feel. I started to sympathize with officers in inner-city communities and how they put their life in potential danger every day, and when I look at it from that perspective I can try to understand the pressure and paranoia that they face and how it is similar to what I myself faced growing up. After realizing all of that humanizing law enforcement unlike how I did before I can see how my ignorance did not allow me to see this issue from both sides. With that being said I’m not exactly sure what is the best course of action but I do know it’s going to take effort from both the law officers and civilians.

Johnson’s conscious decision to write the poem, Sonny’s Lettah, in the non-standard English language, specifically Patois, is a particularly distinctive language feature in most of his work. Surprisingly, the narrator’s nationality or race is not made clear or directly confirmed through physical descriptions, rather this takes place through the use of language. The fact that the entire poem is written in a typical Caribbean dialect on the account of the narrator hints at his ethnic background and that he is not native to England. The poem was initially released in 1979, after the mass migration of people from commonwealth countries, particularly the famous Windrush generation from the Caribbean.

The poem represents how black individuals, especially young men such as “likkle Jim” were treated by the social epitome of authoritative figures, the police. However, it also depicts the relationship between black men in Britain during the late 70s and early 80s, where they had to “look out” for each other, as no one else would. The narrator sets the scene by describing “mi an Jim stan-up/ waitin pan a bus,/ nat cauzin no fus”, further reinforcing the brutal treatment they received in the above-mentioned unprovoked incident. The poem is subtitled “(Anti-Sus Poem) proving that it is clearly written in protest of the ‘sus law’ that was enforced in the Vagrancy Act of 1824, which was in other terms racially profiling. The law was abolished soon after the publication of this poem, after the 1981 Brixton riots in London.

The abab rhyme scheme becomes prominent in two stanzas of the poem where the rhyme is much more noticeable once read orally and interpreted aurally. These stanzas, eight and ten, beginning “dem tump him in the belly” and “an him start to cry” respectively, are when violence takes place in the poem.

Both stanzas highlight the severity of police brutality on the two young, presumably black men. In essence, this sheds light on the taboo topic of brutality towards black people, which during the context, society partook in subscribing to the British norm of pushing such political topics ‘under the rug’. Arguably, the rigid structure in the two stanzas is representative of the harsh treatment black individuals received from the police, which was done in order to assert physical and legal dominance and power; putting a hierarchy in place. The repetition of “an him” and “mi tump” displays the narrator’s resistance to the power of the police. This act of “tump[ing]” carried out by the narrator leads to the harsh consequences when “dem charge Jim for sus,// den charge mi fi murdah” as a result of their inability to submit and essentially give power to the police. The fact that this stanza begins and ends with “an him”, in reference to a police officer, suggests the cyclicality in the negative nature of the relationship between young black men and the police, never changing and never-ending.

As long as there are crimes, and people willing to or compelled to commit them, there will always be a need for specialized forces to serve, protect and keep us. Every day, in every city and town across the world, police officers sport their uniforms and serve the vital role of helping to make and keep our lives and the lives of countless others safer. Recently, however, police officers, our very same unmasked superheroes of the modern era, have been within our generation recurrently brought under intense levels of scrutiny and doubt based on their interactions with the general public. In August 2014, the situation had gotten so out of control that in light of the absolutely horrific and questionable shooting of civilian Michael Brown from Ferguson, Missouri, the American police task force was impelled by the United States government to introduce a particular technology we know today as the body-worn camera. With the introduction of this technology, the United States government sought to restore a greater sense of accountability and transparency as it relates to police officials and their interactions with who they deem to be “criminal suspects”. With the steadily increasing incidence of these instances of police brutality within the last couple of years, it raised the million-dollar question put forth by this assignment: How much and which forms of information do police officers need to arrive at or to issue an arrest warrant or to justify a warrantless arrest? Generally, as it relates to what the justice system refers to as “probable cause” with respect to whether or not a person is or can be considered a “criminal suspect” requires more than a mere suspicion that a suspect committed a crime — with that said, I imagine that insight into and evaluation of the roles of concepts like exemplars, prototypes, schemas and social representations and their consequent implications in situations involving interactions with police officers and civilians could be very valuable in providing an understanding of these very sensitive and critical situations.

Within the context of cognitive psychology, the exemplar theory of categorization serves as a proposal for explaining one of the many ways humans seek to mentally organize and store various concepts and ideas in psychology. According to American academic and author Daniel Reisberg, the term exemplar refers to a “specific remembered instance” or ideal example of knowledge about individual members of a category. The exemplar approach argues that we first learn or experience some specific examples of a particular concept; then further classify each subsequent instance of new stimulus by deciding how closely it resembles those previously learned examples (Medin & Rips, 2005; Wisniewski, 2002). Essentially, the newly experienced stimuli are categorized based on the greatest number of abstract similarities it holds with already existing exemplars stored within that particular category within our memories. As it relates to the example of an officer on patrol who has to arrive at a decision on whether or not a person can be classified a “criminal suspect”, the exemplar approach to categorization would suggest that in arriving at this decision the officer would make use of previously existing instances of encounters with other criminals. For example, in the case of the July 6, 2016 shooting of Philando Castile it was reported that at the time of the incident, a St. Anthony police officer patrolling Larpenteur Avenue radioed to a nearby squad that he planned to pull over the car driven by Castile transporting both his girlfriend and young daughter, and check the IDs of the driver and passenger, suggesting that, ‘The two occupants just look like people that were involved in a robbery. The driver looks more like one of our suspects, just because of the wide-set nose. I couldn’t get a good look at the passenger.” As seen in this particular example, the implication of the use of the exemplar approach in this particular case could be observed in the officer’s decision to pull over Castile and fatally injure him being based entirely upon a previously categorized instance of two suspected robbers based on something as universal to people of Castile’s ethnicity as “a wide set nose”. According to reports on the incident, it only took 40 seconds for Officer Jeronimo Yanez to gun down Philando Castile through his car window after having initiated a conversation — 40 seconds to decide, based on “a wide set nose” and simply “looking like people” that Mr. Castile was, as required by the justice system, guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In this case, this particular instance of overgeneralization of the police officer greatly cost a young woman and her four-year-old daughter, taking from them a life partner and a father.

Linguistically, the term “prototype” is used to describe something original — which in consideration of its originality and uniqueness serves as a standard or primary example of a particular concept; and this is no less true in terms of cognitive psychology. Cognitive Psychology dictates that a prototype by definition, describes a stimulus which, with respect to categorization, represents the most central or salient member associated with a particular category. Similarly to the exemplar approach, the prototype approach speaks to what could be described as a graded notion of categorization, in that the prototype theory, when applied to the categorization of certain stimuli, associates particular models of stimuli more definitively as a member of a particular category than others. As instances of police brutality or police injustice increases it becomes increasingly apparent that there does seem to be a certain “prototype” that police officers are known to arrest and quite often, as seen in the Castile shooting and countless others, kill based upon their impression of these individuals as “criminal suspects”. Essentially, most of the victims of these police officers when arrested or even stopped based upon the assumption of their guilt, seem to possess very specific features. In most instances of police arrests, a majority of the individuals who actually “account for their crimes” or in other words are arrested tend to: be casually or “unprofessionally” dressed or be unemployed, live within lower-income areas, and seemingly most primarily be of African American descent. In observing the “prototype” set forth by the American Justice System i.e. police officers, it can be, on some level, safe to assume or imply that Caucasian men simply do not by any means seem to incur similar levels of police activity or even suspicion in relation to African American men, whether or not they are in fact guilty. In the case of the prototype theory, I imagine that the implications of this particular mode of categorization, as explained above, could result in particular members of society eg. Caucasian men, being overlooked or even pardoned for particular crimes and injustices based simply upon being overlooked for either “not fitting the role” or even more simply “being white”.

The term schema, as referenced in Cognitive Psychology, represents a pattern or framework of thought or behavior which organizes numerous categories of information within our brains or memories and further defines the relationships between them in the hopes of making future experiences with similar situations or concepts easier to navigate and understand. Examples of schemata include archetypes, social roles, world views, and stereotypes. Within our generation, and for as long as time can remember, stereotypes have been the most prominent and recurring of the aforementioned examples of schemata, especially as it relates to the example of police officers who “suspect” a person to be a “criminal”. In 1996, English Psychology Professor Mike Cardwell of Bath Spa University defined the term stereotype as “a fixed, over-generalized belief about a particular group or class of people”. An example of a stereotype that seems to be fixedly and unwaveringly upheld by police officers within the American Justice System would be that all African Americans, primarily men, are inherently and unquestionably violent and angry and as a result must, in all cases, be considered dangerous. It is also firmly believed by police officers of this day and age, particularly of Caucasian descent, that men of this ethnicity do not respect men in uniform or their position of authority and must therefore be reminded of this position at each opportune moment, no matter the cost. The implication of this particular mode of categorization can be observed in each and every recorded instance of police brutality or misconduct whether reported accordingly or not within the last decade or so, and can also be found within the definition of the term in that by stereotyping an individual we infer that that person possesses a particular set of characteristics and tendencies that we assume all members of that particular group also possess. Cardwell suggests that by definition a stereotype is both fixed and over-generalized, with this in mind it is easy to imagine that with stereotyping we, as humans, are often prone to ignoring the individualistic and often personal differences of particular individuals and run the very dangerous risk of over-generalizing. With respect to the suspicion and often consequent and unwarranted murder of predominantly African American male victims this unwavering overgeneralization of the behaviors or tendencies of these individuals can result in police officers not taking the time or even being capable of acknowledging or noticing that this belief they have might not necessarily be true for all members of the schema of “criminal suspect”. An example of this implication in action can be observed in the incidence of the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. On February 26, 2012, within the gates of The Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community in Sanford, Florida, George Zimmerman, who had been appointed as the community’s coordinator of the community’s neighborhood watch by Wendy Dorival of the Sanford Police Department based on crimes committed at The Retreat from January 1, 2011, through February 26, 2012, was driving around the neighborhood on a personal errand. As he went about his personal errand, George Zimmerman observed young Trayvon Martin returning to The Retreat from a nearby convenience store and upon having observed him and deemed him “suspicious” proceeded to report Trayvon to the Sanford Police Department based simply upon the fact that Trayvon was as described by Zimmerman ‘just walking around looking about … wearing a dark hoodie, like a grey hoodie” and looking like ‘he is up to no good or he is on drugs or something.” In this particular instance it is beyond safe to assume that Zimmerman’s suspicion and subsequent shooting and killing of Trayvon Martin were based primarily and absolutely upon stereotyping because according to reports we come to learn that during the months leading up to February 26, 2012, shooting, Zimmerman made numerous calls to the Sanford Police Department several to report people he believed to be suspicious. On each of these calls, Zimmerman found it important to offer up information about the race of his suspects which apparently were all black males despite the fact that the population of the development at the time of the shooting was about 49% non-Hispanic white, 23% Hispanic (of any race), 20% black, and 5% Asian, according to Census figures. Also, on the day of the shooting in that call he made to the department regarding his observation of Martin, Zimmerman was also reported to have stated unabashedly that ‘these assholes, they always get away.” Trayvon Martin, as a result of George Zimmerman’s disgusting display of stereotyping, lost his life that day based simply on his attire, his gait, and ultimately, his ethnicity.

Finally, we will define, and evaluate the implications of, the social representations theory as developed by Serge Moscovici, which enables us to, on a global level, understand and explain the way individuals and groups within society elaborate, transform, and communicate their social reality. This theory, as I have come to understand it based on my research, speaks to a mental system or set of values, ideas, and practices almost akin to what we colloquially refer to as “common sense”. The term “common sense” describes a sound and practical ability to perceive, understand and ultimately judge our everyday experiences or encounters that are shared by or “common to” nearly every person. Essentially, the social representations theory posits that in order to understand and hopefully conquer or “master” our social and material world, we draw on or rely on shared views of the world based upon things such as our social interactions, our exposure to varying forms of media and their various portrayals, and also to our actual day-to-day experiences and encounters within our world. Needless to say, our views of the world are shaped and formed primarily based on who we are as people, where we are from, and the things we have experienced within our lives i.e. our experience and understanding of this experience “life” is entirely contextual. To that effect, McKinlay and Potter suggested that intellectual activity constitutes a mere rehearsal or representation of what has already gone before, in that our minds are conditioned by representations that are forced upon us. (McKinlay & Potter, 1987, p. 475) The very obvious, especially as it relates to police officers and their apparent bias as it relates to “criminal suspects”, implication brought forth by the social representation theory is that most police officers, especially within certain areas or “jurisdictions” possess rather outdated and outlandishly racist representations or systems of belief about exactly what “criminal suspects” look like and are expected to behave like dating as far back as the days of slavery. Sadly, most police officers or law enforcement officials are in fact of Caucasian descent and were consequently raised to believe that they can do no wrong, that everything they can see, touch and hear belongs to them, and that above all there is no one who can touch them, they are superior. With these outlandish and outdated beliefs in consideration it is incredibly easy to understand how based on years of what we came to know through Hitler as indoctrination, it would be so easy for the modern-day “cop” to arrive without a second thought that each and every Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown is fair game and is without a shadow of a doubt guilty; even if there only crime was believing they were free to live their lives.