Police Brutality and Why Officers Should Be Punished

Police Brutality and Why Officers Should Be Punished

Introduction

There have been widespread reports of police brutality reported in several states in the United States. Police brutality is an example of police misconduct involving the abuse of authority during the unwanted use of excessive force by law enforcement personnel while performing their official duties. Police are considered to have used excessive force beyond what the officer considers necessary. The cases of use of excessive force have been reported during an arrest, an investigatory stop, or racial discrimination, false arrest, wrongful search, and seizure. Statistics show that police brutality deaths have been on the rise.

Despite increased media coverages on brutality, these efforts haven’t led to any positive changes in the punishment of police officers involved in cases of brutality. It has been hard to track these cases due to the lack of police accountability. The rate of police indictment for officers involved in brutality remains less than one percent of the total cases witnessed. The thesis of this paper is to expand our knowledge of police brutality and why it is essential to ensure that these crimes are punished.

Background information

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reports that more than 461 felony suspects were killed by police officers. This figure is said to be the highest in two decades. According to the Pew Research Centre, police and the public hold different opinions on deadly black encounters (Travis, 2018). Thrive global (Lisa & Wald, 2018) reveals that annually, the number of brutality on unarmed black American victims is not equal to other ethnicities. Cases of police brutality have often been linked to signs of a bigger problem between the African American community and the police.

Most of black officers (57%)   together with the overall public opinion of 60% believe that these cases of police brutality are indications of a broader problem (Travis, 2018). The USA Today researchers concluded that the use of lethal force by the police on unarmed African Americans bears the weight of decade-long injustices together with the use of state fueled violence against African Americans (Lisa & Wald, 2018). For instance, in 1999, New York City police officers were involved in five fatal shootings in a duration of four weeks. Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times after being mistaken to be reaching for a gun from his pocket. Months later, Gidone Busch was shot12 times after striking one police officer with a hammer. In September 2018, Richard Watson, an unarmed man, was fatally shot after he was alleged to be evading a taxi fare. None of the officers involved in the cases faced criminal charges (Lisa & Wald, 2018).

The increase in cases of police brutality has been blamed on the lack of punishment on the officers responsible. Most prosecutors have been accused of providing a broad latitude and deference to police officers during questioning. The rate of police officers prosecution remains at less than 1% (Ginia, 2014).

Some states have been shown to enforce changes concerning dealing with cases of police brutality. Recently in Baltimore, a police officer was suspended with pay for inflicting excessive force on a suspect for repeatedly punching him in the face causing fractures.  Some states in the US have enacted a law that entitles victims of police brutality to financial compensation for the medical bills, emotional stress, pain and suffering, and lost wages.

Causes of police brutality

Law enforcers, researchers, state agents, and non-governmental organizations have attempted to discover the causes, effects, and possible ways to curb the cases of police brutality. Some of the reasons are:

Lack of adequate training in non-violent situations

Most police officers have been reported to react violently when faced with a violent situation.  These policemen always end up causing severe bodily harm to their victims. These violent situations may arise in cases of demonstrations where the police have been reported to have used too much force when dealing with crowds.

Minimal consequences for misconduct

Research a show that almost 99% of the complaints against police brutality are never investigated. The conviction rate for civilians is almost double the number of police officers convictions (Ginia, 2014). According to the Pew Research Centre, only one out of every three police officers accused of brutality is convicted annually.  Most prosecutors decline cases of police misconduct on the basis that the juries are conditioned to believe in the law enforcers. This situation challenges the victim’s credibility when answering to such cases (Ginia, 2014). Further cultivation of an abuse-friendly legal environment only helps propagate these cases of police brutality.

Unfair targeting of the minority populations

There have been many protests sparked by the killings of African Americans during encounters with the police in the past. These views of the police and the public are, however, seen to be contrasting. Research by Pew Research Centre reveals that 67% of the police with only 39 % of the public narrate these encounters as single incidents rather than a sign of larger problems between African Americans and the police (Travis, 2018). These findings affirm that the cases of police brutality often bear historical injustices perpetrating state violence against African Americans.

Lack of state-enforced parameters to judge brutality

It has been challenging to quantify how much use of force is reasonable and which one is not. There has been an inconsistency of standards in dealing with cases of police brutality. The same offense can receive different approaches from police officers in different states.  It is crucial to provide national legislation to define reasonable use of force.

Increased militarization of the police

All over the states of the US, local police officers are equipped with very powerful weapons.  The police also use highly armed SWAT teams. In the last two decades, there has been a rise in the use of the SWAT teams.

Effects of police brutality

A report released by the Boston University’s School of Health and Penn State University reveals that there is a high frequency of African Americans deaths at the hands of law enforcers. Police brutality has also been blamed for the incidents of depression, stress, lawsuits relating to excessive force and racial profiling by the police

Deaths

Since the establishment of the police in the 18^th century, many cases of death caused by excessive use of force by the police have been reported. For instance, in 1999, Amadou Diallo, 23, was brutally shot 41 times while he was reaching for his wallet. In 2018, Botham Jean, an unarmed black man, was killed by Officer Amber Guyger. Jordan Edwards, a 15-year-old, was shot dead when he was from a party with friends. In June of the same year, Antwon Rose Jr. was killed in a Pittsburgh suburb while fleeing from a car spotted by an officer (Lisa & Wald, 2018).

Psychological effects of police brutality

Police brutality is damaging the mental health of black Americans. For many black Americans, the traumatic experience of police arrest and use of excessive force has often resulted in Post Traumatic Stress Disease (PTSD) (Lisa & Wald, 2018). This condition results in an individual experiencing panic attacks, substance abuse, or suicidal tendencies.

Why officers should be punished

Law enforcers found guilty of engaging in police brutality should be punished. They should be sentenced to prison, judging on the extent of the bodily harm caused to the victim. The government should enact legislation to guide on the reasonable level of force to be used by police officers. Significant policies such as gun control should be implemented to prevent further militarization of police officer.

Police officers should wear body cameras, which will not only help reduce the cases of police brutality but also act as evidence in cases of police misconduct. The levels of training and standards should be modified to properly train officers in dealing with the effects of trauma, violence, and racial biases.

Conclusion

Cases of police brutality should be appropriately handled to prevent the consequences that arise from these brutalities. Properly dealing with these cases will not only offer justice to the victims but also help restore the public’s faith in the institution.  Policy makers, law enforcers, the judicial systems, and the general public should all strive to bring an end to the decade long problem of police brutality.

References

http://sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&A            N=113271577&site=eds-live“>“I can’t breathe”: A case study—Helping Black men cope with         race-related trauma stemming from police killing and brutality.

http://sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN            =134666969&site=eds-live“>Police-Related Deaths and Neighborhood Economic and          Racial/Ethnic Polarization, United States, 2015–2016.

http://sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=i3h&AN            =128758077&site=eds-live“>Remedying Police Brutality in America’s Public Schools Through         Private Structural Reform Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983

“http://sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&A            N=122460821&site=eds-live“>Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda for Public        Health Scholars.

Bellafante, Ginia. “Police Violence Seems to Result in No Punishment.” The New York Times, The New     York Times, 5 Dec. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/nyregion/police-violence-seems-to-       result-in-no-punishment.html.

Mitchell, Travis. “Comparing Police Views and Public Views.” Pew Research Center’s Social &        Demographic Trends Project, Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project, 25      Sept. 2018, www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/01/11/police-views-public-views/.

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/.

(Ginia, 2014)

(Travis, 2018)

(Lisa & Wald, 2018)