Police Brutality Essay

These severe actions that often involve violence often occurs to innocent people. Ideally, the constitution of most democratic countries in the world create law enforcement agencies just to enhance the safety of the society. Thus, police officers are supposed to serve and protect the civilians. However, there are instances when these officers turn against the same people that they were tasked to protect. These situations of brutality from police officers result to injuries on the victims due to beatings and even death from the same action (Weisburd et al, 2000). The Conception of the Police Force The concept of law enforcement units were not in existence until the 18th century. Before the time, most of the people who were involved in similar activities were soldiers or body guards that offered protection for the royalty and other noble members of the society.

They were also used during times of war to lead other people in battle. Thus, the concept of the police force started from such aspects after the independence of the United States from British control (Cassisi, 2016). Initially, a sheriff with one or two deputies was in charge of maintain the peace as well as safety of the people in small towns and villages. The purpose of the IA is to oversee and conduct investigations on actions carried out by police officers (Harris, 2009). The IA not only seeks to improve the integrity of the police unit but it also ensures that the rights of civilians are not infringed upon by the officers. However, despite these strategies and measures, instances of police brutality have been on the rise.

The most affected are the minority groups in the US. Instances of Police Brutality The evolution of the law enforcement unit to its current status has been tremendous. Yes, officers are allowed to use force when necessary in order to uphold the safety of the civilians. However, the amount of force used can be more extreme than necessary. When a suspect or criminal does not pose an eminent threat to other people or the police officers, it is unnecessary for the officer to resort to lethal actions (Cassisi, 2016). Additionally, when the same individual resists arrest yet he or she does not have any weapon and neither does the person try to disarm the officer, shooting down the victim without attempting lesser severe use of force is illegal.

As Christopher J. However, despite the ideology of the laws applied in the countries, thousands of people continue to experience police brutality annually. One of the most notable cases of police brutality affects the minorities. Ever since the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans have experienced extreme violence from the law enforcement units even when the demonstrators were peaceful. These actions indicate the immense injustice which is served upon the minority ethnic group. Additionally, in 2014, the shooting killing of 17-year African American male called Trayvon Martin sparked the attention of the media (Fr. The man had his wife and son in the vehicle. When he was stopped, he clearly informed the officer that he had a gun in the glove compartment and that he was licensed to have it.

However, the officer did not consider this explanation and just went ahead and shot down the individual. The entire harrowing event was recorded by the wife using her phone. However, despite this damning evidence, no legal actions were carried out and the officer continued working on the same profession. However, most states and counties lack the efficient training programs due to budget cuts and other financial constraints. This situation leads to situations where under-trained officers are allowed to work yet they have incomplete training experience. Thus, when the officer is faced with a scary or risky situation, their reaction is likely to over estimate the threat situation. Therefore, most of these police officers will opt for lethal actions as their last resort.

Another problem that enhances police brutality is racism. The United States constantly has issues that involve police harassment or brutality. These injustices are often meted on individuals from the minority ethnic groups. One of the most famous example where an unarmed teenage boy was gunned down resulted to the Black Lives Matter Movement. The reasons for this situation of police brutality are the lack of proper training and racial profiling. Insufficient training makes the police officers to lack the emotional and mental capabilities for effective threat analysis. G. An empirical analysis of racial differences in police use of force (No. w22399). National Bureau of Economic Research. Harris, C. , Williams, H. , & Bryant, K. A. Police attitudes toward abuse of authority: Findings from a national study.