Essay Example on Police Brutality: The Dark Side of Law Enforcement

Introduction

Most of the law enforcement officers in the United States conduct their duties with utmost dignity and professionalism. However, there are incidences where this is not the case. Like in any other field or profession, there are a few cases where police officers engage in police brutality against humanity (The United States Department of Justice). According to Amnesty International, police brutality is used to denote the various violations of human rights by the police. Such violations might include racial abuse, beatings, torture, unlawful killings, or the indiscriminate use of agents of riot control against rioters (Amnesty International). Police brutality is a human rights issue that has attracted many debates in the United States and other parts of the world. The unlawful use of police force can, at its worst, lead to the deprivation of the right to life. Besides, when the police use unnecessary or excessive force, it often leads to ill-treatment and sometimes torture (Amnesty International).

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According to Halt, determining the number of people affected by police brutality is not an easy task. According to Mapping Police Violence, in 2018, 1,164 persons were killed in 2018 alone (Halt). Reports by the Bureau of Statistics on the number of civilian and police interactions and deaths associated with police brutality retaliated (Halt). However, such statistics are from the police departments themselves, raising the question of their credibility as many people doubt the police's ability to give the entire story. Most of the interactions between civilians and the police are positive. Still, there are a few instances in which few individuals within the police department use harmful tactics or excessive force, which consequentially lead to the injury or even death of the victims.

Police Brutality Laws

The good news is that laws provide options and protect individuals who might get involved in a negative interaction with the police. The very first option that any individual afflicted through police brutally may have is to make an internal complaint to the police department, while the second one is filing a criminal complaint. The third option is to file a civil suit. However, the afflicted individual has the option of pursuing all these options. An individual filing for such cases should ensure that they talk to the best brutality lawyer so that they are protected in the investigation (Halt).

Federal laws addressing misconduct by the police in the United States include both civil and criminal statutes. They cover the actions of local, county, and state officers, including those working in jails and prisons (The United States Department of Justice). Besides, many laws apply to Federal law enforcement officers, and such laws protect everybody living with the borders of the United States. In the investigations done by the Department of Justice, whether civil or criminal, the individual whose rights have allegedly been violated is known as the victim and often is an essential witness. Generally, the Department of Justice informs the victim of such investigations but cannot act as the victim's lawyer or give any legal advice (The United States Department of Justice).

Police Misconduct Provision

Under the Police Misconduct Provision, the States Department of Justice under the States laws has very clear enforcements that stop law enforcement officers from engaging in any form or pattern of misconduct depriving persons of their rights protected by the United States Laws or Constitutions (The United States Department of Justice). Some of the conducts that this law covers include, but not limited to, false arrest, discriminatory harassment, excessive force, unlawful searches, stops, or arrests. For the conduct to be covered under this law, it may not simply be an isolated incident, but rather has to constitute a pattern or practice.

The Department of Justice must provide evidence before the court that there was a pattern of unlawful conduct in the incident, or the agency had an unlawful policy (The United States Department of Justice). Under this law, the remedies availed by the law do not provide any form of monetary compensation for the victims of the misconduct, but rather injunctive relief whereby there are orders to end the misconduct and change the policies and procedures of the agency that allowed or resulted in the misconduct. Under this law, there is no private right of action, and the Department of Justice may only file suits for violation of the violations of the Police Misconduct Provisions (The United States Department of Justice).

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the "OJP Program Statute"

Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Program Statute, discrimination by local and State law enforcement agencies based on color, race, sex, national origin, and religion is prohibited (The United States Department of Justice). The Act prohibits both patterns or practices and individual instances of discriminatory misconduct, such as treating a person differently because of their color or sex. The misconducts covered under the OJP and Title V includes, for example, use of racial insults or harassment, discriminatory traffic stops, discriminatory arrests, coercive sexual conduct, discriminatory use of force, retaliation for participating in an investigation or filing a complaint with DOJ, or the refusal by an agency to respond to the complaints relating to its officers participating in discriminatory treatment (The United States Department of Justice).

Under these laws, the remedies available are almost similar to those provided under the Police Misconduct Provision. In this case, the DOJ may also seek changes in the procedures and policies of the agency in an attempt to remedy the violations of the laws. Where appropriate, the DOJ may also seek individual remedial relief for those affected by such discriminatory acts (The United States Department of Justice). Under the Title V and the OJP Program Statute, there are also circumstances where individuals have a private right of action, whereby the law warrants them to file a lawsuit by themselves. Nevertheless, the individual first have to exhaust their administrative remedies before they can file a complaint with the Department of Justice if they wish to file under the OJP Program Statute in Federal Court (The United States Department of Justice).

Convicting Officers of Violating Police Brutality Laws

There are significant challenges that stand in the way of anyone trying to convict a police officer who brutalized them. Regardless of how justified the case might be, it is naturally difficult to convict a police officer for brutality in the United States. In a real sense, very few police officers get held accountable for their misconduct (Moverman). This is a scenario that must possibly be contributing to the increasing cases of police brutality in the country. According to the Cato Institute, for example, 33% of police officers charged with misconduct in 2009 got convicted of a crime (Moverman). Of all those police officers convicted, 64% of them served an average of 14 months prison term. It might sound that 33% of the police officers charged is a large number. Still, the reality is that most police officers who get involved in misconduct never get charged nor prosecuted (Moverman).

According to Moverman, thousands of people got killed by the police between 2005 and 2015 (Moverman). However, according to an analysis from the Washington Post, out of all the police officers responsible for such killings, only 54 of them got charged with a crime. Most of these 54 police officers further got acquainted later on. Such a surprising lack of accountability has been and remains to be an issue of concern as it continues to become even worse. In 2015 alone, it was established by Mapping Police Violence Organization that 1,154 people got killed by police officers (Moverman). Surprisingly, in 2015, there was no single police officer who got convicted of manslaughter or murder (Moverman).

The Changing Face of Police Brutality

Whereas there are several police misconduct laws on the books all through the nation, activists demonstrate that all the more needs to happen to upgrade and uphold these laws. Cops frequently work intently regularly with the investigators who might be allocated to their cases, and this will, in general, work in favor of the officials. Laws requiring uncommon investigators for brutality cases would be a positive development. The increase of promptly accessible video will keep on changing how police and the open glance at these cases.

According to the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company (MSNBC) reports, in the wake of across the board turmoil in 2014, President Obama submitted $75 million to body camera buys for nearby police offices (Moverman). The nation is sitting tight for police divisions to begin buying and wearing body cameras. Meanwhile, Americans have assumed control over things to record police activities. The horrific presentation of police activities is proceeding to drive changes in the framework changes that could see more officials paying for their violations similarly to what civilians do (Moverman).

Police brutality should never be forgiven nor tolerated. If the victim cannot be supported, then the nation will have a very dangerous chance of experiencing an increase in the police's atrocities, and security will degrade. Police brutality violates all human rights, and it is very dangerous in society. Individuals have to work together will all the other sectors, including the government in the fight against police brutality since no single person can successfully fight this fight. Police brutality can be seen everywhere in the United States and is one of the most dangerous human rights violations. Police brutality can lead to serious consequences to the general public and other law enforcement officers, and therefore, the issue needs to be looked at with close concerns and understood. Some things easily hit people's minds when they talk about police cheating. For most adults, the first thing that might come to mind is the incidence where police brutally beat Rodney King at a local news station or when the evidence of OJ Simpson trial got tampered with.

The atrocities committed by the police are usually intentional, physical, and excessive. Police may also intimidate personas psychologically by police words. However, there have been significant improvements in police practice since 1981, but police allegations on abuse and illegal conduct have continued to spread across the United States. The police station has strengthened police brutality, and today, it continues all over the entire globe. There are instances where police may need to increase their force in handling some cases. However, the excessive use of such forces when no need leads to the coining of the term police brutality, and that is against the United States Constitution.

Conclusion

The term police brutality is used to denote the various violation of human rights by the police. Determining the number of people affected by police brutality is not an easy task. Some laws provide options and protect individuals who might get involved in a negative interaction with the police. The very first option that any individual afflicted through police brutally may have is to make an internal complaint to the police department, while the second one is filing a criminal complaint. The third option is to file a civil suit. Under the Police Misconduct Provision, the States Department of Justice under the State's laws has very clear enforcements that stop law enforcement officers from engaging in any form or pattern of misconduct depriving persons of their rights protected by the Unit...