Police Force & Ethics: Examining the Issues of Police Brutality - Essay Sample

Introduction

Law enforcement personnel are individuals tasked with the duty of maintaining the law set to govern the people. Police officers are guided by codes of ethics defined by the International Association of Chiefs of Police in 1957, which has often caused issues in espousing the law. Among the ethical issues is the usage of force by the police to maintain order (Chaney and Robertson 490). The issue usage of force has escalated over the decades to police brutality commonly witnessed during social uprisings such as those witnessed in the mid-20th century and today. Police brutality is defined as the unnecessary use of force by police officers against civilians. The notion of police brutality is also diverse. It assumes various forms such as torture, battery, assault, and murder, among other forms of violence. Depending on the definition given by the community experiencing it, actions such as harassment, verbal abuse, or any other form of abuse are also considered police brutality. Nevertheless, the problem has been plaguing law enforcement with numerous failed attempts at rectifying the issue.

History of Police Brutality

Police brutality is experienced by all ethnicities, races, classes, ages, and genders in America; however, the minority experience higher incidences of police brutality. As earlier mentioned, police brutality has been part of the American legal system for decades, with the early cases dating as far back as the late 19th century. During the period, lower-middle-class Americans aired their complaints under numerous occasions on police discrimination. The complaints were most rampant in northern cities such as New York (Chaney and Robertson 490). In the early 20th century, the police in urban cities such as Chicago and New York implemented strategies that surpassed the legal requirements in a bid to control organized crime. Towards the mid-20th century, officers from Los Angeles participated in the attacks against Mexican Americans by military personnel during the Zoot Suit Riots (Maguire 169). In the late 1960s, police officers in New York repeatedly harassed the LGBTQ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) (Maguire 169). After an unwarranted raid on a common meeting area for the community members by the police, it resulted in the Stonewall riots. Finally, most recently, the use of excessive force resulted in the death of George Floyd and other members of the African American community in the late 20th and 21st centuries (Taylor 200). Police brutality is mostly present experienced by minority communities.

The Problem with Police Brutality

The utilization of violent force has been active within the country by many factions of the law enforcement community to achieve the objective of order. However, with time, excessive force utilization, especially by the police, has resulted in social upheaval demanding change. The problem with police brutality must be addressed from the aspect of the role of the police and laws presided to determine the amount of force needed (Chaney and Robertson 485). As mentioned previously, the police are tasked with maintaining order, and that also involves the concession to use force when apprehending suspects or felons. In most states, the use of deadly force is only allowed when the officer has to defend themselves. Therefore, the officer is the determinant of when to apply excessive or deadly force (Chaney and Robertson 487). Though the unauthorized use of deadly force results in the officer facing both criminal and civil litigations, the proceedings are lengthy and mostly result unsolved. Furthermore, from the early 20th century, the use of excessive force by the police has been the norm creating a social disconnect (Chaney and Robertson 500). Allowing police officers to decide when to use excessive force to apprehend felons or suspects is highly disputed, as stated in the code of ethics.

Causes of Police Brutality

The subcultures can explain the notion and problem of police brutality within the policing profession. Newly graduated officers are expected to conform to the traditions and paradigms of police demeanour, often resulting in adverse outcomes. Trainees emulate veteran officers, complying with their commands due to peer pressure and intimidation (Chaney, and Robertson (Maguire 150). With the prospect of being demoted or terminated for not following orders, recruit officers slowly assimilate into the preserved system, discouraging ethical conduct.

Failed Attempts

When it comes to prevention and control on the use of excessive force by the police, numerous attempts have been implemented and failed. The most recent is the use of body cameras commonly identified as "body cams" (Culhane et al. 251) The objective was to create the notion of public supervision with the use of cameras attached to police vests. However, numerous controversies arose over missing videos depicting police officers using excessive force (Culhane et al. 270). Moreover, some officers intentionally switched off the cameras and received no disciplinary actions.

Recommendation

By studying failed attempts at controlling police brutality, the next viable alternative would be an overhaul of the policing system. Enforcing proactive disciplinary and preventive actions such as openly accepting and rectifying the issue and use of cameras. The policy's objective is to protect the public; however, with the current social disconnect, the police will always face resistance from the public. Addressing the issue creates trust, and the police will not be required to use force when maintaining order. The recommendation's outcome can be tested with the number of complaints regarding excessive use of police force a few months after implementation.

Works Cited

Chaney, Cassandra, and Ray V. Robertson. "Racism and Police Brutality In America". Journal Of African American Studies, vol 17, no. 4, 2013, pp. 480-505.

Culhane, Scott E. et al. "Public Perceptions Of The Justifiability Of Police Shootings: The Role Of Body Cameras In A Pre- And Post-Ferguson Experiment". Police Quarterly, vol 19, no. 3, 2016, pp. 251-274.

Maguire, Edward R. Criminal Justice Theory. 2nd ed., New York, Routledge, 2015, pp. 149-200.

Taylor, Clarence. "Introduction: African Americans, Police Brutality, and the U.S. Criminal Justice System". The Journal Of African American History, vol 98, no. 2, 2013, pp. 200-204.