Research Paper on Police Brutality: Excessive Use of Force by Police

Introduction

The term 'police brutality' is often used in different contexts around the world. The most common application of the concept is the realization of excessive use of force by police when apprehending a suspect. Police officers are allowed to use some level of force to apprehend a suspect. Nonetheless, it is often a common occurrence that many suspects who resist arrest are met with the significant police force. Injuries among detainees and people during an arrest are often reported in many police precincts in the United States (Lee et al. 201). Police thus generally have been known to exercise their right to use force to some level during suspect apprehension. Common uses of police force include the use of batons, taser guns and in some instances, whips. Although American police and other law enforcement officers have often had reason to use force, their brutality on American minorities has reached unprecedented levels and should be discouraged.

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History of Police Brutality

Police brutality on citizens has often been subjected by the placement of law enforcement officers in positions of total authority over the citizenry (Lee et al. 204). In the United States, a police officer will face threats such as armed suspects, gangs and persons who may conceal weapons only to use them on police officers. The number of police killings has been on the rise during civil unrest and war. Police brutality began as early as the prohibition of the 1920s and 1930s when alcohol was illegal in the United States (Embrick 841). Nonetheless, the modern case of police brutality against a particular racial faction can be traced to the Civil Rights Movement (Alang et al. 663). During the movement, police officers were often called upon to calm the growing influence of African American civil rights marches. A particular case of utter cruelty by law enforcement can be traced to the Selma-Montgomery March in Alabama in 1965 (Moore et al. 39). During this march, police officers were instructed by the local government to use force to disperse the protesters.

The growing influence of black movements in the United States in the 1960s and the 1970s such as the Black Panther movement and the Human Rights movement under the then leader, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X was a threat to government dominion over black communities (Alang et al. 664). The United States government then enacted laws to set up law enforcement divisions to spearhead deterrence campaigns, often using covert methods. One of these units was the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams set up in each of the police divisions. The government also established a covert force within the FBI, referred to as COINTELPRO (Bonilla and Jonathan 17). Although the force is defunct, it has been associated with brutality and the killing of many African Americans. When President Richard Nixon launched the war on drugs in 1969, he unintentionally targeted citizens of Latin-American descent (Embrick 842). Since then, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has been involved in the brutalizing and killing of many citizens in the fight against drugs.

Description and Analysis of the Problem

The Black Lives Matter Movement

The emergence of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) was as a result of police brutality, which culminated in injustice. A young African-American man by the name Trayvon Martin was shot and killed for apparently resisting arrest (Embrick 844). Police reports initially indicated that he had brandished a weapon, a claim that was later disowned. Investigations into the incident led to the arrest and charging of the suspect, who was later acquitted by a court of law. The decision by the judge to acquit George Zimmerman led to a twitter fury under the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter (Embrick 844). The movement has since grown and brought to light cases of American police brutality around the country. Trayvon was shot and killed in Florida. Later in Ferguson, Missouri, Michael Brown was shot and killed while Eric Garner was similarly murdered in New York City (Bonilla and Jonathan 13). The movement was able to bring a national awareness debate on the issue of police brutality and killings, especially for young black men in America.

The Black Lives Matter movement has held many protests in the United States, mostly in protest to police shootings and the brutal handling of protestors as well as African Americans in police detention. The movement has also been involved in political affiliations, most recently been the 2016 general election, where they shared platforms with some of the Democrat candidates (Embrick 839). Despite the efforts such as media attention on police shooters and supporting criminal proceedings against rogue police officers, it would seem that police shootings have yet been controlled (Lee et al. 203). The number of police officers involved in shooting and killing of innocent black men continues to increase. Regardless, the awareness created by the movement has brought to light cases of police shootings in different parts of the country. The Black Lives Matter movement has also encouraged other minority groups in the United States to set up activist groups to address issues of police discrimination as well.

The Threat of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The cases of police brutality associated with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States have been on the rise in the last few years. Since establishment in 2002, the agency has been involved in the investigation, apprehension and deportation of immigrants. Unfortunately, many of the immigrants have faced significant human rights violations while under detention. The agency has been known to use force against Americans, consistently harming and at times leading to the death of detainees (Bonilla and Jonathan 14). The use of force and cruel nature of detention at the Southern American border is one of the modern cases of the abuse of police power and the use of excessive force by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement service. These officers have violated the rights of many Americans, especially minority groups who do not have the right documentation to prove their citizenship. Brutality by ICE officers has been one of the most significant dehumanizing issues minority groups in America have faced.

Brutality by police officers under the ICE banner has been a common aspect of life for Americans of immigrant descent. Indeed, minority groups such as Asian-Americans and Latin-Americans have faced as much strife as African-American citizens (Lee et al. 218). The challenge with ICE investigations is that while indeed some of the citizens do show clear signs of being illegally in the country for decades, how they are deported can be quite humiliating. It is also common that while there are legal mechanisms that an illegal migrant is allowed to seek before being deported, ICE officers have constantly denied these migrants the channels to seek legal redress. Unfortunately, these cases have often been unheard, and the workings of the institution have been rather covert. Brutality from the law enforcement officers in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department of Homeland Security continues to be a significant factor behind the high levels of police brutality in the United States (Moore et al. 40).

Solutions

Police brutality is a subset of racism in the United States. Racism is a real challenge that society in America needs to embrace and work out. Unless police officers begin to view all citizens as equal, there may never be a time when police brutality will be eliminated (Embrick 837). Americans should not be cowed by the fear of police. They need to stand up and address the matter, especially by involving police officers and other law enforcement agencies in the fight against police brutality (Lee et al. 211). Dealing with rogue police officers is a good step towards ending the scourge of police brutality. Officers who show signs of racism against the Black, Hispanic or Asian-American communities should not be allowed to be part of law enforcement (Alang et al. 665). The conduct of a police person is something that the citizenry can easily point out and effectively report to investigating agencies (Moore et al. 40). Ensuring that the law is used equally on police and law enforcement as it is used on American citizens would significantly reduce police brutality against American minorities.

Conclusion

Solving police brutality in the United States will require effort from the government as well as the public. Americans need to point out rogue, racist and brutal police officers who bully the public. They need to curb the growing trend of impunity among law enforcement before it becomes common and acceptable in society. While dealing with police officers who show racism and other issues in their line of duty, it is necessary to ensure that the law is used effectively. Police officers should not be allowed to commit acts of murder and go free. The law has the ability to bring these officers to justice fully. Above all, the attitude of the government should be to collaborate with the citizens. Setting up covert agencies should be discouraged.

Works Cited

Alang et al. "Police brutality and black health: setting the agenda for public health scholars." American journal of public health, vol. 107, no.5, 2017, pp. 662-665. Research Gate, doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303691. Accessed Dec. 10, 2019.

Bonilla, Yarimar, and Jonathan Rosa. "# Ferguson: Digital protest, hashtag ethnography, and the racial politics of social media in the United States." American Ethnologist, vol. 42, no.1, 2015, pp. 4-17. blogs.umass.edu/jdrosa/files/2015/01/Bonilla-Rosa-2015-Ferguson.pdf. Accessed Dec. 10, 2019.

Embrick, David G. "Two nations, revisited: The lynching of black and brown bodies, police brutality, and racial control in 'post-racial'Amerikkka." Critical Sociology, vol. 41, no.6, 2015, pp. 835-843. Research Gate, doi: 10.1177/0896920515591950. Accessed Dec. 10, 2019.

Lee et al. "Recent police killings in the United States: A three-city comparison." Police Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 2, 2018, pp. 196-222. Research Gate, doi: 10.1177/1098611117744508. Accessed Dec. 10, 2019.

Moore et al. "A Critical Race Perspective of Police Shooting of Unarmed Black Males in the United States: Implications for Social Work." Urban Social Work, vol. 2, no.1, 2018, pp. 33-47. Research Gate, doi: 10.1080/08841233.2019.1586807. Accessed Dec. 10, 2019.