Some of us may have been in this situation or similar situations. You’re driving home on a lone road by yourself and you see a police car coming into your view. Just seeing the officer makes you tense up even though you know that you haven't committed a crime. Why is that when we see or get around someone who is supposed to be protecting us that we feel more terrified rather than protected? Why is it that we are so afraid of someone who sacrifices their life every day and who took an oath to protect not only the people in the community but, the community itself? If you are like myself and have not engaged in any criminal activity or have not been to jail, then why are we scared to be around police officers? We have seen movies and TV shows where police force was used to an extent but, do we really believe that the same tactics used in television films are used by actual officers? These assumptions and others are one of the many problems that law enforcement officials face today when they are trying to communicate and build bonds with the community; how they are perceived by the public can affect how they carry out their jobs.

Over the years, violence at the hands of police officials has become a bigger issue in the public eye than ever before. Those who are of minority decedent have become victim to, for many decades, misconduct by police officers in the United States. This has sparked outrage and protest nationwide. The most recent is the form of violence is an illustration of police brutality, which often leads to death. Police brutality continues to be an issue in our communities today, and it remains a major issue for those who are minorities. Over the past centuries, African-Americans have experienced violence in many ways. Today, police officers use deadly, excessive force that leads unnecessary assaults, beatings, and shootings.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that police brutality is a form of violence, and defines violence itself as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.” (Krug, Dahlberg, Mercy, Zwi, & Lozano, 2002, p. 5).  This type of violence has been used for decades on minorities especially on African Americans and in certain situations, has led to death. Although police officers are encouraged to use force, they should use the least amount of force needed to “control an incident, affect an arrest, or protect themselves or others from harm or death” (The National Institute of Justice, 2012). Police have served as a crucial part in society as its protectors. Police officers protect the citizens in communities and attempt to certify not only their safety, but the safety of others as well. 

What causes police brutality and why African-Americans are the primary victims is what Malcolm D. Holmes and Brad W. Smith examine in their book “Race and Police Brutality Roots of an Urban Dilemma.” In their book, Holmes and Smith discuss how Psychologists often point aggressive behavior by police officers to “poorly managed police departments and the interests of the police officials controlling minorities who are perceived as criminal threats.” They argue that these explanations fail to find key causes of police misconduct, specifically the use of excessive force. They examine how social and psychological behavior can influence how a police officer handles a person who is being detained. 

They discuss the social theory of police behavior which states that “police behavior is influenced by the social dynamics of police-citizen encounters” (146). This psychological theory states that how an officer responds to situation is based upon “their personality and that a person’s behavior isn’t always connected to a person’s attitude and how they handle situations that they are in at the time” (150). Focusing on the interaction of “ordinary social-psychological processes and the disadvantaged conditions of minority neighborhoods”, Holmes and Smith develop a central joint idea of police brutality that considers “contemporary theory and research on social identity, stereotypes, and emotions” and factors that produce tensions and may trigger unjustified acts of aggression. They go on to say that although things are changing such as more minorities being elected to bring more insight to the issue, officers being charged with their crime, etc. we still are far from being a country that is tranquil. Their approach overcomes existing difficulties and raises the question of how this complex social problem might be effectively addressed.

Ben Crump, who is the nation’s leading civil rights activist and attorney, expressed where America stands after the shooting of Michael Brown. Michael Brown was gunned down at the hands of a police officer and ever since this incident things have changed. Officer Wilson shot Michael Brown after he assumed that Brown robbed a convenient store. Crump states that African-Americans are more than likely to be stopped and searched by a police officer than a person who is white. He goes on to say that although things are changing such as more minority officers being hired, body cameras being worn by police, officers actually being charged with their crime, etc. we still are far from being a country that is home to “the brave and the free”.

Violence at the hands of police officers has gained national attention since the death of Trayvon Martin. Comedian D.L. Hughley talked about the effect that police brutality was having on his famed radio syndicated show and became emotional during the discussion. During his interview with CNN, Hughley was brought to tears while discussing the fatal shooting of two African-American men that happened less than 48 hours apart from each other. Hughley said "I just do not understand. We love our children. We love our parents, our mothers, our fathers. They're brutalized and nobody says anything.” He also went on to say that every parent tells their children how to act when an officer is around. He also stated that it is “abhorrent and immoral” for these killings to be happening.

Protest city wide has brought more attention to this issue as well. Hundreds of people protested outside the White House in lieu of the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two African-American men whose lives were taken just a day apart from each other. Protesters marched from the Capitol to the White House while carrying signs that said, “Justice for Alton Sterling and Philando Castile” and chanting “no justice, no peace, no racist police”. Both men were shot by police and both were recorded on a cellphone and sparked an outrage throughout the country.

These incidents just add to the stigma of police brutality and deaths of unarmed black males. It started the first wave of vicious violent riots. The grand jury decision didn’t help in stopping the riots but simply adding more fuel to the fire as well. This grand jury in comparison with Rodney King actually had three African Americans. The decision came to not indict Officer Wilson on five charges in the shooting of Brown. That’s when the second wave of riots started to occur. There were numerus reports of fires, objects being thrown on officers, looting, and business being vandalized. It became so bad for the city that the Governor had to declare a state of emergency and depend on the National Guard to protect the city. Having the National Guard in Ferguson and also adding a curfew only made matters worse instead of improving. Even though the riots did have a bad turn out and some feel justice is not served there was positivity shed on the black community. There was already a movement being done called Black Lives Matter from a previous incident with Trayvon Martin. Browns case added to the movement and gave African Americans more fuel to become one and equal not just to cops but people with “white privilege”. There was a special movement on social media for Brown with the hashtag #HandsUpDontShoot.

Throughout the century, the public as well as government officials have questioned the use of force, racism, and other forms of misconduct by the officers of the law. Some government officials claim that many of these problems are portrayed poorly by the media and are fabricated; that these officers are simply doing what needs to be done “to protect and serve”. President Trump for example, endorses the idea of police brutality. In a speech on July 28th, President Trump stated that officers shouldn’t be “too nice to arrestees.” He believes that law enforcement officials should be more aggressive in their use of force stating “Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over? Like, don’t hit their head and they’ve just killed somebody—don’t hit their head. I said, you can take the hand away, O.K.?” (Cobb, Jelani. “Donald Trump is Serious When He “Jokes” About Police Brutality.” New Yorker, 1.Aug.2017, https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trump-is-serious-when-he-jokes-about-police-brutality). This comment sparked an outrage amongst those who are against police violence and brings into question whether or not we can truly be protected by police officials.

Others argue that their volatile acts can be traced back to poor training and policies. An example of this poor policing strategy would be the death of disabled Air Force and Afghan war veteran Anthony Hill who was shot by DeKalb County Police Officer Robert Olsen back in March 2015. Hill was shot twice in his upper body by Officer Olsen without any warning and was also naked. Witnesses said that Hill had no visible weapons and was simply walking towards the officer.  Olsen was arrested and charged with two counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated assault, one count of making a false statement and two counts of violation of oath by a public officer. The case is still pending and ongoing. If Olsen has used a different technique such as trying to talk to Hill and calm him down, Olsen would have felt safe enough to demand that Hill get on the ground and he would have been detained and taken to a facility where he could have gotten the necessary treatment and he still would be alive today. The case has shined more light on the “lack of police training that leads to the use of extreme force in cases that clearly do not demand it.” (Kreps-Polokroff Penny. “PTSD and poor policing to blame for veteran Anthony Hill’s death.” 8.Jan.2016.) Still, many maintain that the whole system needs to be changed and that with the rise of crime, officers have now become enforcers rather protectors. 

The members of the public sometimes notice the use of excessive force by the police as a crime even when the force used is lawful. In the daily duties, the law enforcement officers are faced with danger as they carry out their duties. In dealing with a dangerous or the unpredictable situations, the police officers have very little time to organize themselves psychologically and assess the ability to determine a proper response. Therefore, a good training given to the police can enhance the chances of the officers to react properly to the situations or the possible threats. 

The amount of force that the police use should be the reduced to a point that is needed for elimination of the threat that has been presented, in this way the risks are minimized and also the severity of any kind of injury that may occur. Police should make sure that those people injured receive immediate medical care and notify the family immediately of any injured person. The officers should be given additional guidance from the individual agencies, meaning there should be no common set of rules to manage how officers use force and how much. 

The controversy that exists over the use of excessive force by police officers is tied to how the community perceives officers. If the officers develop better relations with the general community, then the fear of being around police officers will more than likely diminish. Very effective police-minority relationship can greatly reduce the number of incidents of excessive police force. However, if an incident of a police officer using excessive force does occur, then the public is likely to give a response with a close open mind due to the past encounters and the distrust that has been built up with the police. The Police have the right to use force in protecting themselves; however, beating up a suspect who has been restrained or one who has surrendered is not justified for self-defense. Therefore, actions need to be taken in order to diminish the crime that is caused by police brutality. Good use of the interdisciplinary police units, the justice system, and the police officers trainers can work together to prevent police brutality. The justice system needs to actively pursue and punish the offenders within the police system. On the other hand, the police must do more on their part to change the structure of the police force in order to support the officers who abuse their power thereby preventing the new officers from learning the same bad behaviors.

Police brutality has covered media headlines for the last two decades. People have continued to riot in cases where brutality exceeds the usual range of punishment. Fatal shootings are becoming common. Surprisingly, the police officers responsible for the killings are not held for long before they are released to their normal duties. Studies have noted that police use excessive force to the minority groups. For instance, Latinos and African Americans have are sure that the police use this force on suspects, rather than the ideal victims of the offense. On the contrary, a number of people think that the excessive force is necessary to prevent additional crimes in the society. Therefore, it is important to analyze the different views on the two sides of this aspect.

Since the issue of police brutality is based on racial grounds, the police should be held accountable for their misconduct. This will allow them to treat all groups of individuals with equality; hence use appropriate amount of force. According to social scientists, many police officers are not trusted by their communities as a result of misconduct. Their anger is imposed beyond measures. Further investigations also support that the brutality of police officers is persistent. Systems that deal with the abuses are no longer at ease. The complainants find difficulty in seeking administrative aid. Majority of the police officers avoid punishment after violating the law. A study by the Seattle times depicted that 70% of all police crimes are unreported, and therefore, no actions are taken.

Even though police brutality is noted to be a negative incidence by a vast majority, some think that it is a better way of ending crimes. The young and the old have improved their tactics in handling guns. Violent crimes are committed by very young individuals. Tapes of gun shows are viewed by a larger number of criminals. Maintaining law and order has been a tough task for the police officers. In this, what would a police officer do when they are robbed and their tools are stolen? Getting the victim of the offense would create brutality. And therefore, the police should exercise their forces in order to scare criminals but not kill them.

Nobody would wish to experience the incident. However, this aspect should continue in order to scare criminals and those intending to become criminals in the future. If the police were not brutal, numerous crimes would be heard in every second. Police brutality remains a challenge within law enforcement today. The rate at which police brutality occurs may decline in the future, with effective mechanisms to ensure police responsibility and a continued emphasis on police professionalism. Although isolated instances of police brutality may be unavoidable, a number of responsibility measures can be applied in an effort to reduce overall patterns of police brutality.

Police departments traditionally have turned inward in an effort to regulate the conduct of their officers. An internal affairs unit (IAU) is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct and brutality. The “blue curtain” or the “blue wall of silence” refers to the informal code among police officers that constrains them from reporting the misdeeds of other officers. The refusal to “rat out” a fellow officer remains a cultural norm within police departments. Therefore, there are significant cultural limitations to an IAU investigation. Moreover, the investigations conducted by IAUs are typically masked in secrecy. Thus, it is extremely difficult to assess whether and to what extent police departments in fact are monitoring their operations.

There are, however, external methods of monitoring and curbing police brutality. These measures together may begin to affect the national police culture in which brutality is accepted, overlooked, or ignored. Until measures such as these are applied, however, the excessive use of force by individual police officers is unlikely to come to an end.

In conclusion, I feel police officers need to be retrained on a few things. First, they should take sensitivity classes so their first thought to mind a tough situation is not to shoot to kill. Training should be on breaking the cycle of racism and bias. It is unbelievable that the police are very stereotypical and that’s the reason why certain races are targeted more in poor areas than they are in more suburban areas. In addition, gun and Taser training needs to be retaught because this can promote using the taster more to stop police shootings and ending lives prematurely. African Americans need to learn to feel safe and protected by police and not feel hunted. Programs need to be put in place so that blacks and police officers can have a better relationship and can help each other out.  
