Police Brutality Paper

782 Words4 Pages
The theory that will best serve as a lens for thinking more deeply about my social problem of police brutality is conflict theory. Conflict theories exhibit and describe the political, social, and material unfairness of a particular social group mostly consisting of minorities. Conflict theory emphasizes the vast difference in power differentials that surround class conflicts. The sociologists that are the most respected and well known are Karl Marx, Georg Simmel, and Lewis Coser (Henslin, 2014). Conflict theory can be accredited to those sociologists as they have laid the foundation for this theory. Police brutality is the perfect example of conflict theory because it exaggerates the role of force and power in sustaining social order. Law enforcement officials are responsible for maintaining order in society through authoritative means as they have been given the political and lawful power to do so. The police officers with the most resources exercise their power over citizens with the least amount of supremacy and power struggles take effect. Police brutality occurs when police officers believe that they are unpunishable and use excessive force on minorities, the innocent, and the weak. To further analyze this problem, one must…show more content…
The Police Brutality Law allows a person to sue for money damages if they feel they have been mistreated or abused by a government official or agency ("Police Brutality Law - Overview," n.d.) . The third stage, of reacting to the Official Response will force individuals in society to take sides and support who they feel is right. During this time, laws may change or be appealed to better suit the needs of those involved. Some may feel that the protection law officials receive is incredibly high. When large amounts of people feel that justice has not been served because of the officer’s privileges, riots and retaliation may occur as a

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