Police Brutality Research Paper

926 Words4 Pages
What is Police Brutality? All around the world, there are forms of a police power that enforces the laws of the country. With the immense amount of authority that these policemen possess, it is possible for the power to get to their heads. In the words of Lord Acton, "absolute power corrupts absolutely", in this case the use of police power is turned into the use of police brutality. In the recent years, there has been an uprising of police brutality cases breaking out all around the United States. These articles erupted in conflict within the public across all mediums, people debated on whether or not these incidents were acts of brutality. A fine line is drawn between disciplinary action by authorities, and the abuse of power. Police brutality…show more content…
Instances of police brutality have been widely discussed in American media since the early 90s. Police brutality can be present in a number of ways. Generally, police brutality can be seen as any act of unjust treatment to civilians from police officers as they abuse their power. The most obvious form of police brutality is the physical form. Many incidents fall into the police brutality category, such as the Rodney King case of 1991, where King got physical with some of the officers after an eight-mile chase and they shot him with a taser gun to knock him to the ground. He was then beaten multiple times with a baton and kicked repeatedly (“10 Worst Cases Of Police Brutality”). At the time, footage and evidence of police brutality was rare and would often be hidden for the sake of a policeman’s image. However, as the footage of King was released, people became aware of police brutality and became more cautious of the police force. Due to awareness, people started to realize where the line is drawn between reinforcement and abuse. However, police brutality needs to be analyzed and defined more clearly through incidents in…show more content…
In these cases, police brutality is shown in two ways: physical and nonphysical. The physical form is the most obvious form of police brutality because people can see it happening. Police officers can use nerve gas, batons, pepper spray, and guns to physically intimidate or even intentionally hurt civilians. The nonphysical form of police brutality is shown by false arrests, verbal abuse, psychological intimidation, police corruption, racial profiling, and political repression (Dalina 1). The non-physical form could also be tied with the kind of events: sociological or situational. The situational exigencies, related to characteristics such as the race, gender, and demeanor of citizens, determine the use of excessive force. Emphasis is placed on the social dynamics of police-citizen encounters and the situational cues that officers use to decide how to handle an incident (Holmes 8). However, even if the non-physical type of police brutality is hard to classify because it is all based on an individual’s perception. It is obvious if a police officer is using excessive force and is being unfair to a citizen since it is physical. Therefore, it is hard to say if these outbreaks are based on race or not. According to the Law Dictionary, police brutality is the use of excessive or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians (Dalina

More about Police Brutality Research Paper

Open Document