ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: police-brutality

We can insure and determine that police officers are making a huge impact on the public’s safety. Understanding how when a police officer writes a citation it impacts the safety, did you know there are officers who go above and beyond just simply writing tickets? Did you know there are officers who make personal differences in others lives each and everyday, unrecognizably. Next, one of my high inspiring mentors who works for the Warren Police Department, Lieutenant Detective. That Lieutenant Detective, John Barnes, a 20 year veteran at the Warren Police Department went above and beyond while on duty one day to look after a child who recently had some family issues and the child parents weren’t going through the best stages in life. John Barnes adopted a young boy who had been physically ,emotionally and mentally abused at the current stages of his life.
Topic: police-brutality

John Barnes took it upon himself and his wife to adopt this young man who they didn’t even know. How would you have taken on this issue? Do you feel Lieutenant Barnes took the appropriate actions with this child? Do you feel as if he should had done his job and took the child to a juvenile detention home? Many officers inside of the Warren Police Department felt as if Barnes had done the right thing. I personally know John Barnes and his adopted son Jack Barnes. Jack Barnes and I were both police explorers together. Lieutenant Barnes isn’t the only person who stepped above his job and made a difference in someone else’s life. Officer Jesse Whitten of the Santa Rosa Police Department located in California also stepped above his job to make a difference. While on duty Officer Whitten was dispatched to an unknown call in his designated patrol area, Whitten responded. While on the dispatched call Officer Whitten realized a mother of one baby girl was also going through a rough time in her life. Whitten noticed the horrific environment that the baby girl was living in. He knew he had to take action.
Topic: police-brutality

Similar to Lieutenant Barnes, Officer Whitten also adopted this baby who was being physically, emotionally and mentally abused. What such great men that took action when the action was needed. Take a moment and realize that these officers took time out of their personal lives outside of work to make a huge impact in multiple peoples lives. Summarizing that police officers aren’t indeed what the media presume them to be. Not all cops are racist, many of them aren’t just stopping you to harrass you or cause you to have a corrupt day.
Topic: police-brutality

Knowing that there are a huge number of good police officers oppose to the bad ones. Let’s remember there are bad apples everywhere , even inside of a police department. We can allow the small mistakes to trump over the good. As you gained knowledge around police officers being accredited through trainings, tactics and mentors, how they keep us safe and most importantly how they impact people’s lives unnoticeably. We must consider them as normal humans just liek you , take into consideration no one is perfect and people make mistakes every day. Remember next time you are pulled over, remain calm they are just doing their jobs, maybe they can relate to what you have going on.
Topic: police-brutality

There is a concept in the U.S. Constitution called equal protection under law. What this means, is that no one in the U.S is better or worse than anyone else in the U.S when it comes to the law. This applies to everyone equally whether it be a cop, Donald Trump or even a homeless person. It has become an epidemic in the USA that cops regularly kill innocent people and nothing is done. This is an issue that has been brought into the focus of the public eye.
Topic: police-brutality

Many people have lost their lives due to police brutality. Often police officers build up negative feelings towards certain races, sexes or religions. This issue continues to play a major role in police abuses and crimes. Some argue that while police officers have the right to do what is necessary to protect our community, others contend that they should be held accountable for their wrong doing as well. Indeed when one examines the opinions in favor of believing that it is right to harm innocent people because of misjudgment, one finds these arguments can be discounted with viable punishments when our officers are convicted of a crime.
Topic: police-brutality

It was said that the people at the bar that the security guard was working at yelled at the police that he worked there but they still did their job and saw a black man with a gun and basically killed him. It is said that the mother of the victim filed a lawsuit that alleged that the killing of her son was unprovoked, unjustified, excessive and unreasonable. This incident is still being investigated. In a recent post from 24 November 2018 on abc7 news Chicago, the officer that fired the shot that fatally wounded the security officer is still on administrative leave. Another example goes back to the first known case of brutality in the USA which was known as the “Rodney King Beating”. The first and probably the most famous cases in America related to the police using excessive force occurred back in 1992 in Los Angeles when a video recording of five police men beat an unarmed African American with batons was released. Mass protests began which turned into riots. This prompted the authorities to take action and 4 out of 5 were brought to justice.
Topic: police-brutality

According to New York Times article “15 Black lives ended with Confrontation with Police. 3 Officers Convicted” shows 15 prominent cases in which black people were killed or died in custody. Statistics show the outcomes of these 15 high-profile deaths from 2014-2016. In some of the cases police officers offered an explanation for their actions. Officers were indicted or charged in eight of the cases. Three cases resulted in convictions, one of which came with a prison sentence. Also, the article on Teen Vogue written by Zoe Samudzi “Why Police Officers Aren’t Hel Accountable When They Kill People” and judging by the number of murderous cops who kill people and get away with it, I think they do have immunity to an absurdly high degree and that needs to change. While they can be put on trial for their wrongdoings, juries will blindly acquit them almost always. The jury trial system is extremely unfair, as ordinary people lack the necessary intellectual and professional skills to correctly assess evidence to give a correct verdict. Instead, they rely on emotion, instincts, character judgement and personal feelings and experiences and other things that have nothing to do with the concept of justice. Besides, judges also tend to side with cops as they often work together.
Topic: police-brutality

In conclusion, law enforcement officers are individuals that are trained to, as the name says, enforce the law. They are responsible for keeping the peace within our community and protect our citizens from harm. They are supposed to be a positive influence on the community, instead they are causing the most harm. Without punishment, this will forever be an ongoing thing. No matter what law enforcement officers do, they rarely face criminal charges, much less jail. And this must be changed. Due to the growing number of victims of police brutality, it is crucial to find the solution how to stop these actions. Serious human rights violations continue, numerous obstacles do not allow accountable police officers to be brought to justice and this impunity allows them to continue the violence.
Topic: police-brutality

​Police brutality against African Americans is a very serious issue in the United States still to this day in 2018. It is a problem that makes citizens question their availability of protection coming from the members of the police system. The people affected often wonder why police brutality is so common in the Black community and what can be done to stop it. They also wonder why Black people are unfairly sentenced to prison and if this only applies to minority groups, or do White Americans also deal with this unfair treatment.
Topic: police-brutality

It is reflected in decisions, procedures, habits, both institutional and individual acts, overlooks, and even policies which overlook and neglect the subordination of the group or person. Due to this, over time people learn to associate the dominant groups with superiority, positivity and respect, while looking at the inferior group as the total opposite. They often associate the inferior group with criminality. Racism is something that becomes a permanent reality for the members of the oppressed group due to the fact that they are constantly being blamed for the ills in society by the dominant group.
Topic: police-brutality

There was an article written about police brutality and racism in America by Cassandra Chaney and Ray V. Robertson (2013). It explains how The Watts Riots of 1965, a large series of riots in Los Angeles after two African American men were pulled over on the highway by a white police officer, is just one of the examples of racial discrimination by the law enforcement. Some other examples include the widespread assaults against Blacks in Harlem in the 1920s, the beating of Rodney King, and the death of a young black teenager named Trayvon Martin. Those are just a few examples of how African Americans have been treated by the police department. “There is an extensive body of literature which suggests that Black males are viewed as the “prototypical criminal” (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). This idea is strengthened by the general public, the media, and according to the unfair sentencing outcomes (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). For example, Blair et al. (2004), in the influence of Afrocentric features in criminal sentencing, have revealed that Black males with less Afrocentric features, such as lighter skin, and straighter hair, may receive shorter sentences than Black males with more Afrocentric features, such as full lips, dark skin and broad noses (Blair et al. 2004).
Topic: police-brutality

Rodney Glen King has been the face of police brutality in America since 1991, the time he experienced a brutal beating by the Los Angeles Police Department. After that experience, he became the catalyst for change and hope against a law enforcement system that has been known for being harsh to Black males in the past. According to a report on the extrajudicial killings of Black people by, self-appointed law enforcers by the Malcolm X grassroots organization, security guards or police officers, has showed some interesting and revealing findings. From January 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012, about every 36 hours, one Black person was killed by law enforcement or someone acting in such a capacity. This means there was a total of 120 people who lost their lives in that span of time. 69% of those people were between the ages of 13 and 31. While 5% of those people killed were women, most casualties were Black men, just like Rodney King. What’s more concerning is that 46% of those casualties were unarmed, just like King. The percentage of those people who were allegedly armed by the police was 36%. The people allegedly armed were said to have weapons such as cane, a bb gun or a toy gun (Chaney & Robertson, 2013).
Topic: police-brutality

The death of Trayvon Martin started a series of many different responses across the United States. The various responses included mass protests, an explosion on social media and the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement. Americans were struck by this event and thought that this symbolized the American legal system as being built on structural inequality and injustice. “Martin was seen as yet another casualty in the war on black life and a reminder of the extent to which black lives were deemed disposable, killable, and structurally less worthy within the context of the United States” (Méndez, 2016). This was only one of many cases that represented the inequality and injustice in America. It showed how violence is introduced into communities of color. It also reminded people that there has to be a radical transformation in the United States legal system (Méndez, 2016).
Topic: police-brutality

“There is a lot of anecdotal evidence showing African-Americans (both men and women) are more likely to be subjected to excessive use of force by police than are people of other races” (Ajilore & Shirey, 2017). An incident of excessive use of force by the police occurred in Chicago on October 2014. A 17-year-old black male by the name Laquand McDonald, was shot 16 times by a caucasian police officer. Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanuel, authorized a review of the police department by the Chicago
Topic: police-brutality

Task Force. This review revealed that this was not the only incident involving a police officer shooting an African-American. It also showed that the Chicago Police Department has systemic racism problems. This task analysis also proved to people that black people are more likely to have been tasered, more likely to have been stopped due to traffic and had their car searched, as well are more likely to have been shot than people of other races (Ajilore & Shirey, 2017).
Topic: police-brutality

Gelman et al. (2007) looked at pedestrian stop data by the New York City Police Department and found that Hispanics and African-Americans are subjected to more searches than people of other races. Close and Mason (2007), used a sample of Florida vehicle searches and found that African-American drivers, mostly males, have the highest probability of being searched when in comparison to drivers of other races, male or female. When doing research on whether the police officers in the United States are racist and use excessive force there are some factors to be considered. One of the factors is the goal of the police officers. Many people are confused whether police officers use excessive force in order to find contraband or if it is used in order to minimize crime. A study in 2006 showed that while arrest rate maximization is consistent with having equal search success rates, it is very inconsistent with the minimization of crimes. Some people assume that since crime rates among races differ, that the search rates should reflect the amount and levels of crimes. There is also a misconception about the level of crimes by specific races. People believe that this will affect that police officer’s behavior even if they personally do not hold discriminatory beliefs (Ajilore & Shirey, 2017).
Topic: police-brutality

Biased policing, racial violence and the racially biased war on drugs all contribute to the fact that African Americans are 5.1 times more likely to be incarcerated compared to the incarceration of Caucasians. In the United states, black people make up about 13.2% of the population. However, they constitute 40% of the population in prisons. Caucasians have the lowest poverty rate in America, making up about 9%, while African Americans have the highest rate of poverty, making up 24.1%. This is a huge factor when it comes to the manifestation of anti-black violence. From 2009 to 2013, almost half of whites who were in poverty, were able to move above it, while only one third of the blacks were able to do the same (Douglas, 2017). All of these factors contribute to “school to prison pipeline”. This has a huge impact on the lives on young black men as it means that it is easier for black youth to get involved with drugs and crimes than it is to get a quality education. The United States Department of Education, had recently showed data that proves that black males are three times more likely to be suspended from school compared to whites. Black females, are six times more likely to be suspended than white females. In the juvenile system, black females are the fastest growing population. The chances of black children living in poverty become much higher when they are being trapped in the juvenile justice system (Douglas, 2017).
Topic: police-brutality

(2010), by Shaun Gabiddon, had discussed the concept of “Negrophobia”. Negrophobia can be inferred to as an irrational of Blacks, which incorporates a fear of being victimized by a Black person. The outcome of this can result in Whites harming or even shooting an African American based on racial and criminal stereotypes. Police brutality is defined as “the use of excessive physical force or verbal assault and psychological intimidation” (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). One recent study suggests that the New York Police Department has become better when it comes to behavior due to greater gender and race diversity. However, Blacks are still more likely to experience police brutality in the United States (Chaney & Robertson, 2013).
Topic: police-brutality

“Stop the violence” was a very common phrase heard throughout the United States. It is typically heard during black protests. When Americans see violent acts on the news, they want it to be stopped and find it unusual and shocking. “But what these viewers don’t see is that violence in America is not unusual, and that the news does not cover what is truly shocking- that us, the extent of the violence perpetrated against black bodies everyday” (Douglas, 2017). Americans do not realize that gun violence and all the protests on the news are largely visible reactions to a mostly hidden and much larger reality. American culture defines and identifies gun violence as something that needs to be minimized and eliminated. However, they tend to ignore the violence that threatens, disproportionately, the lives of black children, men and women. It is either ignored, or not recognized as violence. These ideas go way back in time. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the narrative of anti-blackness became very conspicuous when Europeans invaded the African continent.
Topic: police-brutality

A historian named Winthrop Jordan said that this was when the English people, one of the fairest-skinned nations, came in contact with Africans, one of the darkest people on earth. Many people debate whether describing Africans as “black” was done maliciously and purposely. One thing that is clear is the fact that skin color did matter to Europeans in their encounters with people of different colors. The Oxford English Dictionary had established the color white to represent goodness, innocence and purity, while black color represented danger, evil and vileness (Douglas, 2017). This established the beginning of anti-blackness which also provided justification for violent acts such as enslavement against the “black” bodies of men and women. Europeans did not only pay attention to the Africans’ skin color. They also noticed the fullness of their lips, the texture of their hair and also the broadness of their noses. They shared a common belief that Africans were more beastly than human. They also convinced themselves that African people were uncivilized people. This represented an ideology system that perceived African people as violent (Douglas, 2017).
Topic: police-brutality

The Black Lives Matter movement, founded on July 13th, 2013 by Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors, addressed the array of inequality structures in black communities which produce violence. Examples of structural inequalities are persistent poverty, the legal system and also lack of access to health care. These inequalities ensure group members or some communities to be systemically denied access to their rights as citizens. These conditions also downgrade these communities and groups members to a lesser humanity (Méndez, 2016). In response to this, President Barack Obama launched an initiative called the My Brother’s Keeper. The purpose of this initiative was to address the challenges that young boys and men of color face in this society. This initiative provided black males with employment opportunities and mentorship in order to create policies that would minimize the imbalance for youth of color as well as creating a path toward the middle class.
Topic: police-brutality

This was a call to all businesses, nonprofits and individuals to come together and bring any available resources and help create change in the lives of young men of color in this country. After only one year, this initiative raised over $300 million in order to advance the objective and vision of My Brother’s Keeper. Many other people with high statuses, such as superintendents, mayors and county executives pledged to develop aligned strategies. They accepted the challenge of developing comprehensive cradle-to-college-and-career strategies to direct the improvement of the lives of young men of color (Méndez, 2016). Even though this movement excluded black women, it still had a significant change in the lives of young black men, which is better than no change at all.
Topic: police-brutality

African Americans have faced racism since the early 1600s. 400 years later and they still cannot catch a break from it, even though racist practices may have changed and are now subtler, they still remain to this day and have the same consequences. Still to this day, many African Americans face racism even from the people who are supposed to protect them. Since the 15th century, the color black was seen as evil and somehow it made its way through the 21st century. The solution to this problem is definitely not an easy one and would take a very long time. However, there are plenty of different movements and initiatives being made and taken everyday. These movements and initiatives are created in order to bring people together and beat these unfair circumstances together, as a team, and with love. Hopefully the world will realize that no matter what skin color people are, they are still human, just like everyone else, and will come together in peace to end the color competitions.
Topic: police-brutality

Technology has drastically advanced over the years, giving people the opportunity of owning a cellular device with multiple capacities. Devices now can take panoramic pictures, record live videos, are able to stream the web and can connect with almost anybody nationwide through available applications. Although these devices are a helpful tool in making everyone’s life easier, this device has recently been used against police agencies and their officers. Officers are being recorded everyday by the public and sued for using excessive force in situations where it wasn’t necessary.
Topic: police-brutality

Police brutality has been around since policing was first designed in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel, and technology has only helped expose police behavior by allowing people to post their videos on the web for everyone to see. People have been able to use technology to their advantage by capturing part of the incident and making the officer seem corrupt and unethical. Because of this dilemma, police agencies have adapted to using body cameras on their officers, to decrease the amount of excessive force officers use against the public.
Topic: police-brutality

Events, such as police officers performing a traffic stop and targeting African American males, breaking one of their tail lights with a baton, and then arresting the black African American male and placing them in the back seat of their vehicle, where often practices seen while the movement took place between the 1950’s and 1960’s. The officer would then be known to drive them to the middle of nowhere and would physically and emotionally attack the individual before placing them in jail. These practices would take place daily, without having a reason behind the traffic stop leading to an unlawful arrest.
Topic: police-brutality

The media covering police brutality and exposing them on the news became a hit. People nationwide were able to be informed of the latest news within the movement and were able to unite together to fight against the odds. The media was the first method in giving the people knowledge of what was occurring in their community. The Civils Right Movement was a nonviolent movement created to end racial segregation and discrimination towards minorities, made primarily of black people. Police brutality became a problem, as it was widely known across America, because officers were not being punished for their behavior and police brutality lead to more riots.
Topic: police-brutality

From the 1950‘s to early 2000’s, technology has made a tremendous turnout. What was difficult to imagine back in 1950’s, is what we have in our every day lives now in 2018. It was hard to imagine back then having a cellular device that can facetime someone else across the world, to now having police agencies adapt to body cameras, that are able to both video and audio record every encounter the officer makes on a daily basis. Because technology has made it easy for people to record events at the touch of a button, police officers across America are now being exposed through the web. Videos uploaded showing police brutality are now being shared through every social media and seen by millions of people.
Topic: police-brutality

However, African Americans are more likely to experience police brutality, compared to other races. The majority killed by police officers are African Americans between the ages of 20-25 years of age. Carbarado mentions many reasons why African Americans are “vulnerable to repeated police interactions.” He mentions how there is “proactive policing”, targeting neighborhoods with high crime areas that have little disorder, “racial segregation” where police target black people who seem “out of place” when they are in neighborhood dominantly white and “racial stereotypes” meaning black people are officers preferred person of interest (Carbarado, pg.163). In 2015, 38 unarmed African-Americans were killed that year, compared to the fewer number of killings, which was 19 for Hispanics that same year.
Topic: police-brutality

A case that opened the eyes of many was the case of Michael Brown. Michael Brown was an 18-year-old, unarmed African American teenager, who was shot and killed by a white officer by the name of Darren Wilson. The grand jury did not indict the officer, Darren Wilson, with the murder of teenager Michael Brown. This case was seen as racially motivated by many who saw the footage, which was caught with a civilian’s cell phone. Onyemaobim mentions “While not always motivated by racism, police brutality is undeniably associated with race. Throughout the course of American history, police violence against people of color has occurred in horrifying disproportions” (Onyemaobim, pg.2016). We live in an era where we no longer perceive police as peacekeepers, but as a threat to society. Police brutality is seen so frequently, that it is almost seen as a societal norm. Every time a person is being mistreated by police, first thing that comes to mind is to record the event. While the majority of police officers are white, the majority of victims who suffer police brutality are mostly blacks. This says a lot whether racism plays a factor in police misconduct or not. Police complaints are filed leading to lawsuits, leaving the end decision to the court system and the prosecutors.
Topic: police-brutality

Prosecutors play the biggest role in deciding whether or not the police shooting was justified. They must depend on the necessary evidence police gather. Evidence such as: statements from witnesses gathered by the officer, other officers present at the time of the incident, or recordings from the public. In most instances, the police’s word is the only one that counts, being the officer was the only one that witnessed the event. Patton states that because prosecutors are high in power, they will work together with offers to not pursue the case. This decision later affects minorities because at the end, they are not receiving justice. He states “The incentives for federal prosecutors to shield police officers from claims of misconduct are especially problematic because of how much power federal prosecutors wield. They can and do erect high barriers to challenges to police behavior —barriers that overwhelmingly impact the poor and racial minorities” (Patton. pg.1435). A problem relying on police cooperation creates a conflict of interest in most cases. Because of how close of a relationship the prosecutor and the officer may have, it is more likely the prosecutor is unwilling to raise charges against the officer and follow the case.
Topic: police-brutality

A study done by Professor Mathhew Desmond concluded how communities, especially the black community, lost its trust in the police department after an incident with unarmed man Frank Jude. Frank Jude was at a police officers housewarming party, when off-duty officers blamed Frank and his friend of stealing one of the officer’s badge. The off-duty officers made racist remarks and the proceeded to beat Frank. Because of this incident that included police brutality, the community decreased the amount of crimes they reported to 911 stating, “The magnitude of the crime-call decline in Milwaukee was large and long lasting. It persisted for over a year, “result[ing] in a loss of approximately 22,200 911 calls, a 17 percent reduction in citizen crime reporting, compared with the expected number of calls.”19 Moreover, the “missing” calls were primarily confined to the areas of Milwaukee in which mostly African Americans lived” (pg.1358). The police community tends to forget is that key events in our history that impacted society the most, is the main cause for the problems that have emerged today. Since Michael Browns death in 2014, Black lives matter movement arise. There are controversies of what happened that day when Michael Brown was shot and killed that have raised questions whether to believe eyewitnesses, the officer or the police dash cam. Therefore, police agencies have adapted a new piece of technology that is able to record from a first-hand experience, from beginning to end. Vehicle dash cameras have been an effective tool police agencies have used for many years. Vehicle cameras were mainly used to capture the sound and scenery of what only is ahead of the vehicle, lacking the ability to record everything else. Because of this, police agencies lacked the ability to use their vehicle dash cameras to support their statements.
Topic: police-brutality

Differential association theory is covered by Dormeals and his study to figure out if officers are less tolerant of corruption than other groups? He mentioned “Groups that are assimilated and socialized within a tolerant environment, therefore, have a wide range of alternative definitions of corruption. Whenever a corrupt practice is accepted as a way of doing business, it will probably not be defined as corrupt. Police officers are supposed to disapprove of deviant behavior and to be exposed to negative definitions of crime. Accordingly, police officers – as members of a group organized against corruption – can be supposed to be less tolerant when making judgements about corrupt situations” (Dormaels, pg.598). This means that officers around level-minded people like them, are most likely to be exposed to corruption, therefore adapting to that kind of behavior and practicing it.
Topic: police-brutality

Areas such as the minority community, is where police corruption is seen the most. This is where low-income families, the majority being black, are living and are being targeted. Police are known to engage in behavior towards minorities. Police behavior towards minorities reflects historical factors that exist today. For example, racial discrimination, excessive force, police brutality and verbal and physical harassment. By adapting to body cameras, the complaints filed for police misconduct will decrease and body cameras will also influence the officers to reduce the amount of police misconduct they are currently engaging on.
Topic: police-brutality

Rational Choice theory is created around the impression that all humans rationalize their decision making with the consequences. They will tend to act rational in order to increase their profit. In this case, officers will have to act rational once they have body cameras on them and weigh out the consequences to their actions. Police officers have a zero tolerance on corruption and should not be driven by other officers’ individual actions/choices. When wearing the body cameras, police officers will have to further weigh the consequences in evaluating: if they are going to succeed in such behavior, how the punishment will fit the crime they commit and their loss in their career. Crime officers commit is not always due to their motivation and their predisposition, but their choice to commit such crime.
Topic: police-brutality

They are the most frequently incarcerated group and face more cases of police brutality, often ending in murder. In 2015 these two groups made up 56% of the total US incarcerated population. Both black and Hispanic men and women are incarcerated at a more rapid rate than whites while receiving longer sentences for the same crimes committed. A study showed that black women’s sentences double those of white women who were guilty of the same crime.
Topic: police-brutality

(NAACP 2018) Why is it that society has this attitude towards people of color and jail sentences are harsher on them than their fellow white citizens who commit the same crime? Why are our men of color dying at the hands of officers? Prior studies done show that black citizens are 3 to 4 times more likely to experience non-lethal force by police than white citizens and 24% more likely to have a gun drawn and pointed at them. (pg 51).
Topic: police-brutality

Eric, a man who stand over 6 feet tall was selling untaxed cigarettes in a corner of Staten Island, NY where he lost his life after pleading with the officers to let him breathe. “I can’t breathe” were the words he repeated to the officers while on a choke hold before losing his life. (Baker, Goodman, Mueller) Gardner was a fallen victim of police brutality. It could have been easily prevented by handling the situation in a different matter. Perhaps if he weren’t a big man of color, he wouldn’t have been a threat.
Topic: police-brutality

said: “Unarmed black men are disproportionately more likely to be shot and killed by police, and often these killings are accompanied by explanations that cite the physical size of the person shot,” “Our research suggests that these descriptions may reflect stereotypes of black males that do not seem to comport with reality.” Dr. Wilson and his team conducted a survey of more than 950 people where he showed photos of the faces of black and white men and asked them to judge them by height, weight and strength. Although participants could only see the person’s face, they concluded that black men were bigger and stronger than white men although both black and white subjects were the same size. These let to prove Wilson’s theory that people tend to see black men as more of a threat than the white men. The study also concluded that the darker the skin of the individual was and the more stereotypical black facial features he had, the more he was associated with being larger.
Topic: police-brutality

2012-2016 data reports that black males receive on average 19.1 percent longer sentences than while males who committed the same crime. This study found that judges tend to give shorter sentencing to white males than they do black males without advice from the prosecutor. 21.2 percent of black males were less likely to receive a reduce sentence from a judge without request from a prosecutor. While with the request from the prosecutor to reduce the sentence given, black men still receive a sentence 16.8 percent longer. America has a history of seeing black men inferior to white men. From the time of slavery to present day, American has blanketed its white citizens, leaving their minorities unprotected. Perhaps America’s culture still looks at black men to be less than white men, therefore making them pay longer, harsher sentences for the same crimes a white man commits.
Topic: police-brutality

A conflict theory would be that police need to protect themselves and others against all situations that could put their lives, or the lives of others is danger. By thinking this way and at times making decisions out of fear, they endanger the life of the party or parties involve. This can be very dangerous, harmful and even deadly to the individual involved in a police altercation. It is in human nature to defend yourself when one feels threatened, especially when you feel like you have done nothing wrong. We give officers the power to rule over us and they at times forget that they we are just trying to keep ourselves safe, free of harassment.
Topic: police-brutality

It seems like today the country is very divided for various reasons. Many people have never faced an unfair police altercation. Many people who are not people of color have never felt what it feels like to be looked down upon or be profiled by authority because of the color or their skin. These people who have never experienced such things cannot allow their sociological imagination to see what the minority is facing; to get into their shoes for a day and see the hardships and unjust treatments they face simply by being of color and walking around a predominantly white neighborhood or fancy store. When we don’t allow ourselves to see life in another perspective, the people suffering don’t receive the sympathy and justice they deserve. Many people fail to see police racially profiling. Many fail to responsibly admit that police are not always right in the way they handle situations and abuse their power of authority. If we can’t get in each other’s shoes, we will remain divided and minorities, especially black men will keep falling to their death under the care of police officers.
Topic: police-brutality

Another example of unfair sentencing is Bill Cosby. I am not here to argue whether he did commit the crimes of sexual abuse he was accused of or not. The purpose of this paragraph is to compare how society handled the accusations held against Cosby, a black man versus the same accusations held against Brett Kavanaugh, a white man. Both men were accused of sexually harassing and assaulting women back in their earlier years of their lives. Bill Cosby received very little support from the media and the public while a great deal of people stood behind Kavanaugh, calling his accuser a liar. Bill Cosby was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to prison. His whole life and extensive career ruined within months while Kavanaugh rose to be a supreme court judge. This is another case of racial profiling, intentionally or not. We cannot give two men accused of the same crimes, completely different sentences. Why is it that one man’s career was ruined while the other rose to the top? Both should have paid for their crimes equally. Think back of earlier on the paper on how society sees a black man.
Topic: police-brutality

In conclusion, both minority men and women receive longer and harsher sentencing than their white counterparts for the same crimes committed. They are more often victims of unjust and unnecessary police force and brutality. Often ending in the premature loss of life of an innocent until proven guilty individual. We are a country that prides itself in many things, one of them being their justice system where everyone has the right to an equal and fair trial. Our most vulnerable citizens often fall through the cracks of the justice system, being sentenced to years, even life in prison for the same crimes committed by white men. Some might not even make it to trial at all because they die during the arrest. Our society needs to get into the shoes of those who are falling victims. See the struggles and lack of justice people of color face simply because of the color of their skin and what stereotypes society believes those darker characteristics make the individuals fall on. Power is not something that should be abused. One’s race cannot be the factor that sets the tone of your experience with law enforcement. A simple traffic stop should not turn deadly because the person is a person of color and are perceived to be bigger and more dangerous.
Topic: police-brutality

A total of 637 black people was shot to death by the police from the year 2017 to 2019. According to the most recent statistics from Statista Research Department (2020), 205 of those cases happened in 2019. Police brutality has been one of the leading causes of death for young black men in America. “Study finds that about 1 in 1,000 black men and boys can expect to die as a result of police violence over the course of their lives – a risk that’s about 2.5 times higher than their white peers” (Khan, 2019).
Topic: police-brutality

This story has caught the attention of many activists and protests such as Campaign Zero and The Black Lives Matter Movement were made to put an end to police brutality, especially amongst black people. Moreover, movies such as “The Hate U Give” were made to address and advocate for racial and social justice. However, these voices are still not enough to put discrimination against black people to an end. It is a violation of human rights and has caused many innocent lives being taken.
Topic: police-brutality

To begin with, one of the solutions to encounter this problem would be through training and evaluating police officers. Police officers must undergo at least a 3-year training before becoming eligible to serve the community to ensure that they will perform their duties in compliance with the United States law. “Every police department should be governed by clear and consistent standards, supported by training and used as the basis for evaluation and discipline” (Thurau, 2018). This training helps police officers to be more competent and fair in their ethical judgements when it comes to crime and the use of force. As written on the Human Rights Standards and Practice for the Police book, “All persons are equal before the law, and are entitled, without discrimination, to equal protection of law” (2004). To ensure that they comply to the law imposed on them by the United States, the Independent Police Complaints Authority must handle and investigate all complaints of any police misconduct. Moreover, the superior officials must strictly monitor police actions and are held responsible for any unlawful use of force. Hence, they will feel obliged to work adherence to the law and regulations.
Topic: police-brutality

The second solution to combat police brutality would be to press charges against officers that violates civil rights. “Law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity, and shall maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons”, as written on the Human Right Standards and Practice For the Police book. Police officers are rarely prosecuted for misconduct. Looking from the statistics gathered by the National Police Misconduct Reporting Project, out of 3,238 criminal cases against police officers from April 2009 up to December 2010, only 33 percent cases were convicted. This shows how the law enforcement take little account of police brutality and rather giving officers wide latitude to use force on duty. For instance, Lamar Anthony Smith, an unarmed black man was shot to death by a white police officer after being suspected for drug transaction and ran off in 2011. However, the police was acquitted and was not sentenced to federal prison. Clearly, there is a bias in the system and the laws must therefore be stricter in order to serve justice to the community. “There is an unjust imbalance of power where the lives of police who commit wrongdoing are valued over the lives of the everyday citizen” (Brooks, 2018). Everybody deserve a fair treatment regardless of their skin colour. Police who violates any human rights, whether it is in the form of discrimination, racial judgements and abuse, must face consequences.
Topic: police-brutality

Since before the time America became a nation and developed its own standards of living, racism has consumed the social environment and only gets worse as time progresses. Throughout the years, African Americans have been lynched and unfairly forced to work as slaves for white men on plantations. However, progress has been slowly made over the years. By 1870, the Reconstruction amendments were added to the Constitution. These amendments were crucial to the beginning of the end to the racial injustices Black Americans have faced.
Topic: police-brutality

These three amendments abolished slavery, granted African Americans citizenship, and gave them the right to vote regardless of their previous forced servitude (Senate Historical Office). Despite the passage of these amendments, blacks were still excluded from their right to vote and the “Jim Crow” laws and “Black Codes” were enacted. These laws restricted black activity and brought another form of slavery known as indentured servitude which differed from the initial slavery they faced in that the workers were given a small pay for their work.
Topic: police-brutality

When the 1960’s came around, African Americans were still treated unfairly and began their Civil Rights Movement. African Americans had been forced to attend segregated public spaces designated specifically for the “colored”. Schools, bathrooms, and even public transportation were deemed to be constitutionally segregated as long as they were “separate but equal” and required African Americans to separate from their white counterparts. Since 1958, the “separate but equal” doctrine began to be questioned and was struck down by the United States Supreme Court.
Topic: police-brutality

Due to key leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, the Civil Rights Movement officially began with the Montgomery bus boycott. Despite the unjust violence they received throughout the past and during that time period, the Civil Rights Movement was based on peaceful protests and avoiding conflict between the races. Racial tension has decreased since the Civil Rights Amendments and other Supreme Court decisions were made since the 1960’s. However, at this point in time racial tension has reached an all-time high. Since President Barack Obama was elected in 2008, public polling shows that people are under the impression that race relations have gotten worse under his presidency (Ross 2015). Since the riots in the 1960’s, the spark that has always ignited racial tension are conflicts with law enforcement officials. Today, that is exactly the problem that society is facing with this ongoing race war. African Americans and police officers are continuously targeting each other and killing each other simply to demonstrate superiority and what they perceive is just.
Topic: police-brutality

After the acquittal of George Zimmerman in 2013 for shooting and killing a seventeen-year-old African American, Trayvon Martin, the hashtag “#BlackLivesMatter” spread across America. The hashtag was created by Alicia Garza with two of her sisters, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi. This movement serves to call attention to the belief that black lives are targeted for termination. As more African Americans became aware of the movement, the hashtag was taken to the streets through a “Black Lives Matter Ride” and led to more recognition by mainstream media, large corporations, and even campaigns. As more African Americans and more law enforcement officials are being killed, the “#BlackLivesMatter” hashtag continues to reappear all over the news and social media. Whenever an African American is murdered by someone of another race, the “#BlackLivesMatter” movement comes into action to call out the injustice on social media and on the news.