Police Brutality
The specific issue that I choose to write about is Police Brutality. Police Brutality is described to be the unnecessary use of excessive force by law enforcement on a civilian. This also includes false arrest, intimidation, racial profiling, and police corruption. Several reports and recordings of such actions have been documented and shared online for greater awareness of the situation. The New York Times first coined the term “Police Brutality” back in 1893 and it was used to describe a police officers abuse of a civilian.
If you were to do some research on Police Brutality, you would find a vast amount of cases where the scenario seems almost unrealistic. Countless reports of police beating defenseless people to death without the victim being any real threat has led to an unsurprisingly rise in mistrust amongst law enforcement and civilians. Often times, when these tragic cases occur, bystanders will document these encounters via cell phone camera or a regular video camera. They will then try to report these cases just to end up having the evidence confiscated by the police department. As was the case in Bakersfield, California, when a vicious attack on a man who was beaten to death by police, was recorded by several neighbors who were awoken by the noise. One woman in particular, captured a video recording of the whole situation. She claimed to hear screams of pain coming from the victim for several minutes until eventually, he passed out and later on died of tremendous head injuries caused by a police baton. After the incident had occurred, several interrogations of witnesses were implemented and some even had their cell phones confiscated. If that isn’t bad enough, police arrested a man who spoke out against them named Jason Land, claiming that he had violated his probation without any actual proof.
Police brutality takes place in several different countries around the world like Egypt, Turkey, Canada, Indonesia, and in China. In an attempt to reclaim violated rights, protest groups have become a common method of the people to have their voice heard. Groups such as “We Are Change” that are most popular in countries such as Italy and Belgium and the internationally known Occupy Movement march the streets with different signs and posters. Harsh actions towards the protestors conducted by the police include over excessive force on men and women, throwing tear gas canisters into crowds of people, spraying people with pepper spray, and the use of tasers. Thousands of complaints have been received every year and these investigations often lead to nothing.
More organizations are being formed to monitor police behavior in an attempt to reduce and eliminate police brutality. An independent organization located in England and also in Wales known as the Independent Police Complaints Commission conducts investigations on reports of police misconduct. They investigate any cases where deaths are caused by or thought to be caused by the action of the law enforcement. Scotland and Northern Ireland also have similar organizations. Different communities have also begun to conduct programs known as “Cop Watch” where they set up different cameras in order to maintain a level of supervision over the police.
Citations:
N.p., N.p.. "Final ." www.concordiannews.com. Concordia News Project, 1 Apr. 2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.
Wood, Daniel B. "Final ." www.csmonitor.com. The Christian Science Monitor , 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.
N.p., N.p.. "Final ." www.policebrutality.info. Stop Police Brutality , 28 May 2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.
N.p., N.p.. "Final ." www.cldc.org. CLDC, 28 May n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2014
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