' Must We Live With Police Brutality?

The Los Angeles riots caused so much more pain than just what the riots cost the city. People were injured, killed, and scared. In LA alone, the riots resulted… “in 53 deaths, 10.000 arrests. 2,300 injuries, more than 1,000 buildings lost to fire, [and] thousands of jobs lost” (Matheson and Baade 1). Hate crimes and racism were also running rampant. Grigsby Bates discusses how white and light skinned individuals were pulled out of cars and motorcycles and were beaten. Shortly after the Rodney King beatings, a young black girl was shot dead by a Korean store owner after the store owner thought that the girl was stealing juice. The girl was found with the money in her hand that she was going to use to pay for the juice. The woman who owned
Police officers who participated in using excessive force, many times did not face any consequences, and when they did, their charges were very minimal. In his article titled, “Must We Live With Police Brutality,” David Jones uses insight from the Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, Sheldon Leffler. Leffler states, that “’the department has perpetuated a police culture in which officers may be emboldened to conduct themselves in a manner that runs contrary to ... the law.’” (Jones 9). Police officers are supposed to be trusted authority figures that help protect people and enforce laws, instead of hurting people and acting as if they are above the law. Police officers, however, were not the ones who were protecting themselves from the consequences. It was those who oversaw the police departments and the local government who over protected these police officers. In the case mentioned above of the Haitian immigrant who fell victim of police brutality, the mayor of New York City, at the time, as well as the police commissioner turned a blind eye to how often police were using excessive force and unneeded brutality. Jones continues to explain how higher ups in the government and police force seemed to encourage officers to release anger and hate onto people who break the law (Jones 9). This attitude gives the idea that using force and viciousness is necessary to keep crime rates down, which is not
This is evident in the documentary titled “Every Mother’s Son.” This documentary is about three mothers all from different backgrounds and races, who come together, after their sons fell victim to police brutality, to help end the violence. The three mothers explain how they must fight for their sons and be their voice, so other mother’s children don’t fall victim to police brutality (cite). It would be incredibly hard for a family member or friend to know that a loved one died at the hands of a police officer, and that officer either got away with it or did not get the sentence that they deserve. Miller, who is a mother herself states, “I could not even imagine what it would be like to lose a child, especially like that. It would be even harder knowing that the person who did it would more than likely face no consequences and be able to continue working”