Police Brutality In Criminal Justice

One of the biggest issues in criminal justice right now is the use of force by police officers and more specifically the use of excessive force. This is such an issue in the field of criminal justice because it has led to an almost anti-police movement across America, specifically in those areas where minorities are prominent. This issue is an issue in criminal justice due to the fact that through all of the cases of police brutality across America the public opinion towards police has been hastily decreasing and trust in the police along with it. As seen in the video that shocked New Hampshire back in 2014 (Berg, 2014) of police officers from the Seabrook New Hampshire Police Department slamming Michael Bergeron Jr.’s head into a wall and then using pepper spray on him, showing that police brutality can happen anywhere at any time and to anybody regardless of race or ethnic background. This video caused an uproar throughout the nation in a time when police were already at center stage in the national spotlight for similar incidents. This is an issue that
Since the 1960’s there has been an ever-increasing number of race riots which have stemmed from police brutality against Americans of minority descent. One of the most infamous race riots were the Los Angeles Riots of 1992 which stemmed from the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles Police Officers (Martin, 2005). In 1992 the Los Angeles Riots began following a verdict which had acquitted the four police officers who had beaten Rodney King to within an inch of his life (Ralph & Chance, 2014). According to Ralph & Chance (2014) “By the time the Riots (or the uprisings or rebellions, as some prefer to call the events) came to an end, property damages totaled nearly $1 billion, fifty-three people had died, and more than 2,000 people were injured” (Pg.