Police brutality is a very tragic problem that is spreading all over the world, but many people do not know what police brutality is and how long it has been happening. “Police brutality is the use of excessive and\or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians”(Danilina). Police brutality can involve the police hurting, terrorizing, abusing, and racially profiling citizens. However, this is not a new problem; this has been happening throughout history. “Police brutality has been happening since The Industrial Revolution, The Civil Rights Movement, and the September 11 attack”(Danilia). Many people have been racially …show more content…
profiled after these events. For example, during The Civil Rights Movement many protesters that were marching down streets would get hosed down and tear gas thrown at them. Police brutality has gotten bigger and bigger as the years go by causing more cops to get convicted. . People all around the U.S are protesting Police Brutality in various ways.
In Chicago, Illinois people protested either by staging sit-ins or “ putting tape over their mouth to symbolize the way police brutality is silencing African Americans”(CBS). This was a very unique and peaceful idea to show the effect of police brutality. Also in Memphis, Tennessee, “Traffic on Interstate 40 was blocked in both directions for hours after hundreds of angry Black Lives Matter protesters marched onto the bridge to show their anger about police killings of black people”(CBS). Blocking the interstate allowed the protesters is voices to be heard by the people who were blocked and the cops that tried to stop them. However, police can get very dangerous when handling protesters. For example, in Louisiana,” police used militarized tactics on peaceful protesters and 200 people were arrested” (CBS). All around the country people are fighting the same problem in a unique way, allowing everyone is voice to be
heard.’ Numerous amounts of cops are arrested for breaking laws they are supposed to stand by. Researchers from Bowling Green State University claim that “Forty-one percent of total crimes were committed on duty.” Some crimes that were committed by police are sex, drug, alcohol, and violence related. This states that many police officers, who were supposed to prevent these crimes from happening, were arrested for committing a lot of these crimes. “Researchers identified 6,724 cases involving the arrests of 5,545 sworn officers across the nation between 2005 and 2011”(Bowling). This means officers broke an oath to defend the law. It is tragic to see police who are supposed to protect people get arrested for hurting a civilian. Victims of police brutality can experience very harmful effects. A lot of innocent victims have died due to police. Tom Ryan, a reporter, states that “Undercover police officers shot Diallo 19 times while he was reaching for his wallet”. It was unnecessary to shoot Diallo 19 times without letting him explain. However, survivors of police brutality can be damaged from other effects. “Victims of police can suffer from psychological effects and disorders. Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) is an affliction that can lead to panic attacks, depression, substance abuse, and suicidal tendencies”(Ryan). Victims can be very alarmed and traumatized by police after their previous experiences. If victims of police brutality need authority they might not contact the police due to past actions.
There are many consequences that can come to a victim of police brutality. One famous example is Rodney King.” Rodney King was getting chased by police and when he didn’t follow instructions to lie on the ground he was beaten and tazed multiple times” (Criminal). Officers did not need to get overly physical when dealing with small situations like this. Another example was Timothy Thomas.”Timothy was shot in the heart after being followed down an alleyway by a cop who assumed he had a gun” (Criminal). The officer assumed and reacted to the problem in a wrong way, costing a young man his life. Suspicion can kill a lot of innocent people.” Robert Davis is an elementary school teacher. After hurricane Katrina hit the US, he went back to New Orleans to check on his family. While he was over there some cops thought he was intoxicated and Robert got beaten very badly” (Criminal). Also, another young man named Frank Jude. “Frank was brutally beaten, stomped on, and stabbed with a pen after he was blamed for stealing a police wallet” (Criminal). Police can get too out of controllable when handling a situation and kill an innocent civilian.
Ultimately, police brutality is a major problem spreading throughout the world. Many areas of the United States have peacefully fought this problem in different ways, which has made more people aware of this issue. There are thousands of cases of police brutality yearly. After all, Police brutality has taken the lives of many innocent people and it needs to stop.