Police Brutality: When Will It End?


    Throughout America police brutality has been such a raging topic on the news, in the newspapers, and even for the general public. There is no simple definition for what police brutality means, but Encyclopedia.com defines it as “the use of force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose.” Over the past few years, police brutality has definitely increased. Statistics aren’t even needed, the number of deaths across the U.S. shows enough. Police brutality doesn’t always mean death as a result, but even the smaller things such as false arrest, racial profiling, or even sexual abuse. These days, you could get pulled over, but you will never really know what kind of officer you’re dealing with.

    Back in 2009 on New Year’s Day in Oakland, California, a 22 year old African American man named Oscar Grant was shot by a white police officer, Johannes Mehserle. Grant and a few of his friends were getting off the subway when suddenly they were stopped by a few officers who ordered to go to the scene due to a reported fight that broke out while on the subway. The fight had nothing to do with Grant or the group he was with. When approached and accused by the police, Grant managed to stay calm and still try to handle the situation in a respectful manner all while pinned to the ground, most likely because he was probably already aware of how heated things can get between police officers and African Americans in these types of situations. Unfortunately, the entire situation ended in Grant’s life being taken by the accusing officer, who was later charged with second-degree murder, voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, and gun enhancement.

    That is only one out of the many examples of police brutality throughout America. I believe not all, but some officers feel as if they can take advantage of the privileges their job gives them, which is why people like Oscar Grant had to pay the price with his life. Even Freddie Grey, he was arrested for carrying an illegal knife, but while in police custody, went into a coma and died at a trauma center. There should definitely be an uncompromising limit on what is and isn’t prohibited when it comes to the duty of police officers, and even if there is, it should be strictly enforced in all cases. With rules and boundaries being obeyed, people like Oscar Grant and Freddie Grey would perhaps still be alive today.

Comments

  1. pervaizmApril 1, 2018 at 6:06 PM

    Really great post. Very informative and nicely structured as well. I especially liked how you mentioned that there are many different types of police brutality. Many people often think it's only physical when in reality there's many more. You're definitely right. Some police officers take their job for granted and think they have total authority over anyone for any reason when that's not technically the case.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Julie Quinn TACApril 2, 2018 at 8:12 AM

    I'd argue that statistics would be needed to prove that the number is on the rise. Just seeing one particular case in the news doesn't show a trend. It's a highlight--and the media can often take a case (say the Bill Cosby rape trials) and cover that one case for months on end. So the best way to know for certain if something is happening more is less about what's being covered in the news (and where one gets their news) and more regarding how trustworthy and wide the scope is of that news as it represents a national issue.
    In the Grant case, how did the event escalate?

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