FREE ESSAY ON POLICE BRUTALITY

POLICE BRUTALITY

Police Brutality 
Unfortunately, nowadays the people who are supposed to protect us and help us when we are
in need, can't be trusted. Police brutality has always been a problem, but there's been a
dramatic rise in police murders and brutalization of citizens. Police Brutality is
anything from harassment from a police officer to being murdered by one. Ayo Martini;
Live chat room, 10/27/99 www.mtv.com Of course, harassment is much more common than being
murdered by a police officer. Here are some cases of police brutality that have occurred
in the past year or two. Will Smith, a famous actor and rapper is pulled over once a
week. When he asks the officers why he's being pulled over, they simply answer because he
is black and he has a nice car. Young people get followed constantly, just because the
officer wants to make sure they aren't getting into any trouble. Unfortunately, these
problems are nothing compared to these next cases. Prisoners are put to death, only after
they have been strapped to restraints for hours. They were made to suffer before they
were killed. A young women was in a diabetic coma in her car. She was shot at and killed
because the police felt threatened by her. A young man, sitting in his car with guns
pointed at him from every direction was forced to put his hands in the air. When he did
so he was shot to death because an officer thought he saw a gun. This 18 year old was
innocent and unarmed. Four police officers approached a man's door in search for a
suspected rapist. Even though this man was innocent and unarmed, he was shot at 41 times
and killed. At least two police officers tortured a Haitian immigrant by driving the
handle of a toilet plunger into his rectum and punctured his small intestine. Then they
put the plunger in his mouth and called him a racial name and said they'd kill him if he
said anything. The most famous of all police brutality cases is, of course, Rodney King's
case. On March 3, 1991, four Los Angeles police officers beat Rodney King as eleven other
officers stood by watching. Rodney King was in a high-speed car chase with the officers,
when his car was finally stopped, he hesitated to get out of his car. When he did, he was
said to jump at the officers. He was hit by two darts from a stun gun, which didn't seem
to work. Rodney King still refused to obey the officers and lie flat on the ground. But,
in less than two minutes, he was hit with 56 baton blows and kicked six times. He
suffered from eleven skull fractures, brain damage, broken bones, knocked out teeth and
kidney damage. Also, emotional and physical trauma. Not in all cases are the victims of
police brutality innocent, obviously, as you can see in Rodney Kings case. But no matter
how rude or uncoopitive a suspect is being, this extreme force from officers should not
be used. Another case comes from the other side. This one is about a man named Mumia
Abu-Jamal. In 1982, he was protecting himself and his brother from the brutal force of a
police officer. Mumia Abu-Jamal shot a police officer to protect himself. He was
sentenced to the death penalty. When a police officer murders a man to protect himself,
he walks free because it's all part of his job. Police have been questioned about why
there is so much of this happening. Some say they are just doing their job. Isn't their
job to serve and protect? They have also said that it's because they are under so much
pressure. Another excuse given is that being a police officer is the most dangerous job
in America, and they are just in fear for their own lives. But according to the New York
commissioner of police, the average police officer is never going to draw his gun during
his entire career. A police officer is at half risk of death and injury on the job than
is a farmer, truck driver or logger and considerably less than a heavy-construction
worker, roofer or coal miner. An officer is no more at risk for fatal injury on the job
than an electrician or construction supervisor. The police use brutality and other
tactics to instill fear and terror in people. (Robert Rockwell, Internet, available at
www.refuseandresist.com) Police brutality is used to intimidate the citizens in many
cases, but it's been proven that most violence by police happened because of racism and
discrimination. Most victims are poor and people of color. Also, police declare a war on
immigrants claiming that immigrants steal their jobs. Perhaps being a police officer can
at times be a dangerous job, but most of the time, violence is used by police because of
personal feelings towards the person. Most cases of police brutality go unreported
because people don't know who to report it to. (Mumia Abu-Jamal, Internet, available at
www.refuseandresist.com) Many people are ignorant when it comes to police brutality. They
aren't even aware of what is going on. Every incident should be reported and also brought
to the public's attention. Unfortunately, reporting an incident doesn't actually do too
much. The US Justice Department receives thousands of complaints every year. Those whose
rights have been violated often receive financial compensation in out of court
settlements, which means the taxpayer is paying for authorities' right to abuse their
power with impunity. Cops who have committed these acts will face no serious prosecution,
if any at all. (Mumia Abu-Jamal, Internet, available at www.RATM.com) So far, of all the
documented murders since 1977, only one officer has been convicted of homicide. Any man
that kills another, for no matter what reason, should have to face consequences. As a
matter of fact, the government practically encourages police brutality. On April 28, 1997
the supreme court ruled that, a police department that knowingly hires an officer with a
record of assault need not be liable if that officer injures civilians. So reporting an
incident may just make that incident become another joke for our authorities to make fun
of. One way to help, is to make our society aware of the problem with police brutality.
There are many ways to do this. You can form groups with other people who realize this is
a problem. With these groups, speeches can be made to your community. Posters and banners
can be put up around the community. Letters can be written to the local police
department. Another way to make people aware is by posting things on the Internet. You
can either go on to pages already created on police brutality and add in your own two
cents. Or you can create your own web page. Hopefully people will become more aware of
the fact that our police officers aren't serving and protecting the communities, instead
they are shooting, humiliating and imprisoning the very public they are sworn to serve.
By Dawn Otto 
Bibliography
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