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“Police brutality and crime”

“A case for police brutality and increasing crime”

Shanza Nawaz

AP LITRATURE

KYLE.JANOSCH

11/30/18
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“Police brutality and crime”

Rodney Glen king an African American. He was an American taxi driver and victim of

police brutality by the Los Angeles Police Department. He was caught by L.A.P.D after a

high-speed chase.​ The officers pulled him out of the car and beat him brutally, while a civilian,

George Holliday filmed the incident from his nearby balcony and send the footage to local news

station KTLA. The footage clearly showed king being beaten repeatedly by four police officers.

The four police officers who use excessive force went on trial two of the officers found guilty

and another two were acquitted of the charges. ​African Americans protested for six days and got

social issues during which 63 peoples were killed and 2,373 were injured.​ This was not the first

case of police brutality to make National headlines but this was important because this was one

of the few incidents where such a behavior had been documented on camera. At the time of

Early ’90s many people didn’t have home video cameras but obviously what happened to

Rodney King was horrific. This shows that how much police are using their power in a wrong

way. Police brutality has had a long history in the United States and affected the environment in

a negative way. This issue had caused a lot of problems in our society due to police brutality

people's right were violated that increases the crime rate in America. Due to the fact that police

brutality is one of the most serious and divisive human right violations in the United States it

increases the crime rate and effect on Environment negatively.

Police brutality is the use of excessive or/unnecessary force by police when dealing with

a civilian. The controversy surrounding police brutality isn’t a new idea. ​Police brutality as a

social issue dates all the way back to the Industrial Revolution in the 1870s when law

enforcement would physically harm workers that went on strikes.​ The term police brutality was
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in use of American press as early as 1872, when the Chicago Tribune reporting on a beating of a

civilian under the arrest at the Harrison street police station.​ In history, some of the famous

reporting of police brutality happened during the Civil Right Movement in the 1960s, where

officers use high power hosses to knock Civilians to the ground, as well as police dogs to attack

protester(S.Danilina)​. Police brutality is more of racism because most of the victims of Police

brutality are African Americans. According to Mapping police Violence Police killed 1,147

people in 2017.​ Black people were 25% of those killed despite being only 13% of the

population. And Police have killed 852 people in 2018(Mapping police violence).​ Despite

decreasing police brutality it is increasing day by day. Police are using their power in the wrong

way.

​“Stop or I’ll shoot”(Francis T.Cullen)​ Police use such an excessive force that they even

don’t listen to anyone they only say stop or I’ll shoot no matter the other person is innocent,

Police brutality impacts on environment/society. People from low-income groups who can not

afford legal representation are also victimized by police torture. In recent times, there have been

a lot of cases in which police officers are found guilty of brutally assaulting criminals and

sometimes even killing them in the process. This has caused American society to join into rather

large arguments. Police brutality is a very touchy subject for people in society because these

individuals believe that police officer, who have partaken in such treatment, purposely go out of

their way to hurt the victims.( Police brutality effects on people as the police show their

brutality to peoples they are getting angry and wanted to take revenge in this situation police

brutality effect on persons mental health. They will think bad about police officers. Police

brutality effect more on African Americans. The primary reason that the African American
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community has been so significantly affected is that the residents of these communities have

been the demographic group most likely to be brutalized by law enforcement. Numerous

shooting and other incidents alleged to the police brutality involved officers attacking African

American. When these situations occur and unarmed Black individual are killed, by police, it

collectively damages the mental health of other Black Americans living in the United States this

indicates that a racial disparity is present in these situations. Police brutality is not even

damaging adults mental health but also effects on childrean.childrean feel scared from police

because they don’t feel secure from police.

The Supreme court shows us about police brutality that how brutally police has reacted

to a ‘civilian in Graham v. Connors case On November 12, 1984, Dethorne Graham, a diabetic,

had an insulin reaction while he was working he has to go to the store to buy orange juice to

decrease the insulin reaction​. He calls his friend William Berry to drive him to the store because

he could not drive. When Graham reaches to store he says that there was four, five people

standing at the counter he quickly left the store and sit in Berry’s car. Officer M.S Connor

observed him behaving differently so he fellow their car for a mile and takes over of their car.

Graham was still suffering from insulin reaction, exited the car and ran around it twice. Berry

and Connor stopped Graham, he sat down on a curb. The police officer pulls him down to the

sidewalk and had put a handcuffed on his hands. Graham reached for his wallet to show his

diabetic identification but Police officer thinks that Graham is trying to take a weapon. A police

officer places him in a squad car over Graham’s vigorous resistance. In the end, the officer

found out that he was innocent. Graham got multiple injuries, including a broken foot, as a

result of the incident.

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According to the case, it applies 4th amendment but “ William Brennan and Thurgood

Marshall concurred, in an opinion written by Justice Blackmun. Justice Blackmun argued that

there was not sufficient precedent to hold that claims of use of excessive force will never be

subject to Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process review.’’

Both judges are saying that even though Graham v.Connor case is analyzed under 4th

amendment but this is also related to 14th amendment because both amendments give the equal

right of protection under the law.’’ William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall concurred, in an

opinion written by Justice Blackmun. Justice Blackmun argued that there was not sufficient

precedent to hold that claims of use of excessive force will never be subject to Fourteenth

Amendment substantive due process review’’.In this case, Officer Connor violated Graham

right of equal protection under the law because of the officers use of excessive force on Graham

that violates by pushing Graham down to the sidewalk and put handcuff due to which he got

injuries even he was innocent this shows the brutality of the police.

Government Should take important steps to stop police brutality. Police are there for

help people, to stop fighting, provide the equal right, do justice people expect this kind of things

from Police officers but what police are doing they are making more issues and problems for

civilian, violating people's right. By solving these problem officers should be trained in a way

that they can know the difference of Right and wrong, Innocent and criminal. The government

should make a law that if there is doubt of thing police should only arrest them not to shoot and

if police should be accountable for their misconduct.this will enable them to treat all groups of

individuals with equality; hence use the appropriate amount of force.

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Police brutality is one one of the several forms of misconduct.the conclusion shows us

that police public approval of police use deadly force largely coincides with the constitutional

standards demarcated by the United States supreme court in Graham v Connor.​ Although Black

and White largely concur on their assessment of legal deadly force, African American’s are less

supportive of illegal deadly force. Police brutality is one of the serious and divisive in the united

states it increases the crime rate and effect on enviroment and society negatively.
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​ Works Cited

S.Danilina. “What is police brutality’’. The Law Dictionary. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018

​https://thelawdictionary.org/article/what-is-police-br

"Graham v. Connor." Oyez, 30 Nov. 2018, ​www.oyez.org/cases/1988/87-6571​.

“Mapping police violence” Carto, OpenStreetMap. 3 Jan. 2018. Accessed

27 Nov. 2018

https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/

Cullen, Francis T., et al. "'Stop or I'll shoot': racial differences in support for police use

of deadly force." American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 39, no. 4, 1996, p. 449+. OneFile,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A18065552/GPS?u=nysl_me_73_shb&sid=GPS&xi

d=e4d12214. Accessed 30 Nov. 2018.

Viorst, Anthony.“Impact of police britality on black cummunity.” The Viorst Law

Officers PC. 8 July 2018.

https://www.viorstlaw.com/blog/2018/07/police-brutality-has-a-negative-impact-on-blac

k-communities.shtml​ Accessed 27 Nov. 2018