Police brutality

Police brutality is the deliberate use of excessive force, usually physical, carried out during law enforcement activities with the population. This type of behavior also includes verbal attacks and psychological intimidation by a police officer.

Widespread police brutality exists in many countries, even those that prosecute it. It is one of several forms of police misconduct, which include: false arrest; intimidation; racial profiling; political repression; surveillance abuse; sexual abuse; and police corruption. Although illegal, it can be performed under the color of law.

History

The word "brutality" has several meanings; the sense used here (savage cruelty) was first used in 1633. The term "police brutality" was in use in the American press as early as 1872, when the Chicago Tribune reported on the beating of a civilian under arrest at the Harrison Street Police Station.

The origin of 'modern' policing based on the authority of the nation state is commonly traced back to developments in seventeenth and 18th century France, with modern police departments being established in most nations by the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Cases of police brutality appear to have been frequent then, with "the routine bludgeoning of citizens by patrolmen armed with nightsticks or blackjacks." Large-scale incidents of brutality were associated with labor strikes, such as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, the Pullman Strike of 1894, the Lawrence textile strike of 1912, the Ludlow massacre of 1914, the Steel strike of 1919, and the Hanapepe massacre of 1924.

Excessive Force

Excessive Force is a musical side project started in 1991 by Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM and Buzz McCoy of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult.

History

In 1991, Excessive Force released the single "Conquer Your House", followed by the album Conquer Your World. After this release, McCoy had no more involvement in Excessive Force, which went on to become exclusively a KMFDM side project. In 1993, Excessive Force released the single "Blitzkrieg" followed by the album Gentle Death. The band is also credited with remixes of the KMFDM songs "Light" and "Megalomaniac".

Konietzko initially dismissed the possibility of reforming Excessive Force referring to it as "a one off that turned into a two off." He also noted that there is a Canadian white supremacist band that uses the same name. However, in a recent radio interview he has discussed the possibility of collaborating with Andy LaPlegua of Combichrist, Panzer AG, and Icon of Coil on a new Excessive Force album.

On November 6, 2007, KMFDM Records re-released the entire Excessive Force back catalog.

Excessive Force (film)

Excessive Force is a 1993 American action film, starring and written by Thomas Ian Griffith. It co-stars Burt Young and is directed by Jon Hess.

Plot

Terry (Thomas Ian Griffith) and his two partners from the Chicago special investigation police squad are engaged in war against Chicago's mafia boss, DiMarco (Burt Young). Despite many attempts to jail him, he always manages somehow to walk free. Not discouraged by that, police prepares another action to raise some evidence against DiMarco, this time it's a controlled sale of drugs for $3 million. After the exchange of the money for the narcotics police wants to arrest gangsters involved in the business, unfortunately this won't come without a shootout, during one of them manages to escape (only to be killed later by DiMarco himself, for losing the mafia's money). The other gangster which was wounded during the shooting is making confessions in the hospital (forced by Terry), those are though worthless in the eyes of the judge, who rules that the interrogation was held with use of 'excessive force' and as that was illegal. DiMarco is once again free, furthermore now he wants vengeance on the police who, as he thinks stole his money. Terry's co-cops are being killed one by one and soon he finds himself in peril, especially after he learns that DiMarco's suspicions are not so quite abstract.