Racing and Policing: The Rise of Brutality

Racing and Policing:

The Sudden Rise of Police Brutality

Kaila Nicole L. Laxa

Old Dominion University

The recent rise in police brutality has society questioning whether these acts are out of racism.

Keywords: Police brutality, racism

Introduction

In recent years, there have been many reports of police abusing their power of authority

by hurting and even killing people of color. Eric Garner and Michael Brown, just to name a few

of the victims in recent years; whose lives ended at the hands of an officer. By figuring out the

true cause and reason for this uprising, it could potentially help prevent future incidents from

happening. Society doesn’t look at police the same due to their track record of killing innocents.

“Police brutality toward Blacks in the United States is not new. However, in the absence

of a standard definition or good data, the extent of police brutality remains difficult to quantify.

Historical evidence of public harming of Black bodies by police dates back at least to the era of

slavery, when police disciplined Blacks and recaptured those who escaped enslavement.1 With

current technology, police killing of Black people is recorded for public scrutiny and

consumption. Access to these videos has led to unprecedented public discourse on what

constitutes brutality, its connections to White supremacy, and the consequences for Black lives.”

(Alang, 2017; paragraph 4.)

This topic was chosen because of the fascinating fact that history always has a way of

repeating itself. We as a civilization have already been through having indentured servants and

slaves. We are all able to live together in harmony, or at least we should be able to. Instead,

many allow the older traditions of the generation before them, dictate how one should feel.
Media

Social media is something that has taken over the world. People are constantly using it.

And everything gets recorded and posted or everyone to see. Unfortunately, everything on the

media isn’t always true; and with that being said, many people are good with photoshop,

especially with today’s technology. The high use of technology can help things such as police

brutality, be proven and used in court if need be as evidence. This is similar to police wearing

body cameras or having dash cams.

“The coverage of such incidents by mass media has been studied by researchers, some of

whom have concluded that the press has often distorted and helped justify questionable uses of

force. Finally, survey data continue to confirm the existence of undercurrents of racism and bias

in America, despite demonstrable social progress; a 2014 Stanford study shows how awareness

of higher levels of black incarceration can prompt greater support among whites for tougher

policing and prison programs.” (Wihbey 2018)

Recent Events

On the 17th of July in 2014, a man that went by the name Eric Garner, lost his life to the

hands of the police. While officers were arresting him, they had Garner in a choke hold and he

died. Michael Brown was shot by the police after putting his hands up and doing what he was

instructed to. The officer shot Brown numerous amounts of times, and yet was able to walk away

with little to no punishment.

Just a couple years before the Eric Garner incident, there was Trayvon Martin. Martin

was a seventeen-year-old young Black teenager, walking home one night from the convenience

store. Martin had gone to the store to purchase an iced tea and a bag of Skittles. The
neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman, thought he had seen something suspicious when

he crossed paths with Martin. It is unclear what happened that night; the only fact that the world

knows, is that Martin died after being shot to death and Zimmerman was charged with second

degree murder. During trial, the jury acquitted Zimmerman for murder. And that was the birth of

the Black Lives Matter Movement.

The Black Lives Matter Movement is a type of activist movement, that stands against

violence and systematic racism against Black people. The people that represent this movement

and are a part of this movement want to make changes. They want to see less racism and more

equality. Peaceful protests happen all over the country, as a way of having their voice be heard.

Equality.

Are we really all equal? Then how come not everyone treats everyone the same? Does

the racism in our country impact the policemen to act more reckless? It can be stressful trying to

train for something as valuable as a life.

How many Black adults are incarcerated compared to the number of White adults?

According to the textbook, 13% of the U.S population is Black. Of that 13%, 30% of those

people are on probation. At the end of the paragraph, Robinson goes on to discuss how Black

people go to prison more than White people; especially when it comes down to if it’s for a drug

related offense (Robinson, 2016.p; paragraph 2.)

One may believe that throwing a young Black man in jail will prevent him from being

able to live successfully. This would in turn hold him back from small luxuries, such as having a

job and being able to provide for his family. All necessities to learn and grow. Being held back at
such a young age when everyone makes mistakes, and not being able to learn from them; does

more harm than good.

Conslusion.

Being able to have trust in one another, could help make the world a better place. It’s the

little differences that make the biggest impact. Providing better, more realistic training

tests/obstacles. In addition, they should also enforce wearing and utilizing body cameras. Not

only to protect themselves, but to be able to always have justice by their side. We can make the

world a better place, but we have to start.

Alang, Sirry, et al. “Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda for Public Health

Scholars.” American Journal of Public Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, May

2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5388955/.

“Former Hadley Police Officer Found Guilty of Using Excessive Force Against Arrestee.” The
United States Department of Justice, 5 Feb. 2019, www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-hadley-
police-officer-found-guilty-using-excessive-force-against-arrestee.

Robinson, Matthew B. “Disparities in Probation and Other Community Sanctions.” Race,

Wihbey, John. “Excessive or Reasonable Force by Police? Research on Law Enforcement and

Racial Conflict.” Journalist's Resource, 21 Dec. 2018,

journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/police-reasonable-force-

brutality-race-research-review-statistics/