The Issues of Police Brutality and Racism in the US Society

 

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The Issues of Police Brutality and Racism in the US Society

 

The problem of compliance with the law among law enforcement officers is a traditional topic of research primarily for American scholars and human rights organizations. The scandals that regularly occur among US police show a wide range of offenses common in police departments: corruption, drug trafficking, involvement in organized crime, and racism. All these negative effects, according to the numerous government commissions, are directly related to the facts of deliberate brutality, tyranny, and abuse of police powers. Moreover, even after the series of progressive police reforms, the violence of law enforcement officers, combined with racism, remains one of the most pressing problems of the US criminal justice system. This research paper aims at discussing the issues of police brutality against ethnic minorities in the US society xxxtentacion essay

The notorious cases of police brutality in the USA

In respect of the substantial level of offenses among police officers, it is necessary to mention the New Orleans` one as far as the city is known not only for a high percentage of black population, but also for a considerable level of crime among police officers. To exemplify, one of the most notorious events was in 1980, after which New Orleans became a symbol of police racism. A black resident murdered white police officer. Consequently, the crowd of angry officers spontaneously went to African American neighborhood, where one killed four and injured about 50 people. A story akin to above mentioned one occurred again in New Orleans ten years later after these events, when during firefight in the city center , one killed a white police officer. Law enforcement workers immediately arrested an African-American man and took to the station, where over a hundred of policemen beat him to death. Nevertheless, the attempts to investigate that fact of his death had no consequences as far as medical evidence of his injuries disappeared and doctors gave very vague conclusions about the cause of death. The police denied their presence on the territory of the station at the time of a black man's delivery. Despite the wide resonance, one did not bring none of the police officers to justice.

In 1991 in Los Angeles, one unintentionally filmed a scene of beating a black man called Rodney D. King . This video caused mass protests of African Americans against racism and police brutality. The patrol arrested Rodney D. King for speeding, then forcibly dragged him from his car and delivered fifty-three traumatic blows to his body and head. As a result, court acquittal provoked full-scaled riots, in which one killed fifty-four people and injured more than two thousand rioters. A year later, the court sentenced two police officers to thirty months of imprisonment. Moreover, after that accident, one placed a special emphasis on racism and ethnic prejudices that are rooted in the minds of police as one of the main causes of official crime and misconduct. Additionally, the analysis of the messages transmitted through two-way radio, which was held during one of the judicial investigations , showed that despite the clear rules that prohibit the use of slang and coarse expressions, while being on duty an accused officer used the word "nigger" forty-one time.

Therefore, the research has found that not only civilians suffer from the aggressive police behavior, , but also the officers, who came from ethnic minorities. For example, in 1995, in Boston, a dark-skinned policeman Michael Cox, who was on duty in civilian clothes, joined the pursuit of a person, suspected of murder. However, the police officers who were wearing the uniform detained him as they took Cox for a suspect. Without any attempt to establish his identity, several colleagues of Cox severely beat him, which resulted in a concussion, and many injuries. After a six-month stay in the intensive care unit, Michael Cox filed a lawsuit, which court left without consideration. What is more, the police strongly denied any involvement in the incident; that is why, one did not even bring any of the officers to disciplinary responsibility.

Current situation and possible solutions

The US police declared a policy of zero tolerance towards any, even minor violations of the law. Civil rights experts rightly hoped that police, conducting an aggressive policy of the persecution of offenses, will show the same intolerance of the violations of the law by its personnel. However, this did not happen. Along with the establishment of strict control over safety on the streets, persecution of graffiti artists, and people who jump over the turnstiles in the subway, general aggressiveness of the police officers increased. Moreover, it was accompanied with brutality, excessive use of force, cynicism, and racism. As a result, the number of complaints about police misconduct has considerably increased.

Most often, one can shoot the residents of poor neighborhoods and ethnic minorities. According to Human Rights Watch, San Francisco has the highest annual level of citizens killed by police, which is 4.1 people for every 100 murders, which is much higher than in New York with 1.6 citizens and Los Angeles with 2.2 people. Chicago is also one of the places one knows for violent dispersal of demonstrations; it remains the cause of a serious concern of its citizens, as Chicago police continues to have the lead by the number of known facts of police torture and abuse. New Orleans has gained a reputation for police cruelty, brutality, and disrespect of its professional standards. According to the experts of Human Rights Watch, the problem is the low salaries of police, especially in New Orleans, which causes not only the high level of crime, but also systemic corruption of at least 10-15% of personnel. As it appeared, US police officers' brutality and law abuse is closely connected with the spread of criminal activity and corruption in the police.

Taking into consideration the issues of police aggression, ill-treatment, and racism, the US human rights organizations are primarily concerned with the facts of intensive use of police firearms, as far as in these cases, it is difficult to establish the legality of the grounds for its application. Moreover, in many US cities, the police strongly prevent publishing official investigations to the public. The lack of external control over the course of internal investigations remains one of the most pressing problems in the USA. The solution is extremely complex matter that requires an integrated interdisciplinary approach from the scientists and active cooperation of everyone who is interested in further development of democratic principles of the society, namely law enforcement, officers, members of NGOs, and media workers.

To sum up, the issue of violent racism and police brutality against ethnic minorities in the USA is extremely important, although very complicated. The reviews of all the complaints about aggressive and illegal actions of the police are often left in the competence of police. Therefore, unfortunately, this urgent problem cannot go far beyond the police department. The USA has to create the appropriate conditions for the implementation of law, and criminal responsibility for its violation. One should not consider the law as an act of government but as a social phenomenon, related to such categories as justice, freedom, equality, humanism, and should see it in the close connection with human rights.

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