Abstract
American minority communities encounter many forms of discrimination from fundamental institutions, one of which is police brutality. It is defined as a civil rights violation where officers exercise undue or excessive force against a civilian (Brooks, 2020). According to statistics, the United States stands out among countries with leading cases of police brutality against blacks and minorities (Brooks, 2020). It has been attributed to the fact that since it is home to many people of different ethnicities, there is increased discrimination against the non-White community (McGlynn-Wright et al., 2022). An analysis of the public records by the Washington Post reported that about 60% of the 965 people shot and killed by police officers in 2015 were blacks and Latinos (Reinka & Colin, 2017). It is further reported that unarmed blacks were seven times more likely to be killed by police officers as compared to whites (Reinka & Colin, 2017). The purpose of this research is to analyze diverse sources and propose a qualitative study to investigate the interactions between police officers and Black people. It is hoped that this will bolster the understanding of the excessive use of force by police officers.
Introduction
Police cruelty and deaths among young Black people have a causal linkage. Experts claim that the United States (US) has a long history of police brutality against Black men (Brooks, 2020). It is argued that even most major political and social movements, started by civilians and government representatives and authorities, have all been related to abuse of force by police (Brooks, 2020). These events have been followed by heightened civil unrest, property destruction, and assault on police officers by protesters across many cities in the United States (Brooks, 2020). Over the recent years, the rate of police violence and related deaths has still been on the increase, and this is because of practice policies that have increased policing contact (Beardall & Ysabel, 2019). Some of these policies include the stopping and frisking policies. Officers can stop and check an individual’s documents; this activity has increased police contact, resulting in increased brutality. The frisking policy permits police officers to frisk suspicious individuals during traffic stops (McGinn-Wright et al., 2022). In some instances, the officers require the civilians to get out of the car with their hands up to prevent any unprecedented movements. Most civilians view this as abuse since officers mistreat civilians and claim they are resisting arrest or assaulting an officer.
The third policy is the investigatory stop policy, according to which officers have the right to investigate suspicious vehicles. Most officers take advantage of the policy by discriminating against Black drivers. Officers treat those civilians who try to speak up as hostile and thus resort to using force. For instance, George Floyd died of suffocation at the hands of officers since an officer had pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes because he was resisting arrest. The officer claimed it was a snap decision because Floyd was violent (McGlynn-Wright et al., 2022). Although the first and most important obligation of the American government and its subordinate institutions is to protect the nation’s freedom from fear, police officers have a history of discriminating against and maltreating people of color under the pretense of doing their jobs. The unfair treatment of African Americans by the police has proved the opposite. It has adversely affected the physiological health and mental well-being of Black communities since they have to live in fear of being mistreated by the police (McGlynn-Wright et al., 2022). When people are afraid of their authorities, all fundamental institutions cease to function correctly and begin to crumble or act harmfully. It is obvious that some reformative political or societal action is needed.
The ongoing relationship between the police institution and the Black minority is very indicative of the current societal climate. As Jon Stuart claimed, police are “a reflection of a society … they’re not a rogue alien organization that came down to torment the black community” (Byrne, 2020, para. 4). Innate anthropological and physiological properties are risk factors for criminal justice because they are used to identify possible suspects of crimes (McGlynn-Wright et al., 2022). It is a significant concern that these people are already perceived as threats just because they fit the target mark sheet.
Rationale
Many researchers have conducted studies about police brutality with the aim of better understanding why different officers discriminate against other civilians yet take oaths to protect all people. These studies are thus very significant to the topic of this proposal. The available literature has been crucial in illuminating the conundrum, thus ensuring a better understanding of the subject and creating the necessary awareness (Ray, 2020). Literature has illustrated the various scenarios that demonstrate how the Black community has been subjected to discrimination, harassment, and mistreatment by various officers (Edwards et al., 2019). Some of these circumstances are categorized into three major groups and they are police cruelty, use of excessive force, and police impunity. Current literature is crucial to study because it provides the basic foundation and supporting material.
Police Cruelty
Anti-brutality campaigns have been launched in many cities all over the United States of America and on various online platforms. The campaigns have increased their robustness over the past few years following the killing of unarmed Black men like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Diallo Amadou (Edwards et al., 2019). Even though Black people are the primary victims of police cruelty, other ethnic groups have also fallen prey to mistreatment by the police (Santhanam, 2020). Various media groups established surveillance systems to aid in data collecting to better understand the rate or frequency of these brutalities. The findings were frustrating since it was discovered that over 1000 people die annually at the hands of officers (McGlynn-Wright et al., 2022). The data also proved that Black people were three times more likely to get killed than their White counterparts (Wood et al., 2020). It is also said that Police killings, including shootings, choking, and other uses of force, are the sixth leading cause of death among men of all races ages 25-29 (Brooks, 2020). These factual findings are from a study published by the National Academy of Sciences (Brooks, 2020). The campaigns have been crucial in shining light on unlawful police practices and, thus, a reduction in the killings.
Due to increased brutality, police and general public relations have diminished over the years. A recent study established how people felt about the police (Taylor, 2021). The study revealed that only 35% of the general public believed that the police treated all people equally (Santhanam, 2020). On the other hand, 48% of Black people and 20% of Latinos had very little or no confidence in the police as they were the primary victims of their cruelty (Santhanam, 2020). The study also showed that these two ethnicities, especially African Americans, were often under surveillance and profiling (Santhanam, 2020). The reason for this is that not a large yet significant proportion of police officers in America have racist attitudes or racial bias (German, 2020). Some of them were past members of racist, neo-Nazi, and pro-white movements (German, 2020). Even today, some individuals in the police institution remain active participants in radical and illegal cliques (German, 2020). It then follows that steps must be taken to curb police brutality and excessive use of force among officers.
Excessive Use of Force
Law enforcement officers have used brutal force when dealing with civilians, often injuring or even killing them. It is interesting that even children and adolescents are not spared, as excessive force has been used against them. It is evidenced by the killing of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old, Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old, and Michael Brown, an 18-year-old, by police officers (Reinka & Colin, 2017). In the famous case of George Floyd, it is essential to note that the concerned police officer was sent to prison for more than two decades for the use of excessive force and second-degree murder (Senter & Dewan, 2022). Chauvin handcuffed Mr. Floyd and pinned him to the ground with his knee on his posterior neck (Brooks, 2020). The continued neck compression made it difficult for Mr. Floyd to breathe, and he became unresponsive and pulseless and then died (Brooks, 2020). Indeed, in 2014, the UN Committee against Torture condemned police brutality and institutional force abuse and highlighted the violent and horrible killings of Black individuals by law enforcement representatives (Brooks, 2020). To this end, various law enforcement agencies have varying definitions of force. Each agency has established guidelines on how the officers must deal with the ‘suspects’ and how much force they should employ (Peeples, 2020). According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1.4% of the people who encounter the police report the use of force, and 74% of them reported that the force used on them was excessive and hurtful. Recent studies have shown that police agencies have acquired over 500,000 ECD Taser brands (Peeples, 2020). Therefore, excessive use of force by police officers has increased over the years and is more on people of color.
Police Impunity
Many researchers and organizations have extensively researched the issue of police brutality; nevertheless, there are some gaps in these studies that are yet to be filled by most researchers. One of the major breaches in the literature concerns the appropriate action that should be taken to curb police misconduct (Peeples, 2020). Most researchers have exhausted the aspect of abuse of power by the police. However, few have suggested suitable action to reduce police callousness (Beardall & Ysabel, 2019). Therefore, this study will also be focused on determining the most reasonable course of action toward officers who abuse their power. Despite irrefutable evidence of officers abusing the law, little to no action is taken against them (Ray, 2020). Most of these officers are put on paid leave as ‘investigations’ into the matter are conducted, after which some of them are hired back into the force. The officers involved in crimes against civilians will be held accountable for their actions.
Racial Bias
Several studies have attributed police brutality and the use of excessive force by police officers to racial bias. For example, “in a report released following the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, the Justice Department admitted to the police department’s pattern of racial bias” (Brooks, 2020). According to Brooks (2020), “the department argued that it is typically an effort to ticket as many low-income black residents as possible in an attempt to raise local budget revenue through fines and court fees” (p. 240). In the Brown incident, witnesses reported that he was unarmed and that he had surrendered with his hands raised to the sky when he was shot and killed instantly by police officer Darren Wilson (Malmin, 2015). Lorie Fridell, Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of South Florida, states that racial profiling was the number one issue facing police officers in the 1990s (Brooks, 2020). Following the widespread police brutality and racial profiling, Professor Fridell concluded that bias in policing was not just in a few officers or a few departments but rather endemic among police officers (Brooks, 2020). Moreover, those police officers are also well-intentioned in their acts (Brooks, 2020). She concludes that the country as a whole sets stereotypes as well as biases against Black Americans, which inevitably leads to social misinterpretation of the safety of Americans when a black person is present.
The Gap
The literature researched and developed in the past has played an essential role in developing the study proposal. Nevertheless, there is a significant gap; most researchers have not fully exhausted studies on police brutality (O’Brien et al., 2020). Most academicians focused on the causes and consequences of police misconduct; they barely studied the possible solutions to this issue. In most cases, if not all, officers charged with misconduct were only fined and set free (Ray, 2020). In other scenarios, (Edwards et al., 2019) posit that these officers would resign to avoid further investigations and be re-hired by different agencies after a given period. It is interesting to point out that in the Floyd Case, a preliminary autopsy conducted immediately relieved the concerned police officer of the responsibility for Floyd’s death (Brooks, 2020). According to the autopsy report, Mr. Floyd did not die of strangulation and traumatic asphyxia even though former police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for about nine minutes (Brooks, 2020). The autopsy surprisingly attributed the death to Mr. Floyd’s underlying health conditions, any potential intoxicants in his system, and the effects of being restrained by the police (Brooks, 2020). Therefore, this study will work towards a better understanding of how to combat this problem. By the end of the study, the gap will be well explained and understood, and the most logical and humane course of action will be defined and developed.
Research Purpose
The purpose of this research is to analyze different literature on police cruelty towards Black communities and propose a qualitative study to investigate the interactions between police officers and African-American people. It is hoped that this will bolster the understanding of the excessive use of force by police officers against minorities, especially the Black community. Besides interrogating the connection between blacks and excessive use of force, this paper will also focus on mitigating these consequences by developing the necessary course of action for police misconduct.
Research Questions
- Why do police officers use excessive force, and what circumstances warrant the use of such excessive force?
- Why the use of excessive force among police officers is endemic against blacks, and what measures can be taken to curb it?
Theoretical Framework
The Rotten Barrel Theory
Pierre Delattre proposed the rotten barrel theory, arguing that police misconduct is not just an individual aspect. The theory contends that as much as police misconduct is viewed as a personal issue, many cases still go unnoticed (Jean, 2020). The system is corrupt and is designed to protect its own; this means the system shields its members from prosecution. Police unions have regulations that guard officers against being charged for their misconduct (Jean, 2020). The rotten barrel theory will be crucial to the study as it provides very promising and revealing for analysis.
State laws have significantly hindered the exerting of justice on officers who abuse power. For officers found guilty of misconduct and fined, the state takes responsibility for services and the fines while the officer goes free. As such, officers voluntarily disregard the law because they are seldom held accountable for their actions except for paid leave or resignation to avoid investigation (Ray, 2020). A recent study showed that over the past 20 years, the state of Chicago had paid over $650 million as compensation to victims of police misconduct. On the other hand, New York has spent over $230 million on 6,500 police misconduct cases (Ray, 2020). Therefore, it is barely possible to bring officers to justice since they are protected.
Methods of Data Collection
The paper will adopt the use of a qualitative case study as the study’s methodology. The main approaches to be adopted in this type of methodology include such procedures as unstructured interviews and case studies. It is hoped that these approaches will give sufficient information to enable feasible conclusions to be reached. Qualitative research is among the most suitable frameworks for studying social relations and political phenomena.
Conclusion
Interactions between the police and Black people have more than often resulted in the death and mistreatment of African Americans. Over the years, police officers have abused their power against various ethnic groups, especially Black people. The misconduct resulted from increased policing contact, which has been raised over time through the implementation of new policies. Misconduct among the officers of the law has been difficult to root out because the officers are protected by their unions. The rotten barrel theory argues that the officers are part of a system determined to shield its members, promoting impunity.
References
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