People should be able to feel safe not only in their community but by the police officers that are part of the community. When hearing about multiple police attacks on innocent people whether they hear about it through a TV screen or on social media they should not feel afraid of becoming a victim of this issue. Throughout the years it seems as if police brutality has gone down but to this day cases of police brutality are still a lot and police officers are not being fairly punished for their actions. The reason why I chose police brutality as my topic is because I want to be able to get the attention of people who are not familiar with this issue to take some time to look into the impact it has in their community. I hope to receive the attention of as many people I can in order to prevent police brutality from continuing to affect the future of our community.
Research
Police brutality is a violation that occurs when a police officer uses unnecessary force upon a member of the community. Today police brutality continues to be an issue in our community that despite the protests to make justice for the deaths that have come as a result from it are still having a major impact on people in society. As early as the 1800's police would brutality attack the minorities in the community and would arrest them without a cause. For instance, during the civil rights time activists were physically attacked by police officers and in some circumstances by their police dogs. When it comes to bringing justice police officers using this type of violence are not held accountable for their actions but rather they keep their jobs despite them murdering or physically harming a victim who had no weapon and was of no harm to them.
Beating of Rodney King
-In 1991 Rodney King was violently beaten by police officers, his attack was recorded and sent to a local news station by a civilian called George Holliday. The beating of Rodney King was what began the Los Angeles Riots from April 29-May 4,1992.
Tamir Rice,12
Rice was shot and killed in a park in Cleveland on Nov. 22, 2014. The police officers received a call about a black male sitting on a swing and pointing at people in a city park and when they arrived at the location they shot him twice rather than approaching him.
Statistics
-1 in 4 people who are killed by law enforcement officials in the United States are unarmed.
-61% of police officers state that they have not always reported when they see serious abuse towards a civilian by their fellow officers.
-84% of police officers have stated that they have witnessed an officer using unnecessary force.
-Where you live matters when it comes to police brutality. It was found that African Americans are 7 times more likely to be killed by a police officers in Oklahoma than if they lived in Georgia.
-97% of police brutality cases in 2015 did not result in any of the police officers to be charged with a crime.
-992 people have been shot and killed by police in 2018.-689 people have been shot and killed by police in 2019.
-There were only 23 days in 2018 in which the police did not kill anyone.
-African Americans are 3x's more likely to be killed by police than white people.
-717 people have been shot and killed by police in 2019.
Call to Action
-be a part of protests against police brutality
-record the police
-join organizations against police brutality
~Blacklivesmatter.com
~Wetheprotesters.org
~Joincampaignzero.org
~Donotshoot.us
Personal
High school was the first time I heard about police brutality and since that experience I was more aware of how it had an effect in my community. When it comes to learning about this issue that has been going on since way back in history I find it important for members of the community to engage in making a change and putting more attention towards this issue that is not only affecting minorities but also causing multiple deaths that can be prevented if only we changed law enforcement. When it comes to talking about this topic, it is unfair how we don't make police officers pay the consequences for their actions but rather it seems like we praise them for what they are doing. This only continues to make the problem worse due police officers still using this kind of force towards innocent people because they know that in the end they will not be held responsible for their actions and they will continue to have their jobs. Most of the time people in society don't put much interest into police brutality because they are not personally affected by it. We need to look at the bigger picture in which people around the world continue to be affected and understand that one person can't make a change we need to come together in unity to make a drastic change towards a safe world were people should not be afraid of being attacked and killed by police officers.
Interviews
April Ponce (19)
"I think police brutality begins with the officers and how they are trained and treated. When they are out in the streets they are aggressive and violent with people instead of finding ways for people to cooperate with them without people dying and injustice happening. "
Guadalupe Zavala (20)
"What I think about police brutality is that it has to be stopped. There are so many cases in this world were you see many news where it states that the police are always doing something to people of color. I feel that police shouldn't be able to physically touch us for no reason and be respectful to all ethnicities. Police brutality mostly happens because either police officers are racist or they feel like it's right to treat minorities without respect. They take advantage of their power only because they are "cops" that's my thoughts towards police brutality."
Jacqueline Vidana(19)
"My opinion on police brutality is that it may be a serious issue due to the fact that many officers don't receive enough training. Others just do what they want without thinking if it 's right. My opinion is that many officers need more training and to be more educated."
References
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Police-Brutality-in-the-United-States-2064580/Police-brutality-after-World-War-II
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/police-shootings-2019/
https://mappingpoliceviolence.org
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/30/tamir-rice-shooting-police-officer-fired-cleveland
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