Karaun Jackson
04/13/15
English 1101
​​​​ Police Brutality

​“Freeze, Hands Up! Stop resisting! How can we protect our self if the people who protect and serve our country are not trust worthy? The police job is to protect and serve the people of our country but is it fair that brute forces are being used and abused? In some cases Police use power and abuse it on harmless people. The three factors that contribute to this result is racism, the training of police and the abuse of authority.
​Racism has a big factor on police brutality. Even though in the American society there is a lot of Black on Black crime, that doesn’t give any excuse to why a police man should take down and kill an unarmed black male. Even the recent case about Ferguson where a white policeman shot an unarmed man in November last year 2014 was caught on film and there was no justice. Our president Barack Obama stated “Nothing of significance, nothing of benefit, result from destructive acts.” Racism is real Obama said and he begged Americans to “mobilize,” “organize,” find the “best policies,” and “vote.” It’s a disgrace to the society, had that gunman been a black male killing a white young man unarmed justice would have been served. No matter the skin color or the amount of the Authority a person holds right is right and wrong is wrong.
Racism has been driving social policies for decades, policies and practices like Jim Crow Laws, Redlining and War on Drugs show how black people are not afforded fair opportunities in society. Despite the conditions that blacks experience, there are some blacks that beat the statistics and make it out. The Jim Crow Laws were racial segregation state and local laws reinforced after the reconstruction period in the south. Jim Crow Laws demanded the segregation of public places, public transportation, public schools, restrooms, drinking fountains and restaurants.
The training of Police is very critical. Dunkin Donuts usually symbolizes the police, eating donuts and drinking coffee. Unfortunately the physical training is not a piece of cake. Robe be hired by the Police Departments, You must pass the physical fitness exams. After you enter Police academies, the fitness challenge begin. While the recruits build their strength, they must learn how to properly use it. Hand cuffing and restraining people involved muscles and specific moves to disable people without hurting them. We have witness many police not follow the protocol but we have to think of the kind of circumstances the police are in.
For taming criminals, recruits learn self-defense tactics and how to use other tools such as pepper spray and buttons. Most States follow the same policies but all the recruits are trained differently depending on who the leaders are in their operation. Police officers have to know and understand how to accurately shoot to prevent unnecessary death or injuries. Marksmanship test is also required and recruits must have a percent accuracy of 90% and above using a variety of guns. Each course require a certain amount of hours. Academics require 230 hours, driving require 40 hours, firearms require 113 hours, physical training require 142 hours, human relations require 100 hours, tactics require 98 hours and law require 105 hours which is a total of 828 hours.
The question that remains is if this training is too short? A recruit can earn a 100% in every course but when they encounter real scenarios that’s when everything changes. The recruits have to be mentally strong in order to become a police officer. They have to know how to separate their personal feelings and their actual job. Even when the circumstances and the outcome are tough we have to think about what actually occurred and how much experience does that officer have.
A Primary example of abuse of authority is the Eric Garner case. The Eric Gardner incident was caught on video tape by a friend of Garner’s, and shows Garner who was a black male who weighed about 400 pounds. He was confronted by the police because he was distributing unlicensed cigarettes. The video shows Garner resisting his arrest not violently and he shouts at officers, “Every time yall see me yall want to arrest me, I’m sick and tired of this and this stops today I didn’t do nothing I’m minding my business, officer”. Officer Pantaleo comes up behind Garner and puts him in a choke hold. Garner raised his hands and falls backwards, at this point three other officers grab Garner physically. As he falls on the ground, Pantaleo is still hanging on his back with his arm still around Garner’s neck. The officers tell Garner to put his hands behind his head, and Garner complains that he can’t breathe. Pantaleo started forcing garners head to the cement as garner tries to scream and shout that he can’t breathe. At this point it is clear that he is not resisting and he is in danger but the officers didn’t see those circumstances. Garner died a few minutes after. When a person life is at risk, it is worthwhile to actually analyze the facts. If Garner was a family member of any of those police officers involved in the incident they would have stopped all of the physical hurt and considered that the person can’t breathe.
​Another example of the police abusing authority is the Trayvon Martin case. On February 26 2012 in Florida, Trayvon martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin was a seventeen year old high school student. George Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch coordinator for a gated community where martin was temporarily living. Trayvon martin was coming from the corner store and bought a bag of skittles and a Arizona beverage. Zimmerman felt that Trayvon was suspicious looking just because he had a black hoody on. Zimmerman followed Trayvon and when Trayvon noticed he was being followed he started running. Zimmerman tackled Trayvon down and during the altercation Zimmerman pulled out his gun and shot Trayvon. A innocent black teen that did nothing but go to the grocery store to get food and beverage, ran because he was frighten , was killed by a man that was never penalized for this unnecessary death.
​The incidents of Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner have led to the decisions to provide NYPD with body cameras. Mayor Bill De Blasio was cited in a New York Times article stating, “The cameras would provide a sense of accountability and transparency.” This is an example of how society can help end racial disparities in the criminal justice system so government say. Using body cameras can make cops be more mindful of how they go about their actions. Body cameras may minimize the amount of black deaths. Cops will also be more mindful of who they stop with using these body cameras. It’s obvious that video cameras and proof isn’t enough so why would government come with such a stupid and disrespectful idea. Justice needs to be served to the community. There was more than enough proof for both incidents and government did nothing.
In life of course we grow up following authorities and rules. Some people who take on these jobs aren’t mentally ready and take advantage of people that can’t obey them. The issue is we don’t have strong leaders in our government to actual handle these situation. When will the police brutality stop?

Work cite:
“Eric Garner: News, Pictures, & Videos of the NYPD Chokehold Case.” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
Santora , Marc & Stewart , Nakita , “Police Body Camera Comes to New York Soon”New York Times December 3rd 2014