Jack Berry

Mr. Geist
Hr 5
2/18/15
The Reasons Behind Police Brutality and Racism
The Police force of the United States are not only brave, but also an essential part of the
American life. The average citizen does not realize an important fact about police; they are not
perfect. Racism is an ancient and seemingly never ending struggle, that has its roots in America
with Eurocentrism and white privilege. American Racism is institutionalized to the point that
most racists do not understand the implications of their beliefs. These people simply follow the
beliefs and traditions that have been handed down by not only American culture, but also its
European roots. Jeremy Ashkenas and Haeyoun Park of The New York Times conducted a study,
and found out that in minority communities police officers usually were usually over sixty
percent more caucasian than the community (nytimes.com).The topic of police racism is
equivocal, and often a partisan opinion. This is a volatile combination of racist caucasians
watching over the minority they perceive to be the enemy. Police Racism and Brutality towards
minorities has been ignited by police militarization, the media, and lack of training.
Police Militarization is the unmentioned system of police brutality. As Kurt Eichenwald
of Newsweek states, Decades of research on police tactics are usually ignored, and instead of
competent officers practicing proven tactics, police strive for more equipment
(Newsweek.com). This quote shows that there is research behind other police strategy, but most
police forces tend to lean towards more machinery. The local police forces obviously choose the
Machiavellian ideology that it is better to be feared than to be loved. Fear is no way to keep

law and order. Another theory that Kurt Eichenwald speaks of is the Elaborated Social Identity
Model. Eichenwald describes this theory by arguing that when crowds are treated unfairly or
inhumanely they are more likely to riot (nytimes.com). This theory has been proven many
times, an example would be in the Ferguson riots a few months ago. It is extremely sad to know
that innocent people are scared of their police every day. It is in the hands of the people to finally
reproach the way the police operate.
The Media plays a major role in how the average citizen, or even how the cop views the
world. Turning on any news station and it is easy to understand the goals; endict fear and boost
ratings. Brian Powell says that, Blacks and Latinos are more likely to be represented as
lawbreakers, while whites are shown as the law enforcers or victims (mediamatters.com).
Everyone already perceives minorities as the law breakers due to the media, so therefore
policemen think it is their duty to end all of the law breaking by these groups. According to the
NAACP, Five times as many whites use drugs as African Americans, but African Americans are
ten times as likely to go to jail for a drug related offense (naacp.com). This just doesnt add up;
the reason for this huge disparity is because the media changes the perception of not only
citizens, but also police. It is the medias responsibility to stop showing minorities in such an
abject light.
The police of today are not trained to deal with the ever-changing events and social
challenges that are present. Modern police no longer protect a citizen's rights, but instead cling to
only promoting law and order. For example, in the Eric Garner case police didn't know how to
contain protesters and allow for a peaceful protest. FBI director James Comey said in a speech
that, We need to come to grips with the fact that this behavior complicates the relationship
between police and communities they serve (cnn.com). He is referring to the bias that these

police officers use, called profiling. Profiling is looking for someone who looks like a criminal
and searching them. Comey calls for better training and an end to police bias. Seth Stoughton, a
former police officer, says that Police officers need to think beyond belt and gun, and violence
can be used only as a last resort(theatlantic.com). Soughton calls for widespread Police reform
through training of the mind and through tactical training. Teaching officers how to influence a
community to the fullest potential is key. The average citizen should not become overly pedantic
with police activity, but should be aware of what is happening.
Police are the heroes of the modern time, but they have many flaws that have become the
precedent for almost all police. Militarization is not a tactic that can be proven to work over time.
It is essentially placing fear in the hearts of every citizen to gain obedience. The media uses
similar scare tactics to gain the trust of everyone, and in turn, turn everyone against minorities.
Police arent trained to cope with protesting and many other social issues of the 21st century.
Through training police reform can be achieved to mitigate racism in the legal system. Some
believe that the police are an infallible force that can never be wrong due to the amount of
bravery it requires to be a police officer. This sanguine ideology is not true based on all of the
evidence presented. Police Racism and Brutality towards minorities has been ignited by police
militarization, the media and lack of training.

Works Cited
Eichenwald, Kurt. "Why Militarized Police Don't Work." Newsweek. Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2014. Web.
17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.newsweek.com/2014/08/29/why-militarized-police-departments-dontwork-265214.
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Powell, Brian. "Fox News' Racial Crime Coverage Is Hurting People." Media Matters for America.
Media Matters For America, 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
<http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/08/23/fox-news-racial-crime-coverage-is-hurtingpeopl/195567>. html
"Criminal Justice Fact Sheet." Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. NAACP, 09 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 Feb.
2015. <http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet>.
Perez, Evan. "FBI Director Offers Candid View of Police, Race Relations - CNN.com." CNN. Cable
News Network, 12 Feb. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/12/politics/policerace-relations-james-comey/>.
Stoughton, Seth. "How Police Training Contributes to Avoidable Deaths." The Atlantic. Atlantic
Media Company, 12 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/police-gun-shooting-trainingferguson/383681/>.