Tyler Canaday Professor Campbell English 1102 February 12, 2014 Police Brutality in America In the United States,

law enforcement agencies serve to protect citizens and our society. However, many officers have used their power of authority to commit acts against basic human rights of citizens. Police use of excessive force is an ongoing debate that began in early modern policing. Many different groups of people support different sides on whether or not each case of brutality is justified or unjustified. A major opposition to brutality is based on whether use of force can be justified, racism aspects, and inconsistency within the policing system itself. On the other hand, Americans that are for police use of force may base claims on exaggeration of the media, civil duties of the officers, and justified reasons for force by the officers. During this enquiry into police brutality I want to find out why some police officers choose to abuse their position of authority and how cases of police brutality affect the citizens of our country. As a criminal justice major at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and having a passion for policing has rendered passion towards researching both sides of police use of force in America. In addition, by gaining insight on viewpoints towards excessive force I will be able to become a more rounded authority in our criminal justice system and be able to better provide human rights for the citizens being protected.

Citizens View Concerning police brutality, most citizens in the United States are impacted when use of force cases occur. Whether this impact is direct or indirect can have an effect on how each citizen views the case they are impacted by. Many cases occur each year especially in larger cities and these cases are typically covered by the media more times than not. As a general statement, police officers serve as valuable members of society in protecting citizens; however, excessive use of force erodes the relationship between citizens and police. This erosion of trust can cause tension between police which may cause certain officers to become more forceful towards the citizens of the area being policed. When a citizen has use of force used upon them, many citizens of that area will take the side of the citizen who has been acted upon if they believe that the use of force was unjustified. In the United States, many citizens who experience police use of force claim that the force used was excessive or unjustified. For example, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, out of all the citizens in 2008 who had force used on them or were threatened by the use of force an estimated 84% stated that the actions were excessive or improper (BJS). For the citizens who are indirectly connected to police use of force, media sources covering police brutality give information to citizens when cases occur. Even though news media is a valuable source for citizens to gain insight on cases and learn how to react to situations if they do become directly involved in a similar situation, cases depicted through media may taint the perception that communities have on police officers. Media depictions of the event may fail to report on the entire incident as it occurred. Also, in cases that an officer is acting improperly towards a citizens, overexposure by the media can further distort the perception of the citizens on officers (Kuhns & Knutsson). To accurately represent what citizens viewed as appropriate conduct, Seron and Kovath created a study using surveys with different

scenarios of police misconduct in order to define public perception. In the research they found that legal obligations, professionalism, nature of police work, race, and political orientation are all factors that can affect the public perception in different brutality cases (Seron & Kovath). An Officers Perspective In contrast to the public perspective, street-level officers share a different perspective on what is justified when using force. Officers have to be aware of the other perspectives, especially of the public perspective, in order to be able to efficiently police an area with the least amount of tension between the two groups. The use of force is an effective tool used by officers to accomplish duties such as arresting a suspect or breaking up a fight between teenagers. In each situation that police encounter, the officer on scene must decide when and how much force is needed to gain control of the situation at hand. During these situations is where the officer must use discretion in order to maintain professionalism and not violate any policies. In police brutality cases, excessive force can cause legal, organizational, and public damage. In determining how much force should be used, an officer must react within their departments use of force continuum. Adversely, throughout American police departments there is no universal policy on use of force which means that each department can have very different policies regarding what type of force can be used. In addition to policies, officers must find a balance between professional, working, and operational controversies. In a survey of 121 police agencies across America, 2/3 of the officers agreed that the force of use allowed is substantial enough to perform daily tasks; however 43% of officers stated that rules regarding use of force do not always coincide with efficiently performing certain tasks (Weisburd). Overall, officers perceive their jobs as dangerous and the use of force allows officers to become dominant during situations in which the use of force is needed. By using what the officer deems as appropriate use of force,

he or she is able to protect themselves as well as accomplish the task at hand. The decision to apply force as well as how much force to be applied is an ongoing decision that officers must make during each encounter. The use of force to an officer is an essential tool in self-protection as well as daily policing. Conclusion In conclusion, many factors play a role in the use of force of an officer. Each situation in which use of force must be used is carefully evaluated by many different groups that all have different perspectives. Concerning the public perspective, negative tension can be created when excessive force is used in a citizens community. This tension affects both the citizens as well as the police. The major obstacle in Americas policing system is the lack of universal use of force policies which may be to blame for the variety of viewpoints that citizens have regarding what is deemed as justified or unjustified use of force. In order to more efficiently determine the justification of each case, both perspectives must be able to coincide to form an acceptable standard.