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Amanda Hall
Professor Grant
UWRT 1103
November 3, 2014

Police Brutality in America

Throughout the last few years, America has witnessed several cases concerning the
unjustified homicides of unarmed minority males by civilians as well as the law enforcement.
The epidemic seemed to reach headlines when a young man, Trayvon Martin, was shot by a
neighborhood watchman merely because Trayvons hood made him look suspicious. Another
case touched closer to home when a Charlotte man, Jonathan Ferrell, was gunned down by an
officer responding to a breaking and entering call. Jonathan Ferrell who had just been in a car
accident and was seeking help was shot at twelve times and actually penetrated by ten bullets.
(Weiss) Most recently, America has learned the name Michael Brown, a young man who was
also shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri in August of 2014. While the logistics of the
case seem to vary, it is known that Michael Brown was shot six times, two of which being in the
head. To many, excessive force seems to be prevalent in these cases and many others dealing
with minority males. To others, it is completely necessary for the safety of the officers as well as
bystanders to use all the force they deem necessary to subdue a suspect and maintain control over
an escalating situation. This difference in opinions raises an argument on the training of police
officers across the nation. How the departments handle controversial situations essentially
demonstrates their tolerance policy on aspects such as police brutality. To fully understand the

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degree of importance on police brutality, one must consider historical as well as present day
issues. The Civil Rights Movement, todays media involvement, as well as the degree of police
training all play vital roles in ceasing the rise of police brutality on minority people.
Looking into the Civil Rights movement one sees that the police and minority people,
especially people of African descent have always had a level of distrust between them. The
police were used to control the African American people rather than protect them as it was stated
in the constitution. Malcolm Homes, author of Minority Threat and Police Brutality stated that:
It is hardly surprising that many minority citizens distrust the criminal justice
system, just as many criminal justice agents distrust them. Nowhere is that tension
more apparent than in the relations between minorities and the police. (Holmes
343)
It is hard for a people to trust a group that was designed to conquer them in hopes of preserving
an irrational system of life often noted as white supremacy. During the Civil rights Movement, it
was acceptable for African Americans to be mistreated by not only white civilians, but by police
officers as well. In some instances, the police used fire hoses to control peaceful protestors. A
fire hose is a very powerful weapon especially when used at close range. The hose has enough
power to tear off a persons skin within seconds. As images of these events began to circulate the
world, people began asking what the hell is going on in America? What was occurring was the
backlash of hundreds of years of oppression and degrading acts.
Another aspect of the Civil Rights movement was the ability of officers to use force and
lock up children as young as six years old. This goes to show that any person of color is
considered a threat to a white police officer. African Americans could not even trust the police
officers to protect the little children who definitely could not protect themselves. To harm a child

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is to display that one has no level of morality within them. During the civil rights movement,
everyone and anyone with any degree of brownish skin was a target.
During the civil rights movement, the minority people forced the government to follow
through with the new acts and laws they were making. Instead of being intimidated by the police,
the minorities took several beatings and were arrested a number of times. They had to get their
point across that a change needed to be made, not eventually, but right then. After the movement,
police and minority civilian relations began to balance out. There was still a level of mistrust
however; the officers took more of an effort to equalize handlings of all people. While police
brutality did indeed make a drastic change post the civil rights, there still remained instances of
violence towards minorities.
The 1991 beating of Rodney King is one of the most noted cases of police brutality in
America. Rodney King was brutally beaten by Los Angeles police officers after a so called high
speed chase. Three officers stomped King and beat him with batons while other cops stood and
watched as another civilian happened to record the incident. The cameraman sold the video to a
local news station and it spread like wildfire. The video of the beating was soon displayed on
almost every news station possible. The beating of Rodney King soon became a national
phenomenon.
The media played a huge role in this phenomenon. While the nation was shocked at the
actions of white policemen to a black male, the minority people regarded it as a normal
occurrence. This incident was not the first case of vicious police brutality nor was it the last
however; the media took the video and made Rodney King a household name. It is obvious that
the media has a heavy influence on how citizens perceive events that occur. While some media
sources sympathized with King, others criminalized him. The news sources are required to carry

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straight facts but one must also remember that journalist and anchors can portray a situation any
way they see fit. They are without a doubt biased. In, The Politics of Force: Media and the
Construction of Police Brutality, Lawrence states that the media is able to empower or
marginalize an occurrence any way they please. She goes on to talk about the many times
some realities win more authority and legitimacy over others.
In the past couple of years it seems like the slayings of African American males has been
at an all time high. The question then arises, why is all of this occurring now. Assessing that
statement one cannot help but to wonder how many other young men have been killed by the
police. Who else was assaulted and their story just didnt reach headlines? The media is able to
pick and choose what they wish to display and how long they choose to display it. A local station
may tell the story of a woman assaulted by a cop but her violent, unrevoked act may be deemed
to miniscule for a top station such as CNN or something similar.
The only way to possibly end or greatly reduce the amount of misconduct of police
would be to make training more intensive. Officers would be more careful on the way they
handle certain situations if they knew that their department would not tolerate anything less than
the best judgment and reaction. It does take a special person to become a policeman therefore
training needs to be very intricate. Policemen are dealing with life and death situations of many
people. Not only do they have to consider protecting the suspects rights, they must protect the
innocent bystanders, they must uphold the law, and protect themselves. From a police officer
perspective, policing is not as easy as it seems.
Essentially it is up to the department on the methods they have for training police
officers. Every department has their own procedures and guidelines they follow that may differ

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from another. However, all departments should be held to a certain extent as to what is
acceptable and what is not in terms of handling situations.

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Works Cited
Lawrence, Regina G. The politics of force: Media and the construction of police brutality. Univ
of California Press, 2000.

Weiss, Mitch and Jeffery Collins. "Jonathan Ferrell, Unarmed Man killed in North Carolina
Was Shot 10 Times by Officer". Huffingtonpost.com. The Huffington Post, 16 Sept. 2013. Web.
16 Nov. 2013.

Worship, Richard. "Police Brutality". CQ Researcher 6 September 1991. Web. 29 October 2014.