Sherrod 1

Chanel Sherrod
Professor Debra Dagher
UWRT 1102
15 April 2015
Notes on Main Sources
RACE AND POLICE BRUTALITY: ROOTS OF AN URBAN DILEMMA
What I think the book is going to be about: from the title I draw that the book
is going to look into racial profiling and analyze what accounts for police brutality
concentrating on urban areas with a high amount of minorities.
What I drew from the book:

Outlines many police brutality cases throughout the last 35 years.

"...police brutality is a grim symptom of intractable inter-group dynamics
involving racial and ethnic minority citizens and the police officers who patrol

their neighborhoods."
To them police brutality and prejudices are intertwined. With one comes

another,
Police brutality is the use of excessive force against a minority whether it be

Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, etc.

This book explores why police brutality is so eminent and why it seems to be

targeted more so towards minorities than any other group.

Aligns with the black lives matter ideology

Leads me to question: Is this a biased view of police brutality? Is police brutality

truly solely a racial matter? What causes police brutality in the first place?

Sherrod 2
GENDER, RACE, AND URBAN POLICING: THE EXPERIENCE OF AFRICAN
AMERICAN YOUTHS
What I think the article is going to be about: This article, just by the title leads
me to believe that this will provide analysis of what it is like to be an African
American youth in urban areas and how they get treated. It could also explore why
urban policing is the way it is.
What I drew from the book:

specifies that it isn't the race of the minority especially African Americans but

more so the environment

People that live in poor urban living developments fall victim to the

proverbial "short end of the stick".

They get less police protection, are more likely to get disproportionate police

force and frequent stops by the police.

Minorities seem to be targeted because many live in bad areas.
the facts and figures suggesting that minorities get treated harsher are

misleading because they do not look at all potential reasons

That even though environment is a factor the disproportionate amount of

African American youths dying at the hands of police officers are alarming.
Aligns with the all lives matter movement

Leads me to question: Do police officers come into tremendous harm in their line
of work? Ae these dangerous areas where they get hurt the most? Are police officers
just defending their selves?

BATTERED POLICE: RISK FACTORS FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST LAW

ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

Sherrod 3
What I think the article is going to be about: I think this article is going to
outline what it actually takes to be a policeman and what they go through on the
daily basis. And provide statistics on the harm they do come to experience on the
job.
What Ive drawn from the article:

Statistical analysis for the amount of police officers killed or injured in the line

of duty.
the majority of officers harmed were white with blacks coming in second that

is only probable because the majority of officers are white

this could potentially be misleading if taken out of context
most of the instances of police harm originated in poor urban communities
Closely tied to "Gender , Race, and Urban Policing"
Maybe the reason police are more likely to be excessively forceful is because

they also come in contact with harm as well.

This provides another factor to take into account when looking at police
Is police brutality as a whole, without cause or is it in self-defense?
More in the middle but leaning towards the all lives matter ideology

Leads me to question: What environment does the bureaucracy create that puts
the policemen in harms way? Are there any policies that help to reinforce right and
wrong and what liberties the officers do and dont have?

POLICE CULTURE AND COERCION

Sherrod 4
What I think this article is going to be about: This article will most likely talk
about the environment that police are put in and what culture comes with it.

police brutality is tied closely with coercion and police culture overall
The expectation that come with being a police officer opens the door to police

brutality
There aren't any policies directly enforcing police brutality but the 'tougher'

you appear to be the more respected you are

there are specific policies enacted to keep the police officers honest like dash

and body cameras which has increased police accountability

This article puts the blame of police brutality and other wrong doings on the

pressure of respectability and what it means to be a cop.

Long story short, being a police officer is not meant for the weak and those

who cannot handle pressure should not enlist

This article doesnt really have a stance but it takes the accountability and
places it on the system and the flaws it has.

Leads me to question: Why are the standards so high and hard to attain?
Shouldnt there be more ways to ensure efficiency without pressuring the police
officers so much?