An Analysis of Police Brutality

On Memorial Day 2020, a black man Derrick Chauvin was killed while being taken into police custody. His death led to an eruption of demonstrations across America and abroad that condemned police brutality and called for police reform (Eligon & Hubler , 2021). This campaign against police brutality was characterized by the words “Say his name” and “I can’t breathe.” The protests bore fruit as the Justice Department gave in to pressure to file criminal charges against the four officers connected to George Floyd’s murder. On April 20, 2021, the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck, Derek Chauvin, was found guilty of second and third-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter (Eligon & Hubler , 2021). The highly-publicized trial was a historical moment that ensured that police took accountability for their actions. Celebratory crowds received the sentencing of Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis and across America (Reuters, 2020). This is just one of the many incidents of police brutality against young black Americans in the United States. Several movements such as the “Black Lives Matters” movement have questioned the limits of legitimate police authority in a democratic society.

Police Brutality and Race

Police brutality is the process of using force beyond the legitimate and reasonable limits by the police to apprehend a suspect. According to Vago (2011), police brutality is mostly meted on young adults, the poor citizenry, minority groups, migrants and other “disreputable” individuals as per the police standards. The aforementioned groups are more likely to experience police brutality than their respectable “counterparts.” In the United States, black males are disproportionately affected by police brutality due to institutionalized racism and the need to control the black population systematically. African American youth have a higher likelihood of up to 21 times being shot and killed by the police than their white counterparts (Milner et al., 2016). In 2015, more than 100 unarmed black persons were killed by law enforcement officers (Carter,2017). Police brutality is intermixed with racial brutality, which stems from the history of slavery, Black Codes, and the Jim Crow segregation rules (Carter, 2017). There are very few instances where the police have been formally charged with using excessive force. In the cases where criminal charges are filed, the criminal’s race and the victim’s race play a role in the action taken against them. To have a comprehensive comprehension of police brutality, there is a need to examine the historical foundations of racial profiling, white privilege, police training, and other physiological factors that affect law enforcement behaviors.

The History of Racial Relations in the United States

Although several African Americans have prospered in their careers in recent years, the historical injustices on black people still affect the black community. The racism adopted during slavery and the Jim Crow period continues to affect them. The racial inequality appears to be reborn in new forms, tailored to the needs and constraints of the time. After the collapse of systems that oppress African Americans, the lawmakers committed to racial hierarchy look for other means to meet their objectives (Alexander, 2010). The original constitution of the United States was founded on the need to preserve a racial hierarchy system that was achieved through slavery while granting political and economic privilege to white people. The South declined to form the union until the federal government agreed not to interfere with their slave ownership rights. Although the document was colorblind, the constitution protected the rights of the slaveholders and further oppressed the slaves. The end of slavery after the civil war created a dilemma for the Southern States as the formal mechanism that supported racial hierarchy was no longer existent (Alexander, 2010). White supremacy was already widespread, and the belief that the African race was bestial served to ease the white conscience and reconcile the tension between the racial discrimination and the democratic ideals taken up by whites in the so-called New World.

After the Civil War, the proponents of White supremacy looked for various ways to maintain white control after the prohibition of slavery. The economy was facing a downturn as slaves were walking away from the plantations. This prompted the Southern legislature to adopt black codes that resembled slavery and the Jim Crow laws (Alexander, 2010). Ultimately the black codes were abolished, and other laws passed that protected freed slaves during the Reconstruction era. The federal laws also allowed black people to vote and declared the infringement of civil rights a crime.

The freedom was short-lived as the separation of races resurged in the South, advocated by the plantation owners who hoped to re-establish White control. The White elite was unimpressed by the gains made by African Americans during the Reconstruction era (Alexander, 2010). African Americans were now actively involved in political leadership and were on the rise to achieving social and economic equality. Segregation laws were a tangible alternative to achieve a hierarchical difference between low-income whites and African Americans. The discriminatory laws were created to encourage poor whites to maintain a sense of superiority over black people. The new racial order that segregated African Americans in public places is referred to as the Jim Crow regime.

The Jim Crow regime was brought to an end by the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights activists fought for the dignity of the African American people with extraordinary bravery despite the obstacles they faced. They launched boycotts, marches, sit-ins to call for racial reform and civil rights. Their efforts finally bore fruit as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which dismantled the Jim Crow system, was finally enacted. It was followed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which did away with the legal barriers that were placed to effective political participation by African Americans (Alexander, 2010). Proponents of the racial hierarchy were once again in a dilemma about achieving supremacy within the new rules of American democracy (Alexander, 2010). A new system of control that appeals to old racist sentiments was put in place to ensure that black people would not achieve racial equality. Politicians and the white elite took advantage of the mass riots during the Civil Rights Movement and the fear of black crime to harsh criminal legislation. Strict laws targeted at people were passed in Congress to win white voters who were against the enactment of the Civil Rights Act. The oppressive laws are a viable explanation for the rise of police brutality against African American people.

What this Particular Social Issue Tells Us About Studying the Social Construction of “The Law”

The Thomas Hobbes theory uses the social contract method to conclude that human beings have to submit to the authority of absolute sovereign power. He argues that a state without laws would be a dreadful place due to the complex nature of human beings (Hobbes, 1985). Human beings would act on their own accord with no obligation to the society they live in. An effective society would have a governing body that human beings answer, while the governing body would provide social comfort services. According to Hobbes, without a governing structure that makes laws, human beings would lack the social privileges and necessities that we freely enjoy in modern society. The mutual dependence of human beings and the governing body is what he termed a social contract (Hobbes, 1985). The social contract is unwritten and is inherited at birth, and obedience to the laws ensures that we reap maximum benefits from the governing structure. A significant weakness of this law is that it gives the ruling body so much power to make laws while disguising it as a protector of the people. In the police brutality case, most of the oppressive laws are made by the governing structure, which has been historically made up of white people who are not likely to understand the plight of black people. In this case, the contract ends up oppressing the minorities, the African Americans and favoring the majority.

Police brutality resulted from institutionalized racist foundations in the laws that were created to ensure that black minorities made little economic or social progress. The criminal justice system made up of both the federal and local government law enforcement agencies has actively participated in the enforcement of unfair racial profiling (Marshall, 2017). In several instances, police brutality is justified by blaming the individuals receiving the brutality. The power given to government institutions makes it difficult for the victims to seek justice as the social contract enables the ruling institution to oppress some of its citizens. While some respondents believe that race is a critical factor in the shootings that involve African Americans and the police, most white Americans believe that the actions of the police are justifiable due to the criminal nature of the Black suspects (Marshall, 2017). Most police officers have claimed to have felt a sense of fear before shooting African American males, even when the suspects are not armed. There is also a belief that black people can take in excessive force compared to other races due to their history as slaves. These unfavorable perceptions against blacks are used to create and take advantage of oppressive laws that mainly construct a racist system.

Although the US government acknowledges the existence of police brutality, systemic oppression still exists. Law enforcement officers typically represent the initial point of contact with the criminal justice system through racial discriminatory stops, searches, and arrests in the context of the war on drugs. The Civil Rights Acts enacted in 1964 termed the deprivation of an individual’s constitutional rights by government officials a crime. However, the vague wording of section 242 and several Supreme Court rulings that require a certain standard of civil rights violation makes it difficult for federal prosecutors to prosecute police officers (Reuters, 2021). For an effective social contract system, the police should not take advantage of their power to oppress the weak but instead protect them. All parties will gain mutual benefits if the criminal justice system prosecutes all lawbreakers based on the law, not based on race. It would also be beneficial to the state to protect the rights of the accused by providing fair court hearings and reasonable punishments.

Opinion on Police Brutality

Police brutality continues to affect the whole society, mainly due to its relation to race. It has led to the loss of lives to many people, especially black people. In the United States, instances of police brutality raise racial tensions as the police are rarely held accountable. African Americans are left feeling abandoned and an unfair target of the law. There is an urgent need to deal with the issue by reforming the criminal justice system and making necessary law changes. All the citizens need to understand their rights and the legal limits of the police force to ensure that the police stop using unlawful force on citizens and that the rogue ones are brought to justice. I believe that the primary obligation of law enforcement authorities is to protect their citizens regardless of their racial background. The United States should seek accountability from the Criminal Justice department and ensure that police brutality cases are reduced. Why Police Brutality is a Major Social Issue

The issue of systemic bias by the police has existed for over 100 years. It causes pain to the victims’ families and creates a racial divide between black people and whites. While it was easy for the perpetrators to get away with their crimes in the previous years, social media has now created a platform that gives the oppressed a chance to present their side of the story. Almost like the Civil Rights Movement era, police brutality is an issue that should be given attention and solved to bring to an end the history of racial bias. While the Black Lives Matter movement activists protest, the vicious cycle of silencing them has been witnessed as racial hierarchy proponents label them as criminals. They also face police violence during their protests, which indicates that black people are perceived as guilty even before breaking the law. Therefore, it is every citizen’s responsibility to lend their voice to this course for a just and united country.

The “so what” Factor

Police violence is an injustice that needs to stop. It creates a mistrust of government institutions by marginalized communities despite the government’s responsibility to protect them. All stakeholders, including all responsible citizens, must take the necessary action and understand its history to develop practical solutions. According to Levinson- King (2020), there are proposed legislative measures to address the inequities and reduce deaths in custody. The measures include:

Police departments across the country need to revise their “use of force” policies which dictate when and how to use force.

Limitation of military-like tactics during police training ensures they have a peacekeeper mentality when carrying out their duties.

Elimination of the qualified immunity for police ensures that they don’t get away with excessive use of force.

Accountability by the Criminal Justice Department by providing the data of police victims to the attorney general and the public to ensure that every case is reviewed by the prosecution.

References

Alexander, M. (2010).  The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness  (1st ed.). The New Press.

Carter, C. A. (2017). Police brutality, the law & today’s social justice movement: How the lack of police accountability has fueled #hashtag activism.  CUNY L. Rev. ,  20 , 521. Retrieved May 11, 2021, from  https://academicworks.cuny.edu/clr/vol20/iss2/12

Eligon, J., & Hubler, S. (2021, April 22).  Throughout trial over George Floyd’s death, killings by police mount . The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos. Retrieved May 11, 2021, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/17/us/police-shootings-killings.html

Hobbes, T. (1985).  Leviathan . Penguin Group.

Levinson-King, R. (2020, June 9).  Seven solutions to US police problems . BBC News. Retrieved May 11, 2021, from  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52981634

Marshall, L. (2017).  An examination of police brutality in the United States: Living and working in a state of fear  (Graduate). The University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Milner, A. N., George, B. J., & Allison, D. B. (2016). Black and Hispanic men perceived to be large are at increased risk for police frisk, search, and force.  PLOS ONE ,  11 (1), e0147158.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0147158

Reuters. (2020, November 10).  US criticized for police brutality, racism at UN rights review . NBC News. Retrieved May 11, 2021, from  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/u-s-criticized-police-brutality-racism-u-n-rights-review-n1247256

Vago, S. (2011).  Law and society  (10th ed.). Prentice Hall.