Racial profiling in law enforcement is a prevalent social issue across the United States. It occurs regularly in cities and towns when law enforcement officers target individuals for unwarranted searches, detention, and humiliation based on their skin color. Black people are often subjected to police brutality resulting from racially biased policing (Weir, 2016). The brutal treatment of African-American suspects by the white law enforcers has become a controversial social issue following the brutal killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white officer about two months ago.
On May 25 th , an officer from the Minneapolis Police Department killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck and suffocating him to death (Michener, 2020). This was despite persistent pleading by the victim, telling the officer that he was unable to breathe. Floyd was a suspect in a forgery crime, which prompted the officers to take the heinous action. The arrest was brutal, and the viral video showed that for more than eight minutes, Floyd struggled for his life before he could no longer breathe (Michener, 2020). The incidence is one among many others where racial profiling has resulted in racial biases in policing. Black lives have been lost as a result of police brutality.
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The actions of the white officers in the above incidence portray both their implicit and explicit racial attitudes. Implicit attitudes represent the unconscious perception that individuals have about the world and the people around them. On the other hand, explicit attitudes are the conscious beliefs and views that individuals have about other people in their social context. Studies reveal that implicit and explicit biases have a significant influence on people's behavior (Hall et al., 2016). For instance, the racial stereotype that labels black people as criminals triggered a pervasive implicit racial bias against Floyd by the white officer (Blanton, & Jaccard, 2008). The white officer probably assumed that Floyd was armed because he was a black man, thus the brutal arrest. The officer was influenced by prejudiced implicit beliefs about black people to use unreasonable force to make the arrest (Weir, 2016). The white officer's insensitive responses and harshness to Floyd's pleas depict an explicit attitude towards the black man. The actions and words portray the officer's explicit bias towards Floyd for being a black man.
Implicit attitudes and beliefs have a significant impact on intergroup behavior. In the above case, it results in racial profiling and discrimination against George Floyd. The unconscious biases that the officer had towards the suspect's race influenced his behavior. He perceived Floyd as a potential threat to his safety, leading to the inhumane arrest. Therefore the negative associations about backs implicitly influenced the actions of the white officers.
References
Blanton, H., & Jaccard, J. (2008). Unconscious racism: A concept in pursuit of a measure. Annu. Rev. Social , 34 , 277-297.
Hall, A. V., Hall, E. V., & Perry, J. L. (2016). Black and blue: Exploring racial bias and law enforcement in the killings of unarmed black male civilians. American Psychologist , 71 (3), 175.
Michener, J. (2020, June 11). The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/11/george-floyds-killing-was-just-spark-heres-what-really-made-protests-explode/
Weir, K. (2016). Policing in Black & white . https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/12/cover-policing
