The legal system exists to ensure that the guilty are convicted of their crimes no matter their social, political, or economic standing to enhance justice and equality. This proposition rings true especially if one considered a homogenous nation like the US, which is home to many racial groups. However, this nation continues to grapple with racial inequalities, which are perpetuated by law enforcement agencies and the legal system. Every now and then, law enforcement officers target the members of the minority racial groups while many more others face excessive, selective, and discriminatory police brutality. The phenomenon where the minorities die in the hands of the same officers who are supposed to protect them has become a norm with no hope of reprieve. The media is awash with news involving racist law enforcement officers who are acquitted of murder and manslaughter due to lack of substantive evidence. Most of the times though, there is enough evidence to convict the law enforcement officers but the racialized legal system dismisses such cases. As a result, the US minority racial groups are denied justice as they are doomed to continue dying at the hands of the racist officers.
The Extent of Racial Police Brutality
Police brutality is a term which when mentioned, brings up racial connotations as the police tend to use more force while handling members of minority racial groups. The members of minority racial groups are treated with suspicion, which explains why they make up most of the prison's population. According to Gramlich (2018), minority groups have continually outnumbered whites in American prisons in spite of these racial groups constituting only about 20 percent of the US total population. At this point, it is important to establish who the members of the minority racial groups are to give a clear picture. The racial groups that are targeted by the racist police include the African Americans, Latinos, and Hispanics. The police are usually prejudiced against these minority groups as they followed a patterned trend set by the American nation. The American society has deep-seated racial formations, which are perpetuated in the political, social, and economic spheres. The police departments exist to perpetuate these racial connotations considering that it is at the center of American public sphere.
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Statistics continue to paint a grim picture of how police brutality is informed by racial connotations. In 2012, 31 percent of the people that were killed by the police were African Americans in spite of these race representing 13 percent of the total American population. In the same year, the Latinos who were killed by the police were 12 percent of the total victims while the whites comprised 52 percent. This trend has continued to take shape as evidenced by the current statistics. In 2015, 62.7 percent of all the unarmed individuals killed by the police were drawn from the racial minorities (Lopez, 2018). From these statistics, one can clearly establish that the police targeted the individuals based on their racial background considering they were unarmed. These statistics point to one thing that police are more likely to shoot individual from minority groups due to deep-seated racial biases.
The Nature of Racist Police Brutality
Police brutality is likely to take many forms, which are meant to inflict pain to the suspects. The American criminal justice system rides on the belief that the minority groups are likely to get involved in criminal activities owing to their disadvantaged social, economic, and political standing. As a result, minority neighborhoods are more likely to have more police officers in patrol ready to pick out any suspicious criminal. Essentially minority groups are suspects of drug peddling, usage, and sale, violence, burglary, and homicides. The excessive police patrol puts the lives of the minority groups at more risk of becoming police brutality victims as compared to their white counterparts (Obasogie and Newman, 2017). The high levels of bias that has been perpetrated by the society are responsible for endangering the lives of the minorities. In turn, the police scrutinize all the activities of the minority groups without allowing them a chance to defend themselves.
Racial connotations are not only entrenched in the law enforcement officers but also in the minds of the members of the minority racial groups. The members of the racial groups are aware of the existing negative connotation that is associated with their very existence. Essentially the members of the minority groups are likely to treat the law enforcement officers with equal suspicion, which increase their chances of becoming the target for police brutality (Ellawala, 2016). It is not a surprise to see the members of the minority groups evading the police for fear of being subjected to untold police brutality. The law enforcement officers, in turn, interpret this fear as guilt on the part of the citizens, which makes them police targets. This fear also makes minorities fail to advance their cause to seek fair treatment. As a result, they are subjected to all kinds of police brutality ranging from torture, mutilation, imprisonment, and ultimately death.
Reasons why Police Brutality against Minorities Continues To Persist
Police brutality continues to persist and thrive in spite of the deaths and suffering it causes to its victims. The media constantly reports of all the deaths and police brutality cases that have racial connotations, yet the number of individuals who die every year continues to rise. At this point, one would conclude a faction of the criminal justice system is not doing it works of protecting all citizens. The legal system is to be blamed for the perpetual police brutality considering that this system offers punitive measures to deter criminals. The legal system has continually let racist officers off the hook citing insufficient evidence. This was the case during the trial that involved the police officers who killed Alton Sterling in 2016. The Department of Justice established that there was not enough evidence to justify that the officers violated Sterling rights under the Fourth Amendment (Grinberg, 2017). The same goes for other trials involving Philando Castile, Terence Crutcher, and Samuel DuBose. The court has determined that the law enforcement officers worked within the legal provisions to the disadvantage of the victims’ families.
Police brutality continues to thrive owing to deep-seated racial biases that cut across the criminal justice system. The police are the most affected and they treat the minorities groups with suspicion, which is reason enough to kill them. The blacks are the most affected perhaps being the reason for the formation of the Black Lives Matter movement. In one instance, an officer killed Philando Castille just because the occupants of his car looked like robbery suspects. The occupants were black and one had a wide set nose (Grinberg, 2018). These racial biases are considered reason enough to stop a vehicle or an individual and bring all forms of allegations to guarantee police brutality. Racial bias has continued to plague policing who do not rely on evidence but rather the racial connotations associated with the minority groups. The racial biases are rooted in procedures, policies, and laws emanating from the justice system, which disproportionately affect people of color. Because of these biases, people of color are subjected to stop-and-frisk policies and arrests for low-level crimes, which end up in mandatory minimums in sentencing. These provisions, in turn, put the people of color at the risk of being killed as they are more exposed to police scrutiny as compared to the whites.
Police officers get away with racially castigated brutality, manslaughter, and death, as they tend to get the benefit of the doubt. This tradition starts in the police department policies and standard operating procedures, which allows the police to base their actions on perceived danger. In this case, the police are allowed to use deadly force when they perceive that a particular individual is likely to cause significant threat to the officers and others. Essentially, the law enforcement officers are given the leeway to make this determination but it is obvious that there are chances of allowing room for biases, which can be deadly. The benefit of doubt continues onto the courtroom where the defendants are usually presumed innocent until the verdict is rendered beyond unreasonable doubt. During the courtroom trials, there must be substantive findings that establish that the officer intentionally or willfully sought to kill someone. In most cases, the officers tend to claim that the dead victims made sudden moves or flashed a gun, which prompted the officers to kill the victim (Ellawala, 2016). Most often than not, the jurors tend to side with the officer believing that the police officer was defending himself or herself. Most of the times the plaintiffs are not able to provide this kind of evidence considering that the police are always treated more fairly. It is thought that the police officers always act within the confines of the law with the aim of protecting the public interests. As a result, few cases end up in conviction and the police officers are allowed to go scot-free which increases their threat to the public.
Racist officers who perpetuate police brutality end up free owing to the fact that jurors view the evidence from a different perspective as opposed to the public. Unlike the public which is emotional and which views evidence partially, the jury is able to evaluate and analyze all the pieces of evidence in a less emotional way. The public relies on the jurors to come up with the final verdict in spite of their being enough evidence against the offending officers. The jurors tend to sit through long hours of police testimonies, eyewitness accounts, and footage to determine what really happened. In as much as the evidence may appear incriminating, the jurors must rely on the existing state laws and standard operating procedures to come up with objective verdicts (Grinberg, 2018). These laws and provisions tie the jurors as they allow officers to act based on their perceptions of imminent danger. In this case, one can already see that the cases are likely to favor the police officers who are highly believable in their attempt to secure the public. As a result, the jurors end up acquitting the police officers especially if they are following the law to the letter.
Law enforcement work is an extremely tough job, which contributes to high levels of stress, which are then transferred to the suspects. The media has done less to ease the burden of law enforcement officers by demonizing the police shootings. Essentially, the media posts disheartening police shooting video something that leads to the compounding of outrage. The racist police officers seize this opportunity offered by this demonization to act tough against the suspects. Instead of relying on logic and reason, most officers become quite emotional whenever the suspects trigger them. Other officers tend to internalize the fact that they work within racial confines and find it hard to teat individuals from minority races with trust (Roithmayr, 2016). This factor of high-stress levels can help the police officers to escape conviction since the courtroom is likely to accept it as true. The jurors may establish that the police officers may have been overwhelmed by the suspects thus the decision to shoot the victims. At the end of it, the demonization does not help to bridge the widening gap but rather works to affirm it.
The police enjoy autonomy as their duties involve the securing of public interests. Being at the center of the criminal justice system, they are more likely to receive better treatment even when they are in error. The US law enforcement officers are highly militarized which prepares them to handle complicated individuals and situation. While the militarization can come in handy for greater threats, the law enforcement officers use this excessive force on suspects. The militarization mentality comes into play since the training has taught them to handle all situations with suspicion. Perhaps this is the reason why most racist police officers do not take time to understand the victims as they are taught to shoot and kill to eliminate the threat. It is possible that this mentality is transferred to the courtroom, which justifies their actions. The legal system is more likely to side with the law enforcement officers who are viewed as individuals who do all it takes to keep the nation safe.
What Needs To Be Done To Deal with the Racist Officers?
Racist officers who base their judgments upon racial differences instead of basing it on evidence must be dealt with to reduce unnecessary deaths. The first place to start is in the legal system, which continually acquaints these officers giving them a leeway to kill Americans that are more innocent. From the discussion, it is evident that most of the time the jurors allow the officers to go scot-free owing to lack of substantive evidence and existing state laws. The state laws as established tend to give the officers much freedom when it comes to using excessive forces. The police officer mainly claims that the suspect resisted arrest, wielded a weapon or made sudden movements. Perhaps it is high time that these state laws and operating procedures became reviewed to seal out the gaping loopholes. In this case, these state laws tend to place the police officers on a pedestal meaning that the complaints have to give irrefutable evidence. The evidential threshold that is placed for the complainants is so high and is usually unmet in most instances leading to acquittals. It should be understood that acquitted racist officers will continue with the racist trend which will increase the number of victims dying in the hands of the police.
Police officers just like any other professions require more training to change their mindset. It is true to say that the American society is stratified along racial lines and Americans including the police have come to internalize these racial inequalities. Efforts to end racial inequalities have more often than not failed to achieve the desired objectives owing to the existing resistance. The police have internalized the racial inequalities the most owing to the fact that they spend most of their working hours on the streets and the neighborhoods (Carter, 2017). One would feel that it is high time that the police departments realized that they have a responsibility of protecting all Americans in spite of their racial affiliation. Instead of relying on the existing stereotypes, the police should act within the legal provisions of probable cause. Even with probable cause, the police should be trained to handle all suspects with dignity by resisting the temptation to use excessive cause. The law courts should enforce these provisions by relying on other states that focus on protecting the dignity of the public.
The issue of racism in policing is more of a personal issue as opposed to a departmental issue. It should be noted that not all police officers are racists since there are police officers who oppose the issue of racism. In this case, the legal system should endeavor to weed out these officers to ensure that they do not continue killing innocent officers. The legal system should place effective mechanisms in place to determine the motives behind the shootings. It is possible that there are genuine officers who shoot their victims as a means of self-defense while there are others who do so out of pleasure or racial bias. The current provisions are yet to do so considering that the legal system gives the police more credit than they actually deserve. An effective mechanism will ensure that the jurors not only rely on police accounts but rather have another authenticating procedure (Roithmayr, 2016). Witness accounts tough emotional should be put into consideration as well as the officer's prior misconducts and records. It is possible that scrutiny would reveal that the concerned officer has a racist tendency, which may help solve the case.
Minority groups being the targets of racist police brutalities must take up the course to champion for the rights of the suspects. Over the years, there have been attempts to decry the disheartening killing of innocent individuals owing to their color. The efforts have not gone far considering that they lack political representation. However, this has not deterred them from letting society know that it is high time that the police officers treated them with dignity. Black Lives Matter is one such movement that has gotten national recognition and which may help deter future racist officers. The movement champions for the better treatment of black suspects instead of relying on emotions or racial connotations (Carter, 2017). Future events should let the police officers understand that policing is not about the use of force but it must embrace both communication and problem-solving skills. For the most part, the police opt to use force while handling suspects something that triggers resistance. The police tend to forget that they can get public cooperation if they used the right communication and problem-solving skills. The public is willing to work with the police in enhancing security only is the police are willing to collaborate.
In conclusion, racist police officers continue to take innocent lives owing to the existing misleading stereotypes, which put minority groups at the center of criminal activities. The legal system, which is expected to protect the rights of all Americans in spite of their skin color, has failed to convict these officers. Most often than not the police officers, are acquitted for lack of substantive evidence against them. Essentially the legal system bases the arguments on police operating procedures and state laws, which give the police officers more leeway while handling suspects. Most of the times the police account establish that they are forced to use excessive force when they believe that the suspects are capable of causing danger to the police and others. More often than not, the witness accounts are not used in such proceeding, as they are considered more emotional as opposed to being factual. It is high time that the concerned authorities increased police training so that they engage in communication with the suspects instead of using force. In this way, all the Americans will feel safer in spite of their racial affiliation.
References
Carter, C. A. (2017). Police brutality, the law & today's social justice movement: how the lack of police accountability has fueled #hashtag activism. City University of New York Law Review, 20 (2), 521-556.
Ellawala, T. I. (2016). Pulling the trigger: dehumanization of African Americans and police violence. Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark , 2 (1), 1-9.
Gramlich, J. (2018). The gap between the number of blacks and whites in prison is shrinking. Pew Research Center. Retrieved on 3 April 2019 from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/12/shrinking-gap-between-number-of-blacks-and-whites-in-prison/
Grinberg, E. (2017). Why the feds did not file charges in Alton Sterling's death. CNN. Retrieved on 3 April 2019 from https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/03/us/alton-sterling-death-federal-charges/index.html
Grinberg, E. (2018). Why police-involved shooting trials rarely end in convictions for officers. Retrieved on 3 April 2019 from CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/23/us/police-deadly-force-trials/index.html
Lopez, G. (2018). There are huge racial disparities in how US police use force . Vox. Retrieved on 3 April 2019 from https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/8/13/17938186/police-shootings-killings-racism-racial-disparities
Obasogie, O.K., & Newman, Z. (2017). Police violence, use of force policies, and public health. American Journal of Law & Medicine, 43 (2017), 279-295.
Roithmayr, D. (2016 ). The dynamics of excessive force. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 2016 (10), 407-436.
