Police Brutality: Another form of Institutional Racism
By: Modesta Agbemaple
Police brutality is used to describe any excessive and unnecessary physical force, assault, or verbal abuse used by law enforcement when dealing with the public (ASA). The first police was initially known as slave patrols in 1704, a force designed to catch runaway slaves originating in the South lasting until 1861 (Sheppard). The first official police department was established in 1844 in New York City. It was split into day and night shifts. Corruption in the 19th century constructed a pavement for years of police discrimination, brutality and tenacious problems resisting change. Cop misconduct needs to come to an end because it’s diminishing departments’ authority and trust from the public.
The destruction of Reconstruction was one of the catalysts that led to the establishment of extreme police brutality. Under the Johnson administration, black codes and racial segregation was enforced in law and practice. Black codes were intended to criminalize, dehumanize, and prevent former slaves from succeeding in society. President Johnson did not support equal rights for Blacks but rather “violent police forces and the Ku Klux Klan” to keep African Americans in their place (Sheppard). These black codes prevented African Americans from obtaining jobs, from voting, and forced them under the control of whites. The codes also made it easier for police brutality to occur more often against Blacks.
Prior to the first official police department in the early 1840’s, cities around the nation wanted to find a way to fight corruption and crimes that had already emerged in order to protect citizens. Officers started with responsibilities such as night watch for fires, criminals and drunks (Bopp). Gradually as more men enrolled as cops, there were different dogmatic positions like managing traffic at depots and bridges. The passing of the 18th amendment, which prohibited alcohol in the mid 1850’s, resulted in arrests of thousands of drunks and vagrants. Physical force and sometimes beating was exercised in arresting these civilians. The beginning of violence between citizens and police officers only worsened as more strikers, unionists, and active individuals protested against the government for their own economic and civil rights. For example, in
1901 “gambling, prostitution, pickpocketing and cardshaping were all organized under the detective bureau” (Bopp). Due to these secret negotiations, more social and economic problems rose threatening the well being of individuals. In an initial attempt to fight corruption, workers in the police departments were the main suspects allowing such crimes. Although police reformation in the 1930’s was extremely emphasized for serious professionalism, misconduct still persisted.
Police reformation was not completely successful, which essentially depicts the authorities’ true character and willingness to ameliorate society’s issues, or lack thereof. For instance, because of the growing number of employees in the Chicago Police Department, there were more arrests for disorderly conduct (Johnson). Scandal and crime control was not suppressed yet increasing murder cases led to fearful civilians, and angry business people. In response, reformers organized the Chicago Crime Commission also known as the CCC, along with other anti-crime groups. As the world developed more technologically, police officers began to use flimsy reasons to convict individuals. For example, Black citizens were confined to specific neighborhoods and there was enforcement of de facto segregation, meaning racial separation (Johnson). Although there were a few African American police officers, race did play a major role in police brutality. This factor eventually placed the lives of many from a variety of racial backgrounds at risk.
Although police misconduct was common from the 1920’s to the present, its severity and importance tends to differ upon ethnicity (Tutch-Weitzer). For instance, in 1979 a Black woman, named Eulia Love was shot and killed by two police officers, whom she threatened with a knife (Tutch-Weitzer). Although her reason(s) for threatening them were not mentioned, whatever the reason it should not have lead to her death. A poll indicated that 51 percent of whites and 81 percent of blacks viewed this case as police brutality. It is understandable that African Americans had a higher percentage compared to Whites because of the color of her skin. The same pattern applies to the beating of Rodney King in 1991 by four white police officers. But it seems as though cop brutality is mainly targeted at minorities. For instance, due to immigration problems, in 1996 there was a beating of two Mexican immigrants by two sheriffs, which was broadcasted on television stations in the Los Angeles area. This brutal publicity diminished American citizens’ approval of the police, especially among Blacks and Latinos. Common occurrences of brutality have also shaken the people’s confidence in police authority. Different ethnic groups’ perception about police misconduct is significantly different amongst minorities than whites because of their experience with officers. According to the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), police brutality “compromises the physical and mental health of victims and their families while ignoring the need for psychological and social intervention and support of …officers.” John McKenna, a University of Maryland, College Park student suffered a concussion after a beating by a group of Prince George’s County officers during a basketball celebration. Like McKenna, many victims suffer from mental and physical injuries from police misconduct including skull fracture, post-traumatic cerebral edema, paralysis, and even death. Psychologically, individuals are also impacted with cases like paranoia, depression, stress and distrust. These consequences apply to the countless reasons of individuals’ lack of confidence in police departments. Police misconduct is normally characterized “by bias against minorities, attack against…civil rights and serious public health problem (SNMA)”. Police departments and Law and Order of the government are particularly responsible for this national calamity. In March of 1991, five officers were charged with murder in slaying a suspect in Queens NY (Fried, J.H.). Also in the same year, according to the New York Times, a Manhattan jury awarded $2 million to a man beaten by police. Despite the fact that officers are being punished for their misbehavior, most are not because of the lasting corruption pervading the in police system. As wicked a violation police brutality may be of civil rights, others believe it’s exaggerated. Yet these groups of citizens “agree that police must have authority of force, but [don’t want them] to use physical force in all situations (Arefi).” This statement is a paradox in and of itself because a force, causes an object, in this case an individual to do work or cause physical change. Therefore, physical change connotes that physical force had to be applied. Police misconduct is a serious violation of civil rights, but because police officers have a dangerous job, they’re allowed, as a last resort to use lethal force to subdue individuals (Human Rights Watch 26). The danger of the job is an illegitimate reason for police authorities to beat and mistreat individuals, simply because it may become challenging. There is no professionalism in this case because their actions are bias and subjective. According to police guidelines when it comes to using force, it “should be used in only the minimum amount needed to achieve a legitimate purpose (Mangan).” In contrast, an Amnesty International (AI) study has shown that there have been thousands of reports of assault against officers who “use excessive force and violate the human rights of their victims. (AI).” The prevalence of brutality is also due to the lack of communication between the justice system and police organizations that are major influences that can ameliorate this issue. Individuals cannot accomplish this atrocity all on their own; they need the cooperation from the justice system as well.
How can the public trust police departments with their lives and civil rights with so much brutality? Truthfully, they can’t confide in such authorities without a doubt in their minds. Though police officers fight to maintain order in such a chaotic world, their misconduct needs to come to halt.
Modesta is a college student in the Washington DC Metro Area. She can be reached at: magbemap@terpmail.umd.edu
