Police Brutality Essay
Police Brutality Essay
Reginald Stuart published an article on New York Times in April of 1981 talking about the rising cases of police brutality in particular against the black Americans in Orleans. Over the previous six months, there had been a series of police shootings of the American black people which were raising the already high tension. At least nine black Americans had been shot, and there were a series of protests that provoked the issue of use of excessive force. In all the cases, seven were very brutal and fatal, but no police officers were injured. The incidents were under investigation by two grand juries, one which was state and the other federal, and worked independently of each other. In the part of the police, there were suspensions, resignations, and at least a dismissal. The City Council had also started getting proposals from an independent agency which wanted to investigate the complaints against city employees especially the police.
Police Brutality Essay
The relationship between the police and the black Americans was not that great, especially in states where only a small number of the black Americans were part of the police force. There was also a history of isolated violent cases, for example, one that occurred in 1970 between the National Committee to Combat Fascism, and the police. The National Committee to Combat Fascism had been closely associated with the Black Panther Party. According to the Orleans Parish district attorney, “These incidents indicate to me that there should be some reassessment of police methods.” On the other hand, the Police Association of New Orleans President, Ronald Cannatella said that “You can’t take a few isolated incidents and say we’ve got a problem. You can’t say this is how we are relating to the community as a whole.” As Mr. Connick noted, most of the relevant cases involved young officers, while the most controversial were involved with the officers who had been in the force for a while.
The most of the controversial cases, black American citizens complained of harassments and at times beatings. Even with the changes that were being made especially in the police department, like police resigning and others being laid off, the American black people did not think that anything much would change. At the end of the day, their representation in the police force was less than 25 percent, and they doubted if the rest had their best interest at heart.
Police Brutality Essay
The topic of the article very much resonates with what is happening in the society today. Police brutality has become so rampant, and it’s not easy to just sit back and watch, especially when so many people are losing their lives. People unite and go to the streets, and wit today’s technology social media is full of supportive messages and people standing by each other. That seems to be much, but little is done on the ground to change the situation and make sure that no one else ends up dead simply because of the color of their skin. Politicians use the issue during campaigns and promise the black American community that things will be better once they are elected, but nothing much is done. It’s been the same story over the years. Policies are made, and people are assured of their safety, but after sometime things go back to the same story of police brutality.
Police Brutality Essay
STUART, REGINALD. “SHOOTINGS BY POLICE ROIL NEW ORLEANS.” NewYork Times. April 21, 1981. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/21/us/shootings-by-police-roil-new-orleans.html.
JOHN SHAMMAS. “Horrified Girlfriend Live Streams Boyfriend Philando Castile’s Death on Facebook Seconds ‘after He Was Shot by Police Officer.” Mirror. July 07, 2016. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/horrified-girlfriend-live-streams-boyfriend-8367290