Police Brutality, Mass Demonstrations and Public Rallies - Essay Example

Therese Stockdale Christy Derr Sociology April 20, Police Brutality Introduction Police brutality can be taken to mean the excessive use of force or power by police officers when dealing innocent civilians or suspects. Essentially, it can be said to be the cruelty of law enforcement officers working under the state or federal authorities. According to Rucker and James (509) police brutality is an abuse of authority and power that can be expressed through physical, emotional and legal torture to the civilians by the police officers. Apparently, the law provides certain procedures that should be followed when handling violence cases. The code of conduct protects both the Police officers and the civilians. The cases of police brutality have been on the rise in recent history. For instance, a few years ago an unarmed National Guardsman was shot dead by a police detective in a highway traffic stop (Baez 2). In November 2006, a police brutality case was reported in Georgia where police officers shot dead an innocent old woman in her house without a legal warrant. It is alleged that the action by the police was founded on force information. Another police brutality case was witnessed at Illinois in October 2009. Surveillance cameras caught a police officer harassing an intellectually challenged child in a school for the disabled. The paper aims at discussing the incidences that may lead to police brutality and the appropriate procedure that should be followed in solving the problem. Mass demonstrations and public rallies Civilians and other organizations to express the freedom of expression and assembly use mass demonstrations and public rallies. The role of the police officers is to maintain law and order in such events. The role of the police officer reaches much further than standing and watching the demonstrators. They have to guarantee that there is no destruction of property, no forms of violence, and that there are no cases of theft and robbery among the crowd. In general, the police officers have to ensure that the protests are peaceful and that there is not any destruction of public property. However, things have been to the contrary. Police brutality has found its way through these avenues. It has become a common norm that the police are always against demonstrations and protests. Instead of protecting the protestors, they turn out to be the oppressors of human rights. Cases of police brutality have been witnessed in the US over the past few decades during the anti-war demonstrations. During the involvement of the US in the Vietnam War, American nationals protested against the involvement of the American military. The nationwide protests and demonstrations were characterized by excessive use of force of the police officers to quell the demonstrations. According to Apicelli (71), the anti-war protest and protest against killing of Martin Luther King in the 1960s were seen to be very brutal. The police dispersed demonstrators using tear gas and hitting them with billy clubs. War on drug trafficking and drug abuse The war against drug trafficking and abuse has always been one of the basic duties of police officers. Most crimes can be linked to drug abuse. The US consumes about 90% of the drug trafficked from Mexico. The state governments have invested heavily in the police departments to minimize crimes. Police officers have the duty to stop illegal activities by arresting the drug dealers and other criminals such as the illegal firearms traders. The police are supposed to arrest suspects and prosecute them in a court of law. However, many cases have been reported where the police torture suspects to get information. Serious cases of extrajudicial killing have also been reported in many parts of the world. The police have been reported to kill individuals who were found with drugs as a means of scaring drug dealers and traffickers. This is a form of brutality that prompts drug dealers to arm themselves as a form of safety and security against the police. Most of such cases lead to retaliation from the drug cartels. According to Stokes and Raphael (208), whenever the cases of drug trafficking and crime are high; the police are easily inclined to use extrajudicial killing as a way to control the situation. This is a form of brutality as the suspects are equally protected by the constitution. The right action would be to arrest the individual and charge them. However, the whole process would be in vain since most drug dealers and gang can run their operations while behind the bars. Police investigations and interrogations It is the duty of police officers to carry out investigations and interrogation of crime cases. Suspect should be arrested and put under police custody for questioning and later prosecution at the court of law. This should be done without any form of abuse or violating the right of the suspect. Interrogations are very crucial especially when there is insufficient evidence that an individual was involved in a crime. The police have to use all resources within their codes of conduct to extract information from the suspect. This has not always been the case. Cases of police brutality against suspects during interrogations and investigations have been frequently documented. The police use tactics to push the suspects to levels of confession and giving information. Suspects are traumatized through physical and psychological torture, which is against the law. Upon being arrested, suspects are taken to interrogation rooms, and when they are not cooperative with the police, the police opt to use force to coerce them into cooperation. There are suspects who lost their lives in the process of extreme brutality from the police. Suspects have also sustained physical wounds from the beatings by the police in the same process. Most of these suspects are usually treated in this manner in order to obtain information concerning the crime such as their associates and/ or fellow gang members. This is particularly common among drug dealers. The police prefer arresting the main supplier of the drugs. In the case of arresting a small time or minor dealer, they use them to get to the main suppliers. Brutality against suspects in the name of interrogation can also be related to the arrest of an individual who might have offended or even killed one of the police officers. The brutality becomes a form of retaliation from the police for one of their own. Protection of minorities and the marginalized groups The US is composed of residents of many races. The Constitution guarantees protection for all people as long as they are American citizens. The government does this through its police force. Racial discrimination against the African-Americans, Asians, homosexuals and other minorities have been very rampant in the public. The police are supposed to protect these people without bias. Unfortunately, some of the police are radicals of such discrimination and hence treat these groups of people with brutality. Cases have been reported of police who shot African-Americans innocently. These are historical issues that need to be handled. The radicalization of the police force against minority groups is more of a personal orientation. There are individuals in the police force who have these negative biases against the various minorities and participate in the police brutality against these groups. Conclusion The police have been empowered to ensure that civilians are safe and protected. The Constitution guarantees protection for all American citizens regardless of whether one is a criminal, suspect, protestor or demonstrator. The police have not been upholding this noble duty. Most situations have turned into brutality and violation of human rights. In the process of their operations, some police officers have been found to misuse the power mandated to them by going beyond their limits and beyond their codes of conduct. The police have duties to ensure peaceful demonstrations, fight drug trafficking, handle interrogations and protect the minority groups. Instead, the police have taken to using this mandate to violate the rights of the citizens. The same duties given to the police have been turned into forms of violence and brutality. However, some of the brutality can be associated with the personal orientation of the police other than the whole police systems. For example, there are police officers who are against particular minority groups and end up misusing their power and control to violate the rights of such groups of people Works Cited: Rucker, Walter C, and James N. Upton Encyclopedia of American Race Riots: Vol. 2. Westport, Conn [u.a.: Greenwood Press, 2007. Print. Apicelli, Toni. Sixties Story Indianapolis: Dog Ear, 2010. Print. Stokes, Doug, and Sam Raphael Global Energy Security and American Hegemony Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010 Print. Baez, Iris. Are the police getting away with murder? Retrieved on 30th April 2005 from: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/12/opinion/baez-police-garner-michael-brown-chokehold/ Read More