Introduction

The police are tasked with the mandate to maintain and enforce law and order. However, the maintenance of the decree must be strictly done within the confines and requirements of the constitution. As such, the police officers are supposed to treat every civilian as well as their colleagues with decorum and respect while exercising their duties. Unfortunately, a majority of the police officers go against the demands of the law in the discharge of their legal mandates through using brutality on innocent and undeserving civilians.

Police brutality is the unnecessary, excessive and illegal use of force by the police officers on the civilians. It involves assaulting of the civilians by the police officers, unwarranted beatings, cruelty and in worst case scenario, death. Moreover, the brutality by the police officers may also involve harassment, threatening civilians and verbal slander against the citizens (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). In the past, police officers who took part in actions of brutality were permitted to do so by the legal systems and as such, the legal structures approved the employment of excessive force on civilians especially during the civil rights lobby period.

In the modern days, police officers who are party to brutality act with the approval of their bosses or a majority of them may be dishonest and unprincipled agents (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). In both scenarios, the police officers participate in brutal actions against the civilians in the pretense of maintaining law order and afterward engage in covering up their dirty actions especially after demonstrations and outcry from the public (Williams, 2015). Moreover, most of the police officers who take part in brutality receive protection from their bosses and in most cases, any effort to prosecute them ends up in futility due to intimidation of witnesses, threatening of the victims and tampering with the evidence. As such, pursuing guilty officers becomes challenging and complicated.

Role of Class, Race, Gender and other Forms of Inequality and Privilege

In the United States, race, gender, class and inequality play a role in police brutality. Ethnicity and race are central in policing in most societies around the globe (Jee-Lyn García, & Sharif, 2015). Individuals from minority groups or ethnic upbringing are taken to be of low socio-economic standing than the rest of the people, and as such, they are more susceptible to harassment and intimidation by the police officers (Holmes & Smith, 2008). In the United States, the Hispanics have an atrocious association with the police officers than their white counterparts. However, the relationship between the Hispanics and the officers is far much better than the alliance between African-Americans and the police.

Conversely, the relationship between the officers and citizens is as a result of factors such as the manner in which the groups entered the country and the group attitudes and perceptions towards the police.  The African American has negative perceptions and attitudes towards the police with most blacks disrespecting the officers even in public (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). As such, the African Americans are the easiest victims of police brutality in the United States than the whites or the Hispanics. Though the Hispanics are also victims, the level of harassment, force or verbal slander against them is not as much as that involving the African Americans (Jee-Lyn García, & Sharif, 2015).

In America, a high percentage of the population consists of the whites followed by the Hispanics with the African Americans being the third most populated group of people (Williams, 2015). Research suggests that police brutality is meted out more on the blacks than any other race in America with the situation becoming worse if it involves a white policeman and a black civilian (Ross, 2015). As such, most African Americans end up being harassed and forcefully handled by the police without following the due process of the law. On the other hand, the whites are treated as people with status and class in the society and as such, they are not harassed or mistreated by the police officers.

In addition to the race and status of an individual in the United States, gender and age determine an individuals’ contact with the police. The youths have a higher chance of coming in touch with the police compared to the old (Williams, 2015). Also, the women and the girls may not have so much contact with the police, but when they come into interaction, the experiences are likely to be less dramatic and chaotic than the male counterparts. However, regardless of the age, a person’s race will determine the extent of the brutality by the police with the young racial marginal men being more prone to the brutality by the police officers than their counterparts.

The Role of the Government and other Non-State Actors

To curb the problem of police brutality, there have been severe measures taken by both the governments and non-governmental organizations. The United States government through the various elected representatives has passed laws that prohibit any police officer from harassing innocent civilians. Moreover, the non-state bodies have been at the center stage of addressing the problem of police brutality through holding demonstrations and vigils to seek an end to the harassment (Ross, 2015). A majority of the cases of police assaults are never reported because of fear of the consequences by the victims, the families, and the entire public. As such, the non-state actors in collaboration with the government have continued to empower and educate the public, and this has helped them overcome fear and can report the cases of police brutality to the relevant authorities.

The Root Causes of Police Brutality

Cases of police brutality have continued to elicit debate and concern from the public as well as the enforcers of the law. Throughout the history of America, issues of violence especially brutality by the police and excessive employment of force is very common (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). One of the root causes of the brutality is discrimination by a person’s race. According to research (Holmes & Smith, 2008), about 89% of the individuals who died while under the custody of the New York Police between the years 1990 and 1994 comprised of the African Americans and people of Hispanic origin. Moreover, a high percentage of the population in America agrees that most cases of brutality by the police are as a result of discrimination by color and social status in the society (Jee-Lyn García, & Sharif, 2015). For example, the whites are assumed to have a high status in America than the Hispanic or the blacks, and as a result, they are not subjected to police brutality as much as their Hispanic and African American counterparts.

In addition, another cause of the police brutality is the perceived past behavior and attitudes of certain people in the United States. For example, the blacks are assumed to be more arrogant and more likely to be on the wrong side of the law with regards to drugs and other illegal activities (Holmes & Smith, 2008). As such, because of this perception, the African Americans are more likely to be beaten, harassed and abused verbally by the police compared to their white counterparts.

The Impact of Police Brutality to Individuals and Community

Police brutality has adverse effects on the individual victims, the communities and the society as a whole. Victims of harassment by the police officers experience mental and physical suffering. In most cases, victims of brutality by the police suffer from damage in the brain and broken bones. Also, a majority of the victims develop post-traumatic stress disorder which results in panic attacks, drug and substance abuse and other psychological conditions. As a consequence, this ends up affecting the families of the victims as well. Further, the brutality by the police also negatively affects the community and the entire society. The blacks are more prone to police brutality compared to the whites (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). As such, this escalates racial tensions in the society which may result in violent fights involving the police and the civilians. Moreover, police brutality promotes a culture of mistrust and fear between the police and the minority groups in the society. As such, individuals from the marginal group may not be enthusiastic to call the cops in the event an actual crime is committed because of a feeling of mistrust and fear towards the police officers.

Responses by Citizens to Police Brutality

Civilians in the United States mostly respond to police brutality through demonstrations and holding vigils. People do this with the intention to notify the authorities especially the president of the incidents of brutality by the police. Also, other victims report the cruelty to various police departments with the hope that the perpetrators will be brought to justice (Bonilla and Rosa, 2015). Notably, other Citizens and victims reveal the names of the police officers involved in harassing the civilians either on radio, by use of placards and on social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. However, reporting the officers to their bosses do not do the victims any good because the police officers will get away with the excessive use of force on civilians through receiving protection from the bosses. Demonstrations also do not achieve much in curbing police brutality in the society because the cause of the brutality by the police remains unsolved (Jee-Lyn García, & Sharif, 2015). More civilians end up being harassed and beaten more by the officers during demonstrations and vigils.

Conclusively, revealing the names of the police officers involved do not achieve much because prosecuting the accused officers becomes difficult and complex due to lack of evidence and intimidation of witnesses and victims. As such, the victims continue to suffer while the guilty officers continue to walk free engaging in more beatings, assaults and verbal abuse against the civilians thus heightening the incidents and occurrences of brutality in the society.

Conclusion

Police brutality involves the unwarranted employment of force, harassment, beatings and verbal slander against civilians. It is very rampant in the United States with cases of brutality by the police being on the increase. Race, age, gender, and inequality play a central role in police brutality in America. For example, the blacks are more susceptible to harassment and abuse by the police compared to the whites because of their color and because they are the minority. Also, the whites are considered to be of high economic status in the society and as such, do not experience as much brutality by the police as their African-American counterparts who are regarded to be of low status.

References

Bonilla, Y., & Rosa, J. (2015). Ferguson: Digital protest, hashtag ethnography, and the racial politics of social media in the United States. American Ethnologist, 42(1), 4-17.

Chaney, C., & Robertson, R. V. (2013). Racism and police brutality in America. Journal of African American Studies, 17(4), 480-505.

Holmes, M. D., & Smith, B. W. (2008). Race and police brutality: Roots of an urban dilemma. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Jee-Lyn García, J., & Sharif, M. Z. (2015). Black lives matter: a commentary on racism and public health. American journal of public health, 105(8), e27-e30.

Ross, C. T. (2015). A multi-level Bayesian analysis of racial bias in police shootings at the county-level in the United States, 2011–2014. PloS one, 10(11), e0141854.     http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141854

Williams, K. (2015). Our enemies in blue: Police and power in America. Oakland: AK Press.

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