you created an annotated outline/bibliography with a minimum of 8 resources on the historical issue you are focusing on for your Final Paper. You should begin to incorporate those resources into this

OUTLINE AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 10

Police Brutality

Jamisha Riddick

Walden University

The Outline

1. Introduction

Police officers in the past were viewed as officials that kept the peace, but currently, they are officers of law enforcement. The majority do their tasks, but they are concerned more about arresting people more than protecting the peace. The biggest problem arising with police officers in the U.S. is police brutality and it appears from the public’s eye that police officers are misusing their powers.

1. Defining brutality of the police

Brutality caused by the police is mainly the use of excessive force by law enforcement personnel that is both illegal and unwarranted against civilians. Police brutality comes in various forms. These can be represented as assault, chaos, battery, torture, and even murder of a civilian. Harassment, intimidation, verbal abuse, as well as general mistreatment by the police is also considered a form of police brutality (Worden, 2015).

1. What is referred to as excessive force?

This is mainly using more than the necessary law enforcement tactics against citizens who don't have ways to defend themselves. This could be the use of weapons to target citizens to make arrests or disperse protesting crowds. The use of tear gas, rubber bullets, acid sprays and personal aggressiveness on people who are not resisting are some of the ways that law enforcement use excessive force (Hymon, 2020).

1. Laws that are against police brutality

The department of justice oversees enforcing laws on law enforcement misconduct in the U.S. (Davis, 1994). Every police officer is supposed to enforce the law as well as follow it to ensure their actions are within the constitutional laws. Police misconduct is addressed from federal laws which are both within the criminal and civil statutes (Gee, 2004). There is a prohibition of discrimination laws of any kind by the police officers and any discriminatory conduct against civilians by the police is supposed to be investigated fully.

1. What leads to the brutality of police?

Several causes can be used as reasons why police brutality emerges most of the time. Some of these are lack of adequate training for the police in dealing with situations without violence. Law enforcement departments generally lack being held accountable for their actions. Local law enforcement has evolved becoming more militarized which could be the reason that police brutality seems to be an outlet for stress among police officers. Complaints on brutality are most of the time settled by taxpayers so there is no regard for trying to deal with the brutal actions of the police officers (Gee, 2004).

1. Psychological factors

Police brutality has been a major concern especially when it is seen based on psychological factors. Psychology issues plays a major role when it comes to cause and control of brutality by the police. Excessive force can be shown to come from the characteristics of individual law enforcement officers. Police officers with negative past experiences tend to show extreme force when provoked (Skolnick et al, 1986). They do show some dominance when using their power and sensitive to any challenges that come from civilians during an arrest.

1. Corruption by power

Misconduct by police and corruption seem to be interconnected. For decades, police have used their power to violate constitutional rights for selfish gains. Police corruption is a form of abuse of authority that comes with the positions they are in. These abuses are included in violations that can be represented as criminal, civil, and procedural (Skolnick et al, 1986). Any personal gain forms police by engaging in any form of corruption are punishable by law. This type of corruption may be in the form of profit gains and material benefits that are generally considered illegal for anyone to take part it. This is more sensitive when it comes to law enforcement officers.

1. Superiority matters

Levels of superiority among police officers make it easier in asserting more dominance over other police officers as well as civilians. Superior officers have the power to make judgments on their subordinates even if they are the ones who issued a call that ended up in breach of law enforcement conduct. External pressures from superior police positions will always play a role of police officers who are on patrol (Skolnick et al, 1986). When dealing with any abuse of power of any police officer can be a difficult process since they are backed up by other officers who are at higher positions. Bias and favor will always be among police departments despite any violation done by one wrong police officer. Avoiding disciplinary sanctions or dismissal is quite easy since there are a variety of opportunities that police officers are given to counter the possible punishments. This can take a long time eventually resulting in some cases fading away.

1. Cases of police brutality

Police brutality cases seem to be endless as they have increased through the decades. There are more cases of police brutality than we know of. Investigations of police officer's brutality and misconduct are always occurring in the judicial system as the rules keep changing on how police officers should approach civilians when carrying out their duties (Martinez, 2004).

1. The reported cases of police brutality

Legal reported cased of police brutality started way before 1990 (Martinez, 2004). The cases involve those that are alleged and proved. The cases considered are mostly those that made headlines in the media attracting historical attention from most if not all governing parties within the United States (Lawrence, 2000). The cases are mostly based on law enforcement brutality against civilians who decided to make a move against them to protect their rights and freedoms. A lot more cases have shown to not just be allegations but detailed reports on the incidences that took place that prove a specific officer committed a crime while on duty. The list of cases is endless within the United States as it has become a major source of increasing police brutality against civilians (Lawrence, 2000).

1. What action has been taken to these cases?

Filing lawsuits is one of the ways that these cases have been dealt with. Civilians have repeatedly filed lawsuits against police officers who violated the law by excessive use of force that led to injuries and even death of a civilian. The lawsuits are mainly done against the local police departments so that they can deal with the individual police officer who is part of misconduct allegation (Gee, 2004).

1. The places where police brutality occurs mostly

The problems with police brutality are more in some cities and localities than others. These cities have seen a fast rate increase in numbers of civilian deaths by police as well as the percentages. These are mainly based in cities where there are major racial disparities (Martinez, 2004). Some of these places have more minority populations with more targets on their backs as crime increases.

1. The states and cities where it happened

Some of the states and cities where they have occurred include Phoenix Arizona, Houston Texas, Las Vegas Nevada, and Atlanta, Georgia among others (Martinez, 2004).

1. The type of agencies where police brutality happens the most

The law enforcement agencies can provide a form of leadership that is critical to the development of police brutality cases. When it comes to the types of crimes that are dealt with by looking through the data, the police force seems to provide benefits (Cummings, 2005).

Conclusion

After considering the research, I believe that the police abusing their power and using violence on minorities, specifically black males is an issue that continues to increase. I have given an overview of various situations and how law enforcement officers misuse and abuse their power resulting in no consequential outcomes. The criminal justice system seems to be moving against the African American community and justice is not being carried out for these communities who experience abuse or excessive use of force by these officers of the law. It has been proven that police officers are being let of easy for taking a someone’s life without probable cause. The African American communities have lost faith, trust and believe they are being targeted by police officers. Many African American people believe that they will be target because of racial discrimination. From my research, African Americans are targeted and are victims of police brutality more than any other race. This essentially creates a major conflict between African American and the police who patrol their neighborhoods.

Annotated Bibliography

1. Worden, R. E. (2015). The ‘causes’ of police brutality: theory and evidence on police use of force. Criminal justice theory: Explaining the nature and behavior of criminal justice, 149-204.

According to this source, racism has been a problem in the US, and it has led to a rift between the blacks and the whites. Segregation of race led to inequalities in the society, and this made the blacks to conduct themselves in a different way to prevent them from messing up with the authorities. The inequalities are viewed as a key factor that led to bad relationships between the police and the blacks in the US. African Americans discourage police conduct because of the fear of being brutalized. Racism is a key factor in police brutality.

1. Skolnick, J. H., & Bayley, D. H. (1986). The new blue line: Police innovation in six American cities. Simon and Schuster.

This source views New York City as a hot spot for police brutality. In NYC, police violence is not a new thing as it has been going on for years now. The use of excessive power by the police in the New York State has been rampant mostly on African Americans. Police brutality happens mostly in areas where the population of blacks is high, and New York State is one of these places. In America, the skin color of a citizen can determine how the police can treat them.

1. Davis, P. L. (1994). Rodney King and the decriminalization of police brutality in America: Direct and judicial access to the grand jury as remedies for victims of police brutality when the prosecutor declines to prosecute. Md. L. Rev., 53, 271.

According to this source in America, the police kill more people compared to other first world countries. A study in 2015 showed that the police officers harm five blacks for every one Caucasian citizen they brutalize. Police brutality in the US kills the blacks at the rate of 31.17 for everyone million black people and kills the whites at the rate of 1.47 for every million whites. At least 102 unarmed black people are killed by the police twice a weak.

1. Lawrence, R. G. (2000). The politics of force: Media and the construction of police brutality. Univ of California Press.

According to this source, police brutality refers to the abuse of the civil rights where police officers apply force against the citizens, which is excess. It can be verbal or physical harassment causing damage to property, injury to individuals, or even death. One of the laws in Title 6 that is not tolerated by the Civil Rights Act is police brutality. This makes it illegal for police officers to racial profile citizens because of gender, race, nationality, or religion.

1. Hymon, D. A. (2020). Use of Force Citizen Complaints, Use of Force Violations, and Early Intervention (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).

Crime control along with the due process represent two other perfect cases of criminal justice. One might tell they are extremes on the continuum. The part of crime power is to take the offender off the street and to defend the innocent. This due process framework of criminal justice is like the obstacle way. You must make going through legal obstacles to guarantee in the long run. You judge the good person. In Canada these police lean towards crime power and that courts lean towards the due process. Nevertheless, how valuable are these simulations at the criminal justice process? And is it essential for us to take both models, which to the point ends in the same result?

1. Gee, Harvey. Police Brutality and Citizen Complaints. Connecticut. University of Connecticut School of Law, 2004.

Looking at citizen complaints concerning police brutality, Harvey Gee reviews how these connections are interlinked. There seems to be a major problem since most of the police brutality actions are barely noticed. Targets on black American males have been seen to increase due to issues such as racial profiling by officers. Cultural discrimination seems to be embedded in the justice system as more arguments based on race and criminal perpetrators emerge. The blame game from the police doesn't seem to have any substantial evidence and data to support their claims. These claims have been used to try to justify their brutal actions against most black Americans.

1. Martinez, Theresa A. RACIAL PROFILING SYMPOSIUM: Perceptions of Racial Profiling. Utah. Utah Law Review Society, 2004

This Author provides a clear perspective of racial profiling by police officers and how this related to the increase in the use of brutal force against Americans. Her description of racial profiling gives a clear understanding of how this has been used as a reason for making stops for interrogation and search of African Americans. This has been a major problem that minority communities face all through their lives in America. This is also linked to the type of music African Americans listen to and their overall lifestyle which has been used as a basis for cultural profiling.

1. Cummings, Claire. "Was Saturday a riot?" 8 April 2005. Ltd. The State News. 8 April 2005.

The image used here is used to represent the type of riots that have been going on for a while due to the discrimination of African Americans based on their race. According to Claire Cummings, the police are the ones who tend to make the situation worse when it comes to peaceful protests. The use of force for no apparent reason only stirs up more tension between the crowds and the police. It is part of human nature to retaliate when faced with some form of threat. Using excessive force and more than needed teargases is just uncalled for and be a way to target crowds based on their race.