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Kyle Rosenstock

Ms. DeWinne & Ms. Paolino

Writing & Research

21 December 2020

Police Brutality

Police officers are some of the most respected men and women a person can come by.

However, with all of their power, there times at which police officers may feel the need to attack

their restrained criminals, causing death. The actions by these police officers are unnecessary,

disturbing to witness and, due to social media, can no longer be hidden. Police brutality is the

excessive use of force by law enforcement officers which can be legally defined as a civil rights

violation. This unwarranted use of force is commonly used on people of color. White privilege,

which is extremely common, is the societal privilege that benefits white people over non-white

people in many societies. Police brutality is an issue that is unfortunately, more often endured by

people of color which can be demonstrated in many ways.

Figures were shown in 2018 that London police officers used force 62,000 times. Black

people were the subject of over one third of these incidents, despite accounting for only 13% of

the city’s population. Proportionally to their population, a black person is four times more likely

to have forced used on them than anyone else by the police. While law enforcement efforts are

made to deter violent crime through force, in 2018, 132 people violently died in London

(Altman). Police brutality is seen far too often, especially in the black community. While taking

up only about one-tenth of the population, they endure over one third of the total incidents where

police use an excessive amount of force. George Floyd, one of the more recent victims of police

brutality, was murdered after using a fake $20 bill at the grocery store. This crime, however, did
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not warrant the punishment that Floyd would later receive: four officers kneeling on him for

eight minutes, one of which was on his neck. The officer continued to kneel on Floyd even after

he lost consciousness. Floyd was murdered by the police even though he was restrained and not a

threat to them. If not for George Floyd’s skin color, he would be healthy and alive today.

However, due to the police brutality that is often targeted at the black community, George passed

away on May 25, 2020.

Police brutality is also affected by racial profiling, the act of suspecting or targeting a

person on the basis of assumed characteristics or behavior of a racial or ethnic group, rather than

on individual suspicions. Police officers are twice as likely to use force on a black or Hispanic

person than on someone that is white (Jones). 46% of white residents who came in contact with a

police officer in 2018 initiated the contact, compared to just 37% of Black residents. This

statistic shows that, even though white residents are more likely to initiate contact with a police

officer, black citizens are still more frequently targeted. A study revealed that 4.5% of all black

people to be stopped by the police were stopped without cause. On the other hand, only 1.8% of

all white drivers stopped by police officers were stopped unreasonably (“Racial Profiling: Facts

and Figures”). Members of the black community are forced to live with a target on their back

even when they are not at fault.

As proof of these injustices, communities are making sure that their voices are heard

through protests around the globe. These protests are regarding the BLM, black lives matter,

movement which was influenced by police brutality. The protests were very popular on social

media and were wide spread. Many famous people attended their home town protests, such as

Arianna Grande, Jamie Fox, J. Cole, Lil Yachty, Malcolm Brogdon, and Bradley Beal. BLM has

also been popularized by the support it has gained by professional athletes such as LeBron
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James. The NBA even allowed their players to put BLM quotes on the back of their jersey to

help show their support. All of the popular faces that have appeared during these protests

demonstrate how severe the issue truly is. These protests have been very successful, not only

because they have generated widespread spread support and popularity on social media, but also

because of their safety. A report stated that there were more than 2,400 locations which

peacefully protested, and only 220 location reported “violent demonstrations,” 93% of protests

have been peaceful (Mansoor). The safe manner in which people are supporting this cause

demonstrates just how seriously it is being taken.

Police officers should take responsibility for the black community taking up a large

percentage of prisoners in the United States. In Louisiana, 32% of their population consists of

black people, but 67.8% of their prisoners are black. That means that black people are

incarcerated at four times the rate as white people (“Mass Incarceration and Racial Oppression”).

This trend is a result of impoverished black communities, in which young children receive

inadequate educations and are forced into crime. While it is true that black citizens go through

the same process as white citizens when being prepared to enter prison, there is a much deeper

issue at hand.

While many argue that the police force is racist and racially profiles the black

community, others believe that the police are doing nothing wrong. Over the past ten years, there

have been multiple scenarios where police officers accuse and attack the wrong person. People

argue, however, that police officers are human and make mistakes just like everyone else.

Protests are also a concern for those who do not believe police officers are doing anything

wrong. One might add that, while 93% of protests are peaceful, that still leaves 7% of protests to

be violent. These protests involve violent interactions with cops, property damage, and looting.
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The argument that, because the majority of protests are peaceful, the non-peaceful ones should

not be blown out of proportion, can be applied to defending police officers as well. Some might

argue that it would be equally unfair to assume that all police officers are racist. In reality, police

officers are trained officials with a tremendous responsibility to protect their communities and,

for that reason, they should be to a higher standard.

Police brutality is a severe issue that is more often endured by people of color, and which

can be demonstrated in many ways. Police officers use force more often than they should, and

the surmounting number of these attacks occur on black people even though they account for a

relatively smaller amount of the population. Many of these acts of police brutality on black

citizens arise from racial profiling in which cops target black citizens who are actually innocent.

In honor of victims to police brutality such as George Floyd, and to prevent others from suffering

a similar fate, communities protested for BLM. Police officers should receive improved training

to prevent the need of force and to help eliminate racial profiling. No person should have to

endure police brutality under any circumstances.

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Works Cited

Altman, R. (2019, December 04). End Police Brutality. Retrieved December 18, 2020, from

https://studentsforliberty.org/north-america/blog/peace-love-liberty/end-police-brutality/?

gclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXiinQ31BYjCoDgwqW3Bq1l4SUD5OU3DnDDyDb5SyfCD95HpZeJT

gNBoCC7sQAvD_BwE

Hillstrom, Laurie Collier. "Black Lives Matter." The American Mosaic: The African American

Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2020, https://africanamerican.abc-

clio.com/Topics/Display/2172397?terms=BLM&sTypeId=2. Accessed 18 Dec. 2020.

 Jones, A. (2018, October 12). Police stops are still marred by racial discrimination, new data

shows. Retrieved December 18, 2020, from

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2018/10/12/policing/

Mansoor, S. (2020, September 05). 93% of Black Lives Matter Protests Have Been Peaceful:

Report. Retrieved December 20, 2020, from https://time.com/5886348/report-peaceful-

protests/

“Mass Incarceration and Racial Oppression.” (2020, October 19). Retrieved December 20, 2020,

from https://ip-no.org/what-we-do/advocate-for-change/mass-incarceration-and-racial-

oppression/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAifz-BRDjARIsAEElyGLACa6wU4Ave9-

_109FcXOA89vMUPnl60Lo5Of9eOsEjYGMs1m67XcaAgwaEALw_wcB
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"Racial Profiling: Facts & Figures." The American Mosaic: The African American Experience,

ABC-CLIO, 2020, https://africanamerican.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1788481?

terms=racial+profiling&sTypeId=2. Accessed 18 Dec. 2020