The definition of police brutality is the excessive use of force on citizens in unnecessary situations. It is an ugly thing we don’t want to hear about, because it gives our protectors a bad reputation. The good news is it doesn 't happen often, but when it does it’s big news. The bad news is… it’s real. Police are not intentionally brutal. Garry Rhodes, a former homicide detective and forensic coroner, tells us that “ Occasionally, officers might have gone a little overboard (myself included) during the heat of the moment “ (Rhodes). Police are not intentionally out here doing bad things that set bad reputations for themselves and all other enforcement positions. When you are find yourself in a tough situation, you either deal with the problem,
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Nearly 1000 (986) people were killed by the police in 2015. That number is just too high. There are 3 million people living in the United States and 1000 might not be that many in comparison, but you have to think about all the people that are affected when they see things like this, whether family, friends, or no relation this can affect many more than 1000. Here’s one of many examples where police used unnecessary force, “On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, Las Vegas police officers cornered Keith Childress Jr., who was wanted for a number of violent felonies. They opened fire on the black 23-year-old after he refused to drop the object in his hands, which turned out not to be a gun but a cellphone,” (Washington Post 1) This guy has had a reputation of being violent let’s not forget that. Cops have to make split second decisions and everyone makes mistakes, but if they had waited one more second, Keith Childress Jr. wouldn 't be in the ground. I don 't remember cellphones being murder weapons. Another example is officer Lisa Mearkle during one of her arrest “As the officer stands over Kassick, repeatedly ordering him to “Lie down” and “Show your hands,” the 59-year-old does just that. He moans in pain, pulls his right hand out from under his head and stretches to display the hand.” (Washington Post 2). The rest of this passage continues to talk about how the 59 year old man was trying to remove taser wires from his clothing. After this, for some reason the officer fires her gun and says “shots fired” (Mearkle), the man is told to keep his hands where she can see them. The officer shoots the old man in the back 2 times, he fled the scene of a traffic violation he did not deserve to die. Stuff like this doesn 't happen very often, clear acts of cops having no regard for human life, but it happens enough for it to be a
Nearly 1000 (986) people were killed by the police in 2015. That number is just too high. There are 3 million people living in the United States and 1000 might not be that many in comparison, but you have to think about all the people that are affected when they see things like this, whether family, friends, or no relation this can affect many more than 1000. Here’s one of many examples where police used unnecessary force, “On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, Las Vegas police officers cornered Keith Childress Jr., who was wanted for a number of violent felonies. They opened fire on the black 23-year-old after he refused to drop the object in his hands, which turned out not to be a gun but a cellphone,” (Washington Post 1) This guy has had a reputation of being violent let’s not forget that. Cops have to make split second decisions and everyone makes mistakes, but if they had waited one more second, Keith Childress Jr. wouldn 't be in the ground. I don 't remember cellphones being murder weapons. Another example is officer Lisa Mearkle during one of her arrest “As the officer stands over Kassick, repeatedly ordering him to “Lie down” and “Show your hands,” the 59-year-old does just that. He moans in pain, pulls his right hand out from under his head and stretches to display the hand.” (Washington Post 2). The rest of this passage continues to talk about how the 59 year old man was trying to remove taser wires from his clothing. After this, for some reason the officer fires her gun and says “shots fired” (Mearkle), the man is told to keep his hands where she can see them. The officer shoots the old man in the back 2 times, he fled the scene of a traffic violation he did not deserve to die. Stuff like this doesn 't happen very often, clear acts of cops having no regard for human life, but it happens enough for it to be a