Additional training and the implementation of body cameras may be essential as it appears that the United States has a real problem with police violence. “In 2013 the Civilian Complaint Review Board in New York City received more than 5,000 complaints of excessive use of force, totaling 11,334 allegations (Feige, 2015). Of those allegations that were substantiated, most of officers involved were administratively charged and received a verbal reprimand as punishment (Feige, 2015). “In 2011, police killed six people in Australia, two in England, six in Germany and, according to an FBI count, 404 in the United States” (Stanley, 2015). After carefully looking through local news reports, journalists found this number to be closer to 1,000 killings
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He was then was pushed to the ground face forward and then hand cuffed. He was not charged with resisting arrest and so I could not understand why this brutality was necessary as my son was not armed and was simply carrying a small flashlight. Upon questioning the department, I received curt responses and told that if I wish to file a formal complaint that I could do so. I understand that the police are expected to protect the public and confront potentially violent individuals and that they can legally use physical, and even deadly, force under certain circumstances. But, my son was not violent or dangerous. There was no explanation or accountability for the arresting officer’s actions towards my son. Concerned that the officer may lie and change his report regarding my son’s arrest, my husband and I decided not to pursue any formal complaint. According to an article in Newsweek Magazine, there is evidence that people behave differently and even perform better if they know they are being videotaped all of the time (Maney, 2014). If the officer was wearing a body camera, he may have acted in a more appropriate manner and I would know what exactly transpired that evening that caused my son to be injured. My husband and I worry about the long term effects of this incident on my son as it has been found that police brutality is a phenomenon that can cause irreparable harm to its victims (Long,
He was then was pushed to the ground face forward and then hand cuffed. He was not charged with resisting arrest and so I could not understand why this brutality was necessary as my son was not armed and was simply carrying a small flashlight. Upon questioning the department, I received curt responses and told that if I wish to file a formal complaint that I could do so. I understand that the police are expected to protect the public and confront potentially violent individuals and that they can legally use physical, and even deadly, force under certain circumstances. But, my son was not violent or dangerous. There was no explanation or accountability for the arresting officer’s actions towards my son. Concerned that the officer may lie and change his report regarding my son’s arrest, my husband and I decided not to pursue any formal complaint. According to an article in Newsweek Magazine, there is evidence that people behave differently and even perform better if they know they are being videotaped all of the time (Maney, 2014). If the officer was wearing a body camera, he may have acted in a more appropriate manner and I would know what exactly transpired that evening that caused my son to be injured. My husband and I worry about the long term effects of this incident on my son as it has been found that police brutality is a phenomenon that can cause irreparable harm to its victims (Long,