How and why police officers use excessive force against American civilians has been, and will continue to be, a controversial topic of much debate. Our nation’s history of racial conflict and inequality, both personal and systemic, has left our country more divided than ever after the recent shootings of young unarmed black youth by police officer’s. These events are rich with sociological issues such as inequality and class issues, racial profiling, the militarization of the police, law enforcement interaction with protesters, social media networks, and the “criminalization of black male youth”.
The purpose of this paper is to research profiling by law enforcement officers and how it correlates with their use of excessive force.…