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,