When people think of police officers, they should think of someone with integrity, fairness and civility. When one is given power and authority over others, it is possible to assume that one will be ethical and just with their decisions. On the other hand is it possible that instead one might show their true colors? While much of society and the media blame strange behavior from police officers on race I believe that there’s another explanation.
On Friday, June 5th, 2015 Texas police officers aggressively stopped a pool party. At this party a 14-year-old girl was temporarily detained by one of the officers. At the same time other officers were ordering children to lie on the grass while the third officer started handcuffing children around …show more content…
When they put on their uniform, it seems that they adopt the authority that goes with it, contributing to what is known as the ‘police personality.’” (Power, authority and culture)
The fact that the guards can hide behind their uniforms makes them feel powerful. This is one of the reasons why the roleplaying stopped and the environment became more violent between the police officers and prisoners. The final component that led to the disaster of the Stanford experiment was the situation. In the end of Zimbardo’s experiment “the situation won; humanity lost.” (revisiting the Stanford prison experiment) No matter what your upbringings were it seems that all the volunteers responded to the power they were given. As the prisoners rebelled the guards found punishments they felt were suitable.
In the incident that happened on June 5th the police officers as well as the obvious power the uniform holds made the children at the party fear them even more. It’s easy for police officers to justify their actions due to the power they hold. Just like the Stanford experiment the only thing separating the guards and participants, but in this case the police and children at the party was the differences in what they believed was the proper behavior for their assigned jobs. The 14-year-old girl how was detained didn’t listen to the cops when instructed to sit down. This is similar to when the prisoners rebelled and didn’t follow
On Friday, June 5th, 2015 Texas police officers aggressively stopped a pool party. At this party a 14-year-old girl was temporarily detained by one of the officers. At the same time other officers were ordering children to lie on the grass while the third officer started handcuffing children around …show more content…
When they put on their uniform, it seems that they adopt the authority that goes with it, contributing to what is known as the ‘police personality.’” (Power, authority and culture)
The fact that the guards can hide behind their uniforms makes them feel powerful. This is one of the reasons why the roleplaying stopped and the environment became more violent between the police officers and prisoners. The final component that led to the disaster of the Stanford experiment was the situation. In the end of Zimbardo’s experiment “the situation won; humanity lost.” (revisiting the Stanford prison experiment) No matter what your upbringings were it seems that all the volunteers responded to the power they were given. As the prisoners rebelled the guards found punishments they felt were suitable.
In the incident that happened on June 5th the police officers as well as the obvious power the uniform holds made the children at the party fear them even more. It’s easy for police officers to justify their actions due to the power they hold. Just like the Stanford experiment the only thing separating the guards and participants, but in this case the police and children at the party was the differences in what they believed was the proper behavior for their assigned jobs. The 14-year-old girl how was detained didn’t listen to the cops when instructed to sit down. This is similar to when the prisoners rebelled and didn’t follow