Analyzing Police Brutality, Ethnicity, and the American Justice System

This essay delves into the critical issue of police brutality in the United States, specifically examining its connection to the ethnicity of American citizens. The essay argues that police brutality disproportionately affects marginalized communities, particularly those of Hispanic or Black origin. It explores two main perspectives: one tracing the causes of police brutality within the police institution and the other viewing it as a reflection of societal racial discrimination. The essay highlights the use of excessive force, which leads to physical and psychological harm, as well as financial burdens on affected individuals. The essay also discusses the role of media coverage, racial profiling, and the need for solutions such as improved police training and independent prosecution tribunals to address the systemic inequalities contributing to police brutality. The conclusion reiterates the constitution's mandate for law enforcement while emphasizing the need for accountability and reform to ensure fair treatment for all citizens.

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English Essay
According to the laws of the USA and any other governmental jurisdiction, the police
officers have the right to use legitimate force when called up to maintain law and order.
Arguably, the law gives the mandate to the police to use immutable force to regulate the conduct
of the citizens to uphold law and order. However, there lie boundaries towards which the police
need to use this force. In instances whereby the police officers use extreme force, they breach the
law. On many occasions, police brutality is mainly channeled towards any suspected citizens
who in most cases are from marginalized sections such are racial minorities (Adler). The use of
excessive force causes both physical and psychological torture to the victims. At times, it as well
causes substantial financial costs to the affected parties in the society. This trait has significantly
undermined the legitimacy of the policing unit of the USA government (Moore). Most of the
victims of police brutality in the United States are people of Hispanic or Black origin. Is there a
link between police brutality and the ethnicity of American Citizens? Two distinct approaches
have been used to explain the link between police brutality and racism, traditional perspectives
trace the causes of police brutality in the police institution while conflict viewpoint still claims
that police brutality is a true reflation of the racial discrimination evil within the society.
In most situations, cases of police violence end up not being reported. Much as the police
are supposed to maintain and uphold law and order in the society, some illegitimately use this

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power to undermine the rights and freedoms of the common citizen. The issue of police brutality
is not only an American story but also a global issue. It manifests in both physical attacks as well
as psychological tortures in the form of words (Alang et al.). The issue of police brutality hence
remains to be a great global concern as it has continuously ruined the relationship between the
citizens and the police forces and ultimately ruined peaceful coexistence among citizens in the
society. This essay aims to discuss the link between police brutality and racism and possible
ways to mitigate the issues.
The media has far and large covered the issue of police brutality. From the media, it is
evident that the police officers kill annually many civilians and a substantial amount of these
incidences put to light the issue of police brutality (Reynolds-Stenson). In most of these
incidences usually, it’s always between a white police officer and a black offender or persons
from marginalized communities such as the Hispanic or Indian-American people. From this, it is
evident that the marginalized groups in the society bare significant pain due to police brutality.
Scholars have argued out that police brutality is not linked to any mode of racial discrimination
in the world. However, police officers have repeatedly racially profiled most of its Afro-
American subjects (Body-Gendrot). From this, one cannot disregard the link between police
brutality and racial profiling. In the society, most marginalized sections are powerless people,
much as they have right; the police departments usually overlook some of these rights. Crazily
enough, these marginalized sections are the most oppressed by the police forces. For example,
the police officers without any investigations would term people from the marginalized sections
as criminals from their manner of dressing, communication or any activity in the society. Does it
mean the police will criminalize an American if he does the same act as the Hispanic or Black
American? Ethical profiling has undoubtedly led to discriminating against the rights of the

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minority citizens of the USA. People of African origin have been reportedly killed by police
officers for resembling past criminals. The same has not been reported for any whites for quite
some time. Are Afro-Americans born criminals?
Statistically, twenty-five percent of the assailants of police brutality is always Afro-
Americans. Besides, a larger percentage of the blacks meet their death in encounters with the
police officers. Arguably, unlike their white counterparts, most of the blacks at the point of death
are usually unarmed (Angus and Crichlow). Globally, the aspect of brutal police actions is not a
new thing. Nevertheless, the recent campaigns by the blacks themselves and some humanitarian
agents prove to the face of the world the unfairness depicted in the manner in which the police
handle the non-whites in the USA. As much as these protests are radical, very few officers are
held accountable for such evil deeds (Elazab). Discriminatory police brutality infringes the state
mandate of respecting and protecting the rights of the citizens, freedom from unbiased detention,
humiliating and inhuman treatment and equality before the law (Carr). The black origin plays a
vital role in how police officers handle the Black Americans. The issue even gets worse when
blacks are assigned police officers who have limited social contact with the. The police will use
past incidences rather than current facts to apply justice with a black citizen in the picture. These
police officers lack the prerequisite trainings on how to interact with marginalized communities.
With the prevalent stereotypes towards the marginalized communities in the American Society,
the fairness of the police forces when dealing with the Afro-American is always put to question.
Over the past years, police forces have always treated the whites as superior to the blacks. For
instance, the war against drug trafficking mainly concentrates on the minority groups; this
increases the discriminatory feeling and resentment towards the police forces.

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Society needs to find proper solutions to the growing cases of police brutality against
blacks. Asked if more blacks need to be recruited into the police service, the majority of the
blacks declined as this would not work as a solution (Cobbina). According to them, issues to do
with structural inequalities and challenging police structures in the society have to be addressed
first. Once the distrust between the police and the local citizens is eliminated, the citizens will
harmoniously work with the police officers in solving criminal activities. Racial Diversity in the
police forces is not a solution to police brutality. Taking Baltimore for instance, from the Justice
Department’s Civil Rights Division report, the town has made efforts to attract and promote
police officers from the minority race who are the highest in that town. The Police officers in that
town, however, have been accused of engaging in a trend of unconstitutionally ethnical biased
policing. From this, the issue of having police of color solving issues for their black counterparts
is not a solution. The long-term solution against police brutality is first reconsidering the
conditions in which the marginalized communities live (Novotney). The blacks in the USA live
in environments characterized by prevalent inequalities, poverty, poor resource allocation and
joblessness (Edwards). These conditions primarily support the thriving of criminal activities.
This results in people getting poor police treatment. The police officers target minor issues and
offenses within the society with the thought that it will curb serious crime in the society. Looking
into the structural inequalities within the suburbs will greatly reduce police brutality.
Another key solution to the issue of police brutality is the ides that police officers need to
be trained to be part of the community and not mere law enforcers. New police recruits spend
substantial time in learning the arts of handling the gun. The question that pops up from this is,
how much time is set aside to teach them how to calm tension in the society, how to handle

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mentally ill suspects etc. Structurally, eight hours is set for each of these activities. This is a big
problem since the police are not trained to kill. Maintaining law and order is not a go-ahead
button for shooting suspects whether innocent or guilty. Police officers need to be trained on the
possible ways to create and maintain friendly relationships with the common citizens
(Stoughton). These trainings need to look into issues such as diversity, mental wellness, racial
discrimination, and youth development. Police recruits should be thoroughly trained on all
modes of bias in the society since it is not debatable on what form of bias they will ever
encounter throughout their careers (Alang,).
Lastly, police officers suspected of being part of any police brutality case should not be
prosecuted by the same police force they work for. Such cases need to be handled by
independent prosecutors. States within the USA need to establish independent tribunals for
police investigations, which will be mandated to prosecute police officers in criminal law courts
(Zak Cheney-Rice). These tribunals should be availed with the necessary resources needed to
successfully offer justice to the subjects of police brutality. In situations where such tribunals are
not in place, independent prosecutors need to take charge of all cases where police behaviors
lead to loss of lives of the citizens. The state as well needs not to come in place to protect the
officers who breach the laws since protecting the law does not mean breaking the law. The laws
operate fairly to all citizens and as such, all persons who break the law need to face the same
consequences for the same.
In conclusion, the constitution gives the police officers the mandate to enforce law and
order within the society. This gives the police the authority to apply limited force in controlling
the behaviors of the citizens with a view of maintaining order. However, some police officers use

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extreme force, which is a breach of the laws of the USA. Most unarmed citizens mostly blacks
have fallen victims of police brutality. Of these unarmed citizens, most are always from the
marginalized sections of the society such as the Hispanic, Afro-Americans among other
marginalized sections. Ethnicity plays a central role in the issues around police brutality, with the
people of color being the main victims. Much as the media has put to the limelight the issue of
police brutality, very little efforts have been put in place to curb this vice. Very few police
officers have been called to book for such evil deeds and the society seems to be at peace with
the same. Serious solutions detailing from solving the issues of structural inequalities within the
society need to be put to practice. The police forces as well need to maximize their training time
in dealing with human-related problem-solving skills. The police need to be equipped with the
necessary skills to maintain law and order using a minimum or no force at all. Independent
prosecution tribunals as well need to be put in place to handle cases around police brutality.
These tribunals need to be well equipped to offer proper justice to the victims of police brutality.
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