Police Brutality : How The Media Influences Our Perceptions

From the disturbing beating of Rodney King to the horrific death of Malice Green to the shooting of Michael Brown shows there is a consistent problem with police brutality and the exertion of force used. Police brutality seems to be a rising issue again with the occurrence of the Michael Brown shooting and the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement making sure that any form of police brutality should not be swept under the rug. Action has been taken in some cities around the country for dealing with police brutality, such as police reform, which requires the retraining of hundreds of officers. There has also been talk and use of police body cameras that would record interactions between officers and the public to clear up any discrepancies in police/witness reports. To look at the effects and causation of police brutality we will be analyzing the media’s role, the sociological and psychological aspects of officers who administer the beating, and the timing of when these beatings/killings occurred.

Rodney King was a black motorist who was beaten and arrested by four white police officers in Los Angeles on March 3, 1991. The policemen were unaware of being filmed until, George Holliday, captured the beating on videotape from his apartment window and released it to the press (Alexander, Jacobs, and Seidman, 2000). This incident was not a shock to individuals living in the Los Angeles County as it was common to be victimized by policemen. The difference in Rodney King’s case with other

In a nation that prides itself on protecting the rights of all citizens, one right is under a blistering attack. According to the second amendment the “right to bear arms shall not be infringed” but in every corner of America that right is getting closer and closer to disappearing. In the news, Americans only hear of the guns that kill, they don’t hear of the guns that save. The fact of the matter is, the right to carry concealed weapons has saved lives.

The purpose of my proposed research is to study the effect of media reports on the current Americans’ perceptions of police brutality. Police brutality has been a headline topic for debate for the past century. This topic’s popularity has grown recently due to advancements in media technology over the past two decades. Police brutality is a problem in the United States for both, citizens and police officers. It is important to study the effect that mass media coverage of police use of force has on Americans’ perceptions to find out if the initial coverage of these events creates a bias in them. It has been found that celebrated crime events are portrayed differently than normal crime reports on the news;

In the 1990s, police brutality hit its peak. One in particular, the L.A. riots, caught many American's attention. One of the more well known, was Rodney King. King was brutally beaten by a group of police officers after attempting to pull him over for speeding at 110 mph. The police claimed that King resisted his arrest after being pulled over and that he was on some sort of drugs, although neither of these claims proved to be true. The police that surrounded him continued to beat Rodney for 15 minutes which left him with severe damage including skull fractures, broken bones and teeth, and brain damage. This was the first police brutality occurrence to be filmed in Los Angeles and then eventually brought to the media. Following the leaking of this footage, the four police officers were put on trial for using excessive force. This situation forever pointed out what was wrong with police officers and

In the past and recently, people within America have been directly or indirectly affected by police brutality. However, this societal issue has also been evident in other democratic societies around the globe and not just within the United States. This is one of the thousands of reasons why the police violence has raised massive concern for people and advocates from various areas. Some have proposed efforts to justify police integrity and rightfulness while others in opposition perceive racial profiling, corruption and excessive. Additionally, police brutality has even raised serious concerns for human rights advocates. Overall, the societal issue of police brutality has gathered much attention and countless individuals are demanding a solution to end the depravity.

Police officers are authorized to use force under certain circumstances, for instance; controlling a disruptive, aggressive and disturbing demonstration, undergoing arrest of an accused person or controlling a combative individual. These officers are trained properly regarding use of force while fulfilling their duties. However, the use of force by police is a subject of hot discussion amongst public, as many times law enforcement agencies, televisions, newspapers, and civil as well as criminal courts have taken serious actions against excessive use of force by police-officers under a given situation (U.S department of Justice, 1999). The aim of this paper is to study national as well as international

What do most people think of the topic of police brutality? More than once, images and stories of minorities ' civil rights being taken away become the topic of conversation. It is heart wrenching to see these videos and hear these stories of police brutality in today’s media. Every day there seems to be another headlining case on the topic of police brutality. Police brutality isn’t just law enforcement officers abusing the power granted to them; however, it is a much larger issue than we originally thought. Police brutality is innocent lives lost, suffering and mourning families, civilian riots and unjust court systems. Police brutality is victims left beaten, shot, strangled and even burned to death on the streets. What was thought to be just a problem of the past is now a part of our horrifying present.

This research paper is an overview of police brutality in the United States. The paper covers what police brutality is and the definition. The information about police brutality is expanded about what is reasonable and excessive use of force an officer can use. Information is included about the thoughts of what the citizens feel about police brutality. Among the white and black population there is a major difference between their thoughts of police brutality. The black population feels that they are effected by police brutality more than white folks. In addition, the paper touches on what needs to be done about the police brutality across the nation, and if the issue can be stopped. The paper examines court cases involving police brutality including the media buzzed case of Rodney King. The case is further examined and includes the community’s reaction to the beating of Rodney King. Another case is covering Frank Jude Jr. severely beaten by police officers at an off duty police officer’s party.

It is never a bad time to discuss matters of police brutality since at any given time some American gets pulled over or chased down the streets. When the police get hold of him, they probably will use excessive force in getting him to the ground and cuffing him, they might beat him a little bit in the process, just at the scene or maybe later at the station, or they just might kill him. This is the brutal truth of the reality in the American streets. One can never understand clearly the brutality of the police through mere reading of statistics. A search in the YouTube and the videos uploaded would make you want to treat the police differently. The past few months has seen the police in the news for all the wrong reasons. It is for this reason that this paper sets out to explore the subject of police brutality on the American public.

Police brutality, when it occurs may be one of the most significant violations of public trust. Police officers, those individuals taxed with protecting the public from danger, should never be in a situation where they pose a threat to the public. Furthermore, there is no question that police brutality occurs. Moreover, generally when there are allegations of police brutality, there has been some type of underlying violent incident. In addition, while issues of brutality may seem clear-cut to a disinterested observer, it is critical to keep in mind that law enforcement officers are not presented with textbook examples of the appropriate or inappropriate use of force, but real-life scenarios involving quick decisions. There are many arrest and non-arrest scenarios where officers need to use force to protect self or others; and the degree of force required may be greater than what a disinterested observer would assume because a huge percentage of detained criminals are under the influence of drugs at the time of their arrest and detention, which may increase pain resistance, decrease judgment, and enhance strength and/or energy. Another recurrent issue in debates about police brutality is that racial bias appears to be a motive behind police brutality. When one considers that minorities are disproportionately likely to be arrested and convicted of crimes, one would expect to find a disproportionate number of minorities

The impression of public in the U.S of the police using excessive forces, such as brutality, in today's modern policing continues to be a sensitive issue across the country. Many police agencies around the nation are under the pressure for alleged abuse of force from the view of the media perspective. Justified or not, the image of the police use of force continues to strike a nerve with the American public. However, an attempt to use force is often misunderstood by the community because of the media frenzy using false declarations and propaganda techniques. These techniques weaken the power of the police and reduce the trust that the community has in the police force.

On April 29th, 1992, after four white police officers were found to be innocent in the brutal beating of Rodney King, a young black man, the city of Los Angeles erupted in wild chaos and riots that resulted in the death of 53 people, with thousands more injured and in billions of dollars in damage to the city (Dickerson, 2015). The riots were a result of growing tensions between the south Los Angeles community and the police force, due to the high racial profiling and brutality experienced by African Americans and other minorities in the area. These tensions were triggered when a videotape was broadcast of Rodney King being beaten brutally by four white police officers aster an eight-mile high speed chase on the highway. The video tape gained

Police brutality is something that has been around for decades, and the problem is that it is not as blatant as it was starting as early as the 1800s. The different perceptions from different stereotypes have different people with premeditated assumptions of each stereotype being true. Social media has only made everything worse; all the pre-consumed thoughts are placed with no one knowing the actual case of a white police officer killing a black adolescence male. The problem within society has everyone disengaged from a possible major issue. The sociological factors play a huge role when it comes to racism and police brutality in the 21st century. Each aspect of this issue has a certain amount of significance considering that the history of police brutality and racism has changed overtime. The most recent information of police brutality has been presented in the media. This research examines the sociological and psychological ways in

"On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was the driver of a car in Los Angeles, California. The driver didn't stop when signaled by a police car behind him, but increased his speed. When police finally stopped the car, they delivered 56 baton blows and six kicks to King, in a period of two minutes, producing 11 skull fractures, brain damage, and kidney damage. Unaware that the incident had been videotaped, the police officers filed inaccurate reports, not mentioning the fact that Rodney King was left with head wounds. On March 15, 1991, four police officers were arraigned on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force" (Mike Lepore).