Racism has been one of the biggest issues in the United States nowadays. The video of
saying “I can’t breathe” as his neck was being knelt on by police officer Derek Chauvin caused a lot of pain, and Floyd’s death generated numerous protests all over the country. In fact, the issue of racism has never quieted down for the past 400 years in America. In the 1600s, there were even slave patrols that hunted down runaways and made sure that rebellions were suppressed (Philimon, 2020). Thus, in order to stop it, there is a need for the public to know the gravity of the issue as well as the steps to take in order to alleviate the situation. The issue of police brutality and racism is a big problem in our justice system because of the number of African Americans killed, the injustices, and the mutual hatred of the police, and the solution is a joint, concerted effort of authorities, lawmakers, and non-profit organizations.
First, the large number of African Americans shot to death by the police is an alarming piece of evidence of police brutality. Based on the Statista Research Department, in 2020 alone, 88 of the 429 civilians (21%) fatally shot by the police were blacks. In addition, the rate of fatal police shootings of African Americans has been the highest among all ethnicities (Statista, 2020). Moreover, from 2013 to 2019, the rate of fatal shots of the police against African Americans was at 42 per million people. The records show 29 per million for Pacific Islands, 22 per million for Hispanics, 20 per million for Native Americans, 14 per million for Whites, and 5 per million for Asians (Radhakrishnan et al., 2020). The idea behind the bias towards blacks could be the long history of racism and slavery in America, which spanned 400 years, or it could be the principle of the Other. In the social sciences, the Other is “the Stranger who is beyond being far and near” (Kastoryano, 2010, p. 79). They are the members of the group but are considered excluded, nonconformists, and deviants (p. 79). Thus, perhaps because of history and the principle of the Other or Otherness, the number of blacks shot to death by the police have been steadily high.
Another reason why the issue of police brutality and racism has become a serious matter is the level of injustice that came with it. When it comes to injustice, one should know that only 13 out of 104 cases in a single year, in 2015, where the white police man was charged for killing an unarmed black person. Also, of the four cases out of 13 where the police officer was convicted, no one served more than four years in prison (Mapping Police Violence, 2015). It is unfortunate to know that so many of these police officers were not convicted and more were not even charged and are still working in the force. Another example of injustice in terms of police brutality and racism is the killing of people who were mistaken to be armed. One example was Keith Childress in 2015, who the police thought had a gun but only a cell phone. Another was Bettie Jones in 2015, who was shot as she was opening the door to her neighbor’s house (Mapping Police Violence, 2015). Not only innocent people but also young people were killed by the police. Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times in 1999 for being mistaken as a rape suspect, Sean Bell was shot 50 times for being mistaken as having a gun, and 17-year-old Ramarley Graham was shot in front of his six-year-old brother for being thought as having a gun (Shah, 2020). The uncharged police officers and the unjust killing of black adults and youth who were only mistaken as suspects show the ruthlessness of the justice system when it comes to favoring the police over the innocent black victims.
Another reason why police brutality and racism matters a lot is the hatred harbored by citizens against law enforcers or the police. The people have contempt for law enforcement, and while some say that EMTS workers and firefighters are the good guys, they say the police are the bad ones. Also, people are generally suspicious of law enforcement. They say that the police may be aware of their inappropriate actions, especially when using more excessive force than unnecessary, but the bad cops may also know that they are being protected. The point is that civilians know that the police have the potential to get rid of anyone they like in such a way that no one would ever find out. In addition, many citizens already labeled the police as “agents of brutality,” which means that they are abusive although they remain unpunished (Chaney & Robertson, 2013, p. 498-499). With such a negative impression of the police, it would be difficult for the police and civilians to maintain trust towards each other.
The solution to police brutality and racism is a concerted effort to guard the justice system. Non-profit organizations such as the Black Lives Matter Movement, which was founded in 2013, should continue exposing the police shooting of civilians (Statista, 2020). Also, other similar organizations like the Communities United for Police Reform, should continue to push for greater transparency in the police force (Pramuk, 2020). As for legislation, lawmakers should change the standards to charge a police officer for criminal misconduct so that cops can be easily prosecuted if it is necessary (Pramuk, 2020). The Federal and State governments should also try to implement the Initiative 940, or the I-940, or the Law Enforcement and Community Safety Act. This evaluates an act based on what a “reasonable officer” would decided to do in the same situation (Bell). However, this goes hand in hand with House Bill 1064, a bill that reimburses the officer in case he turns out to be innocent (Office of Roger Goodman, 2019). Law enforcement groups should also continue implementing I-940 (Drew, 2019). Therefore, eradicating police brutality and racism is a combination of the efforts of non-profit groups, lawmakers, governments, and law enforcement agencies.
Because of the long history of slavery of blacks and the principle of the other, African Americans have long been the subject of racism and police brutality. Police brutality is serious because of the high number of black civilians shot by the police, the injustices in the form of acquitted policemen and accidentally killed young black men, and the civilians’ hatred of the police. The solution is for non-profit organizations, the law enforcement groups, the lawmakers, and the state and federal governments to work hand in hand. Transparency should be the rule at all times until the people’s trust in the police is restored, even if it should take decades.
References:
Bell, R. (2018). Washington: Holding police accountable for their use of deadly force. Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved from https://www.cjr.org/special_report/2018-midterms-washington-malice-police.php
Chaney, C., & Robertson, R. V. (2013). Racism and Police Brutality in America. Journal of African American Studies 17(1), 480-505.
Drew, J. (2019). “Deal reached on police deadly force law after sides iron out ‘good faith’ standard.” The News Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/politics-government/article224537100.html
Kastoryano, R. (2010). Codes of Otherness. Social Research 77(1), 79-100.
Mapping Police Violence. (2015). Police Killed More Than 100 Unarmed Black People in 2015. Retrieved from https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmed
Office of Roger Goodman. (2019). House passes legislation to strengthen and clarify Initiative 940. Roger Goodman. Retrieved from https://housedemocrats.wa.gov/goodman/2019/01/24/house-passes-legislation-to-strengthen-and-clarify-initiative-940/
Philimon, W. (2020). Not just George Floyd: Police departments have a 400-year history of racism. USA Today.
Pramuk, J. (2020). How the US could reform police in response to protests against brutality and racism. Politics.
Radhakrishnan, V., Sen, S., & Singaravelu, N. (2020). Data: How badly are African-Americans affected by police brutality in the US? The Hindu. Retrieved from https://www.thehindu.com/data/data-how-badly-are-african-americans-affected-by-police-brutality-in-the-us/article31734968.ece
Shah, K. (2020). Mothers of black Americans killed by police speak out: Nothing’s changed. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/11/mothers-black-children-killed-by-police-speak-out
Statista. (2020). Number of people shot to death by the police in the United States from 2017 to 2020, by race. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/585152/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-race/