The Harsh Reality of Police Brutality: A Systemic Issue in America

Abstract

Instructors’ Name Introduction Police brutality is an unprecedented truth in American democracy, and it is horrifying, yet it has not received sufficient attention for many decades. The government and its institutions are less concerned with police integrity and misconduct derailing public trust and confidence in policing. The various forms of police brutality include battery, murder, abuse, harassment, mayhem, intimidation, and torture. Statistics show that Americans of all ethnicities, ages, gender and class have been subjected to police brutality (Schwartz, 2020). However, disproportion arises with African Americans who face the adversity of police brutality compared to white Americans. The American police swear to protect its people, but what is evident is a gross misuse of authority intermixed with racial brutality. America's racist police are the biggest problem in the country. George Floyd is among thousands of police killings silently eating the minority. Peeples estimates that blacks are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police compared to white men in a lifetime (2020). This evidence shows police brutality as a tool for discrimination. Unfortunately, there is no definite accountability for police, escalating police brutality as a big problem. Police do anything with their autonomy and escape convictions. Gender is also a determinant factor of police brutality, with LGBTQ, black, and Latino men more susceptible to police brutality. The history of brutal policing dates back to the great migration of African Americans from Southern rural areas to North and West urban areas (Hinton et al., 2021). The white police were unaccustomed to the presence of African Americans in their jurisdictions and tried to resist them by tainting stereotypes. Segregation began in the interest of white safety, and the aftermath was brutal police misuse of African Americans. Research shows that there is enough evidence...