Differential police treatment essays

Differential police treatment essays The recent videotaped beating of an African American man in Cincinnati, Ohio by police officers has once again called attention to the volatile relations between police and the African American community. Though this incident is still in its investigation stage, it is merely one in a long history of allegations regarding police misconduct against African American people. For critics, such police conduct includes verbal abuse, unjustified stops and the use of excessive force. Ronald Weitzer (1999) found that according to surveys done by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, police officers have used excessive force in less than 1 percent of contacts with civilians and suspects. Contrary to these statistics, however, blacks perceive excessive force as a problem. A further survey conducted by NBC News found that 43 percent of black respondents had little confidence on the police in the matter of "not using excessive force on suspects" (cited in Weitzer 1999). Definitions of "excessive force" differ from community to community. In two middle-class communities outside of Washington, DC with a majority of black citizens, the practice of "proning out" a suspect on the ground was common during street arrests. This involves putting the individuals on the ground with their arms behind the back. Many black residents charge that individuals are proned out on the ground even when the suspect presents no danger to the officers (Weitzer 1999). In Los Angeles, many members of the African American community feel that they are targeted for more violent police behavior. Often, a suspect who is already proned out was further pinned down with the feet or knees. An amateur video captured an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department slam a black teenager and slam the slender, special-education student on the hood of a car. Later investigations showed that the teenager ha ...