Introduction
For many years, society has been continuously faced with various issues. Some of these issues have affected human beings either in positive or negative ways. However, negative issues have become the main focus because they prevent human beings from performing their daily activities peacefully. Every country has been faced with a number of these issues. The United States of America is one of the nations that has encountered many social issues that have affected a part of its population. The population of the US is made up of different groups of people. However, there is a majority group and minority groups. The most notable minority groups in America are African Americans. The presence of these groups has led to many issues within the society, the main one being racism. Being the minority groups, African Americans have been discriminated against due to their race in various instances compared to the whites, who are the majority. Racial discrimination has affected African Americans to an extent where they cannot access certain essential services for their well-being and existence. Also, racial discrimination has resulted in the violation of these African Americans (Chaney and Robertson, 495). One of the instances whereby African Americans have experienced racial discrimination is with law enforcement. In the US, there has been an increase in the rates of police brutality. However, the population that has been affected the most by police brutality has been African Americans. Therefore, this paper seeks to discuss police brutality on African Americans.
Reasons for Police Brutality
The main reason African Americans have to experience the highest police brutality cases is that most of them are seen as criminals. Racial discrimination has become widespread in the US to an extent whereby the minority and the minority groups cannot live within the same neighborhood. Neighborhoods in the US have been segregated to an extent whereby the Whites live in good places while the African Americans are left in poorly maintained areas (Chaney and Robertson, 500). Most of these places where African Americans lives are called the ghetto and are considered low income.
Due to the low-income social situation that most African Americans are associated with, it is believed that most of them cannot cater to their needs. These individuals have had to look for means to help them access their needs, and one of them is through crime (Chaney and Robertson, 500). In many neighborhoods where African Americans live, it is evident that the crime rates are high as people are looking for a livelihood. The crime rates have become high to the level whereby individuals walk around with guns for personal protection (Taylor, 78). This issue has created a stereotype among the Americans that any person who is an African American is likely to engage in crime such as robbery. In this case, law enforcement officers have become harsh on them in many ways. Most police officers are likely to use excessive force when handling African Americans than whites (Chaney and Robertson, 500). The main reason for the use of force is that African Americans are associate with crime, and they are likely to react violently. The use of forces among the African Americans has been excessive to the extent that some of them have been killed, such as George Floyd, while they were innocent (Chaney and Robertson, 500).
Legal protections of the police officers have mainly contributed to the increased police brutality on African Americans. Police officers in the United States have certain advantages in regards to legal proceedings as well as in court. In this case, police officers may engage in misconduct such as the use of excessive force, but when they are taken to court, their records will be hidden from the public.
These police officers are protected in that they cannot be prosecuted. This freedom has granted these police officers the free will to do whatever they want (Taylor, 78). Due to the racial discrimination against the African Americans, the police officer is likely to take advantage and use force on them because they are aware that they can get aware of the matter, and this has led to increased rates of police brutality across the United States (Chaney and Robertson, 500).
Effects of Police Brutality on Africans Americans
Police brutality on African Americans has affected them in many ways. The use of forces on African Americans has led to some of them being injured (Schwartz, 90). Most African Americans have been injured because the amount of force used against them is excessive. In some cases, police brutality has led to the death of innocent African Americans. It is evident that many African Americans in the US who have been killed were innocent (Schwartz, 90). This issue has caused a lot of pain and grief among their families. For example, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd's killing affected their families as they had to experience the pain of losing a loved one.
The other way that police brutality has affected African Americans is that it has instilled fear into them. Most African Americans are constantly scared of police officers. In this case, many of them cannot be able to perform their daily activities as usual. For example, when an African American is walking around and then sees a police officer, they will be scared for a moment because one is not aware of what can happen to them (Schwartz, 90). Due to the racial profiling that African Americans are associated with crimes, it will be easy for police officers to be harassed.
Also, police brutality has affected African Americans because some of them cannot walk freely in the white neighborhood (Schwartz, 90). When an African American is spotted in a white neighborhood, there is a high chance that the person will be questioned as many people will presume that he or she wants to commits a particular crime (Chaney and Robertson, 500). Furthermore, police brutality on African Americans has instilled fear in the sense that some of them, when they see a law enforcement officer, they started running away (Schwartz, 90). As these individuals start running away, the police officers will suspect them to have done a specific illegal activity. In this case, they may be pursued and questioned, and in some cases, they may be wrongfully arrested and charged for a crime that they have not committed (Chaney and Robertson, 500).
The issue of police brutality has greatly affected African Americans in several ways. In this case, most African Americans cannot live their lives peacefully as they are in constant fear of crossing lines with the police officers (Jean 90). Due to the level of effect that police brutality has had on African Americans, it is essential to develop measures to eradicate the matter (Schwartz, 90). Reducing police brutality in society will ensure that there is a conducive environment for African Americans to perform their activities peacefully to achieve their desires in life (Jean 90).
Eradicating Police Brutality
An example of an approach that can be used to eradicate police brutality in African Americans is punishing the police officers who have been involved in the cases (Chaney and Robertson, 500). The codes and regulations set to protect the police offers should be eradicated so that if they use excessive force while arresting the African Americans, they can be prosecuted. This approach will ensure police officers handle every other person with a reasonable amount of force. The police officers will not be able to use excessive for since they are aware that they are not immune, and they can be prosecuted like any other person.
Another approach that can be used to resolve police brutality against African Americans is creating awareness to stop racial profiling. Racial profiling is the main factor that has led to excessive force on African Americas since they are associated with crime (Jean 90). Hence, when racial profiling stops, African Americans will not be seen as a source of violence or crime but as part of society.
The other approach that can be used to reduce police brutality against African Americans is that agency should be created to act as a watchdog over the law enforcement officers (Turner and Richardson, 78). The watchdog will ensure that the law enforcement officer performs their duties right, and in the event, some use excessive force, the matter will be made public for the relevant authority to take action.
Conclusion
In conclusion, police brutality has been a critical issue in the US for many years. However, not everyone has been affected by the matter. The majority of people who have been affected by police brutality have African Americans for several years now. The main reason as to why African Americans have been the most affected is due to racial discrimination. African Americans have been racially discriminated against in many ways, including where they live. In this case, most African Americans have been pushed to low-income neighborhoods, which are always associated with crime. In this case, most African Americans are associated with the crime, which they use to gain a livelihood. In this case, when these individuals meet the police officers, they are likely to encounter brutality since they are presumed to commit certain crimes. The issue of police brutality has affected most African Americans because some have been injured while struggling with the police, while others have been killed in the process. This matter has led most of their families to pain and grief. Also, most African Americans have become afraid of police officers because they fear being treated wrongly. The rise in the cases of police brutality has increased because they are unreported. In this case, most police officers believe that they can use excessive force on specific individuals because they are aware that they cannot be sued for it. With the issue affecting African Americans, there must be measures to deal with it. Some of the measures include increasing awareness and reported the matters so that the police officers do not get away with it. It is recommended that the measures developed should be adhered to by all the relevant authorities and stakeholders to ensure that police brutality on African Americans is reduced and that they can continue with their life peacefully.
