R a c i a l l y B i a s e d P o l i c i n g a n d P o l i c e B r u t a l i t y i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s P o l i c e F o r c e
Prepared for: International Association of Chiefs of PolicePrepared by: Mary Grace MooneyDate: May 1, 2015MGMT 300
Table Of Contents
Executive Summary………………………………………………………3
Introduction.................................................................................................4
The Issue…………………………………………………………………. 5
Racial Profiling……………………………………………………5
The Use of Deadly Force ……………………………………….…7
Racial Biases and Police Gun Use……………………………….. 9
Monumental Cases of Police Brutality and Racial Policing…………...9
Rodney King and the Los Angeles Riots of 1992……….……..….10
Eric Garner and the Manhattan Protests of 2014………….…….11
Michael Brown and the Ferguson Riots of 2014…………….…...12
Freddie Gray and the Baltimore Riots of 2015…………….…….17
Solutions…………………………………………………………………18
Thorough Record Keeping and Investigations………………...…18
Police Body Cameras…………………….……………………....19
Eliminating Implicit Bias…………………….…………………..20
Works Cited…………………………………………………………….22
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Executive Summary
This report is given to the International Association of Chiefs of Police. While the issue of bias policing and police brutality has seemed exceptionally prevalent in the past few years, African Americans and minorities have been disproportionately targeted by police officers for decades. Dating back from the 1920’s and 1960’s the police force has shown racial bias and used excessive force on blacks much more frequently than whites. Police brutality occurs in many forms; it refers to physical force as well as verbal attack. Other tactics include, psychological intimidation, racial profiling, false arrest, unwarranted use of a gun, political corruption or police corruption. These issues have caused division and distrust between communities and their police force as well as slowed down our nation’s progress towards complete racial equality. This report focuses on three very controversial cases of police brutality as well as racial bias within U.S police forces.
Racial profiling and excessive use of force are two of the main elements of unfair policing that have caused immense controversy. Racial profiling refers to the exercise of stopping or targeting someone based on their race rather than by reasonable and individualized suspicion. Evidence reveals that police officers purposely target African Americans based on their race rather than for reasonable suspicion. Evidence has also found that excessive force is used much more often on blacks than on whites. Police officers are only allowed to use excessive force in certain situations such as, if they have true fear their lives are in danger and act in self-defense. If an arrestee is un-armed and does not resist arrest, police are prohibited from using deadly force.
The cases of Rodney King in Los Angeles, Eric Garner in Staten Island, Michael Brown in Ferguson, and most recently, Freddie Gray in Baltimore all reflect the major issues involving bias policing and police brutality. Each of these African American men were unarmed and had fallen victim to the institutionalized racism in our nation’s police force. These incidents caused severe civil unrest and inflamed the nation’s awareness of this tragic issue that continues to persist. It is important to note, however, that while these famous cases are important in understanding this problem, they are not isolated instances. Incidents of police brutality and racial profiling occur everyday all over our country. One of the main problems preventing us from fixing the issue is that the police force has failed at recording reliable and thorough data.
This report analyzes why exactly racial profiling and police brutality occur and three possible starting solutions. These solutions include the enforcement of better record keeping, police body cameras, and required education/training programs to help eliminate implicit bias that can cause police officers to resort to racial profiling and the use of excessive force. This report aims at helping The International Association of Chiefs of Police better understand the underlying issues and what they can do to help improve our police forces.
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Introduction
Police brutality, specifically targeted towards African Americans, has an extensive legacy
in American history. While the issue has been particularly prevalent over the past year, this
problem has existed for decades. Instances of police brutality have been occurring since the
Prohibition in the 1920’s and the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. Police brutality is the
malicious use of excessive force by a police officer, typically physical but can also be in the form
of verbal attack. This violence of extreme degree is not supported by a legitimate police function.
Forms of police brutality include: psychological intimidation, racial profiling, false arrest,
unwarranted use of a gun, political corruption or police corruption. Recently, this issue has been
brought to mass public attention, concerning police authority and inherent racism. Over the years
and especially currently, excessive force and “shootings of a minority suspect may engender a
sense of mistrust and victimization among community members and give rise to conflict between
the community and police” (Correll, 1006). From the LA riots in 1992, to the Ferguson riots last
August and now to the riots currently erupting in Baltimore, unfair policing and institutionalized
racism within the police force has caused serious upheaval and mistrust between community
members and the police force that is supposed to be protecting them. Bias policing is found in
many other forms other than the use of excessive force, there is evidence that the police force
disproportionately targets African Americans and Hispanics for traffic stops, citations and
arrests. This report will touch more in depth on the problem of bias policing, what is currently
happening to fix it and what more can be done.
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The Issue
Racial profiling
Racial profiling refers to the exercise of stopping or targeting someone based on their
race rather than by reasonable and individualized suspicion. The data on racial profiling supports
the claims of racial biases within the police force. In 2004, a national study found that 40% of
blacks compared to only 5% of whites had been stopped by the police that year, just because of
their race. Public-police surveys distributed in 2004 also found that black motorists were more
frequently stopped than whites (Farrell, 53). Although these statistics are rather recent, close
surveillance of African-Americans and other minorities has existed for decades. The 1968 ruling
of Terry v. Ohio set the legal standard for police conduct in citizen stops. This case set the
precedent for “reasonable suspicion” standards in searching and arresting citizens. In 2000, this
concept was expanded after the ruling of Illinois v. Wardlow, in which the location of the
suspicion could also be a reason to detain citizens. This case ruled that, “a location’s
characteristics are relevant to determining whether a behavior is sufficiently suspicious to
warrant further investigation” (Gelman, 841). As a result, because ‘high-crime areas’ often have
high concentrations of minority citizens, minority neighborhoods are at risk for elevating the
suspiciousness of their residents” (Gelman, 814). A study done in 1986 showed that a suspect’s
race as well as the “racial composition” of his neighborhood influenced the police officer’s
decision to stop and search the suspect. Police officers have defended themselves on the grounds
that minorities commit more crimes than whites and “the spatial concentration and disparate
impacts of crimes committed by and against minorities justifies more aggressive enforcement in
minority communities”(Gelman, 841).
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The NYPD’s stop-and-frisk tactics raise serious concerns regarding racial profiling and is
an example of how racial bias within a police force can cause a community’s mistrust in the legal
system. Stop-and-frisk is a type of search in which an NYPD police officer confronts a
suspicious person in an effort to prevent another crime from happening. The police frisks (pats)
the suspect down over his clothes in search of weapons and then questions him. If the officer
feels what he thinks is a weapon he is permitted to reach inside the person’s clothing. If he finds
evidence of a weapon he can then continue with a formal arrest, if he does not, then the search is
over and the suspect is released (Legal Dictionary). There are federal and state laws that name
reasons for stopping a suspicious person unconstitutional. For example, under the law a police
officer is not permitted to stop someone based off of a bulge in the pocket or if a person walks
away from the police. “However, when the police observe illegal activity, weapons, a person
who fits a description, or suspicious behavior in a crime area, then stop and frisks have been
ruled constitutional”(Gelman, 816).
A 1999 study was performed on the NYPD to determine if the officers were acting in an
unfair or racist manner. The results of the research did in fact imply that officers were
performing searches with a racial bias: “Blacks and Hispanics represented 51% and 33% of the
stops while representing only 26% and 24% of the New York City population. Compared with
the number of arrests of each group in the previous year, blacks were stopped 23% more often
than whites and Hispanics were stopped 39% more often than whites” (Gelman, 822). Stop-and-
frisk practices still remain a very controversial topic. A 2014 study showed that 82% of the 4.3
million stops over 9 years were performed on African Americans and Latinos. Many New York
politicians and New York Civil Liberties Union members have made it their mission to end the
inherently racist stop-and frisk practices. New York City mayor, Bill De Blasio, campaigned to
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deliver reforms to these practices and about a year ago announced that there would be “a monitor
for three years to oversee the creation of reforms aimed at ending discrimination. The monitor
will oversee a process in which communities most affected by stop-and-frisk tactics will provide
input on the reforms” (Mathias). Even though this was a great moment for New York citizens,
executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, asked people for their patience, as
reforms were still being developed. She stated, “Of course we understand that the culture of the
largest police force in the country cannot happen overnight” (Mathias).
The Use of Deadly Force
Before addressing specific events in which police officers have used excessive or deadly
force, it is crucial in understanding the appropriate situations in which a police officer can
exercise deadly force, specifically by means of a gun. “Under the present law it is important that
the officer know whether the arrestee has committed a misdemeanor or a felony”(Gambel, 756).
If the arrestee is committing a misdemeanor it is prohibited in most states for a police officer to
use deadly force. This is because a minor crime that does not threaten the life of the police
officer is not sufficient to warrant excessive bodily harm. If the arrestee has committed a felony
and is resisting arrest, the officer is permitted to use deadly force if its use is absolutely necessary
in restraining the arrestee. However, in this type of situation, two things are mandatory: One, the
arrestee must be aware that he is being arrested under the law and two, there must be no other
way to restrain the criminal but to use force. If the officer were to kill the felon, it is not justified
if the arrest could have been made without using severe force. If the arrestee is resisting arrest
and the police officer has full belief that his life is being threatened, killing the arrestee as a
result of self-defense is justified. “There are two requirements for the exercise of this privilege:
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that the circumstances be such as to reasonably warrant the belief that the officer’s life is
threatened, and that he honestly believes that such danger exists” (Gambel 757).
What if an arrestee flees from an officer who seeks to arrest him? Just like above, the
officer must consider if the criminal is committing a felony or misdemeanor. If the arrestee has
committed a misdemeanor, using deadly force is never justified to stop his escape. If the officer
were to fire his gun in order to frighten the criminal, but accidently hits him, the officer will not
be excused of unwarranted excessive force. However, if the criminal is guilty of a felony and
flees from arrest, the officer is permitted to use his gun only if the arrest could not be made any
other way. Before shooting the officer must make sure that he made every effort to let the
fugitive know the policeman is an officer of the law. The officer must only use his gun as a last
resort. He should attempt to use his voice, whistle or siren before pulling out and using his
revolver.
One of the most problematic circumstances dealing with excessive force is suspicion. The
above situations involve an officer knowing a person had committed either a felony or a
misdemeanor. When an officer acts on suspicion alone, uncertain if a misdemeanor or felony has
actually been committed, using deadly force is never permissible. Majority of courts have held
that if an officer uses deadly force based off of suspicion and the suspect turns out to be an
innocent person, the act can never be justified. “The reason for this rule is that human life is too
sacred to be placed in danger without sufficient reason (Gambel, 758). These laws are in place to
set standards and guidelines for policeman, to keep our communities safe and to instill trust
between citizens and law enforcement.
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Racial Bias and Police Gun Use
Motivated by high-profile police shootings of unarmed black men, many social
psychologists have recently performed research to determine whether or not a suspect’s race
influences a police officer’s decision to use excessive force, particularly with a gun. For years
now, other types of researchers have been investigating this issue and have found significant
evidence “that police use greater force, including lethal force, with minority suspects than with
white suspects. Data from the Department of Justice, itself, indicate that Black suspects are
approximately five times more likely than White suspects, per capita to die at the hands of a
police officer”(Correll, 1006). Some research also suggests that bias in police shootings is a
result of the officer’s role as “protectors of the privileged (predominantly white) classes over the
less fortunate (predominantly minority) members of society” (Correll, 1007).
Monumental Cases of Police Brutality and Racial Policing
There are three high-profile cases that will be examined and analyzed. These individual
instances have brought the issue of bias-based policing into public attention and caused
American citizens to doubt not only the intentions of the police force, but also the progress of
racial equality in America. The murders of Rodney King in Los Angeles, Michael Brown in
Ferguson, Eric Garner in Staten Island, and Freddie Gray in Baltimore were all a result of
unjustified police brutality and racial policing. Each case caused severe chaos and destruction
within their communities and received a great deal of media attention, inflaming racial tension
across the United States.
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Rodney King and the Los Angeles Riots of 1922
In 1991, African American male, Rodney King, was speeding down the Los Angeles 210
freeway when an officer began following him in attempt to pull him over for speeding. King led
the officers on a 7.8 mile chase, getting up to about 115 mph (Deitz, A10). King had had a
substantial amount to drink that night and was later found to have a blood-alcohol level about 2.5
times above the legal driving limit. When the cops finally got him to pull over, he stepped out of
the car and officers claimed he began resisting arrest. Sergeant Stacey Koon attempted to subdue
him by shooting her TASER gun at him; after that proved unsuccessful, the officers began to
ruthlessly beat him with their batons. Officer Laurence Powell struck him 56 times repeatedly
and kicked him several times (The Economist). An eyewitness caught this brutal beating on tape
from his balcony close by. A few days later he sent the videotape to a local news channel and
almost immediately the video went viral, stunning the country and even further angering the
already fed up Los Angeles African American community (Gray). The footage is horrifying and
clearly shows police officers imposing unnecessary excessive force on King, hitting him with a
baton when he is clearly not moving and is no longer a threat to the officers safety. After the tape
went viral, a Los Angeles poll showed that 92% of those polled believed that excessive force was
used against Rodney King and even “Police Chief Daryl Gates called the use of force ‘very,very
extreme’” (Lindner,).
Although the video clearly showed the use of excessive force on an unarmed man, the
defense lawyers argued, “the officers acted reasonable because the suspect had been acting
erratically and was resisting arrest” (Stevens, B8). On the other side of the argument, the
prosecutors claimed, “officers disobeyed police department policy when they struck a fallen
suspect”(Stevens, B8). Mr. King also told the jurors that he was “taunted with a racial epithet
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during his beating”(Stevens, B8). The trial was moved to Simi Valley about 40 miles from LA
and was heard by a predominately white jury. The jury ruled that the videotape was not sufficient
evidence because it did not capture the seconds before the beating, when King apparently
resisted arrest and charged one of the police officers. The four officers were acquitted of all but
one of the11 charges. This acquittal outraged the Los Angeles citizens, especially the minority
communities and sparked the Los Angeles riots of 1992.
Within hours of the court decision, on April 29, Los Angeles was up in flames. Arson and
looting consumed the city for four days and cost the lives of 54 people and left the city with $1
billion dollars of property damage. Over 7,000 persons were arrested during this revolt. This
episode marked the deadliest and most destructive civil uproar in the United States since the civil
war (Hodak, 72). Organizations such as the Rebuild LA (RLA) were founded after the riots to
begin restoring the downtown LA neighborhoods. However, some store owners could not afford
repair or to replace stolen merchandise and were forced to shut down for good. This incident has
forever changed LA and has been remembered as one of the most significant police brutality
cases in American history. Sadly, the problem did not end here.
Eric Garner and the Manhattan Protests of 2014
Eric Garner, a 43 year old, un-armed African American man, was put in a chokehold by a
Staten Island police officer and was suffocated to death. The officers approached Garner on
suspicion of selling un taxed individual cigarettes, a charge he had repeatedly been arrested for.
A bystander caught the following moments on video: When the police officers attempted to
arrest him, Garner asked them to leave him alone and claimed he had done nothing wrong. As
police attempted to arrest him, Garner clearly puts his arms up in surrender but officer Daniel
Panteleo continues to then place his arms around his throat, bring him to the ground and
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chokehold him, a tactic banned in New York City. The video shows Garner gasping for air and
repeatedly saying, “I cant breath.” The other officer pressed his head against the sidewalk
(Semuels). Garner was overweight, had asthma and had previous heart conditions; all of which
the police officers were unaware of and a good example of why the chokehold was banned in
NYC. The tactic is simply too dangerous and forceful. Garner did not try to run away, resist
arrest, or impose force on either officer; Garner was not a threat to the lives of the officers and
the chokehold was clearly not an act of self-defense. However, the court failed to indict Daniel
Pantaleo. This ruling immediately resulted in protests all over Manhattan and once again sparked
questions of inherent racism within the police force and mistrust in the law enforcement all
across America.
A federal investigation into the chokehold death of Eric Garner is now underway to
determine whether or not Garner’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated. “A key question will
be whether the government can show willfulness on the part of Officer Pantaleo” (Weiser). This
investigation raises the hopes of many Americans, especially African Americans, who are tired
of racial policing. It will be extremely disheartening for the African American communities and
many other people across the United States to see a police officer kill a non-threatening man in
broad daylight, especially using the illegal chokehold tactic, walk away without any
consequences.
Michael Brown and the Ferguson Riots of 2014
On August 9 of last year, 18 year old, Michael Brown, an unarmed African American,
was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri. There are
multiple different accounts of what exactly happened on that dreadful afternoon, as there is no
video documentation of the events leading up to and including the shooting. Dorian Johnson,
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Michael Brown’s friend was with Brown that afternoon and claims that the two were walking in
the middle of the street when officer Wilson pulled up beside them and asked them to walk on
the sidewalk. The facts are hazy, but Johnson says that the officer threatened to shoot Brown and
then fired multiple times as Brown ran for his life. He also claimed that Brown yelled, “I don’t
have a gun, stop shooting!” Daren Wilson’s account of the event is much different. He claims
that Brown was holding cigarillos that were reported stolen from a local store hours before and
that Brown was refusing to get out of the road. Officer Wilson claims that when he tried to open
his car door, Brown shoved the door and then punched him in the face. Brown then reached
inside the car and tried to grab his gun. The officer claims that after this scuffle through the
window, Brown and his friend ran off. He then stepped out of his vehicle and ran after the two.
He says, “Mr. Brown turned around and charged at him, with a hand reaching under his shirt in
the waistband of his trousers” (BBC News). He then says he fired as Mr. Brown was gaining on
him. This is quite different then Johnson’s testimony that stated Brown stopped running and
threw up his arms in a gesture of surrender.
This he said, he said case has become one of the most controversial cases of racial bias
policing. In November 2014, the St. Louis County grand jury and the U.S Department of Justice
decided there was not enough evidence to indict officer Wilson. What happened next was very
similar to what occurred after the Rodney King verdict; the town of Ferguson went up in flames
less than an hour after the court’s decision. This riot lasted all night resulting in destroyed
businesses, buildings left in ashes, melted cars and looted stores. “The St. Louis police arrested
61 people overnight for various charges including arson, unlawful assembly, assult, unlawful
possession of a firearm, burglary, trespassing and more” (Murray).
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Following the court decision, the U.S Department of Justice conducted a federal
investigation on the alleged racially bias Ferguson Police Department, and the results were
stunning. The report “revealed a pattern of practice of unlawful conduct within the Ferguson
Police Department that violates the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United
States Constitution, and federal statutory law.” Over the course of the investigation the
Department of Justice interviewed city officials, the Municipal Judge, the Municipal Court
Clerk, Ferguson’s Finance Director, half of the Ferguson Police Department’s sworn officers,
and others. They spent 100 person-days onsite and participated in ride-alongs with on-duty
officers. The DOJ “reviewed over 35,0000 pages of police records as well as thousands of emails
and other electronic materials provided by the police department.” The DOJ also called on the
assistance of statistical experts to help analyze the FDP’s “data on stops, searches, citations, and
arrests, as well as data collected by the municipal court.” The DOJ interviewed dozens of people
charged with local offenses and they “received third- party studies regarding municipal court
practices in Ferguson and St. Louis County more broadly.” The DOJ sought to include the
community in the investigation by “conducting hundreds of in-person and telephone interviews
of individuals who reside in Ferguson or who have had interactions with the police department
(United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, 1).
This investigation revealed that the city’s stress on revenue generation has a weighty
affect on FPD’s approach to law. The enforcement strategies and initiatives, developed by the
FDP are geared towards raising more revenue, rather than protecting the people. This tactic has
caused community distrust because many of the citizens, specifically African Americans, see
their constitutional rights violated almost everyday. Officers stop citizens without reasonable
suspicion, arrest them without probably cause and use unreasonable force. They also “infringe on
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resident’s First Amendment rights, interfering with their right to record police activities and
making enforcement decisions based on content on individual’s expression” (United States
Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, 15). The following data proves this unfair policing
in Ferguson and explains the “deep mistrust between parts of the community and the police
department. While also, “undermining law enforcement legitimacy among African Americans in
particular” (United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, 2).
The report states, “Ferguson’s approach to law enforcement both reflects and reinforces
racial bias, including stereotyping. The harms of Ferguson’s police and court practices are borne
disproportionately by African Americans, and there is evidence that this is due in part to
intentional discrimination on the basis of race” (United States Department of Justice Civil Rights
Division, 4). The data collected on the Ferguson PD between 2012 and 2014 supports this
statement. The DOJ found African Americans account for 85% or vehicle stops, 90% of
citations, and 93% of arrests made by the FDP officers, while only making up 67% of Ferguson’s
population. The investigators also found that “African Americans are more than twice as likely
as white drivers to be searched during vehicle stops even after controlling for non-race based
variables such as the reason the vehicle stop was initiated, but are found in possession of
contraband 26% less often than a white driver.” This suggests that officers are considering race
when determining whether or not to search. During these two years the FDP “issued four or more
citations to African Americans on 73 occasions, but issued four or more citations to non-African
Americans only twice” (United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, 4). With
respect to speeding charges, the evidence reveals that African Americans are represented at
disproportionally higher rates. Also, the “disparate impact of FDP’s enforcement practices on
African Americans is 48% larger when citations are issued not on the basis of radar or laser, but
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by some other method, such as the officer’s own visual assessment” (United States Department
of Justice Civil Rights Division, 5).
The disparities also appear in the data collected on the FDP’s use of force. A shocking,
90% of documented force used by the FDP were used against African Americans in Ferguson.
Every canine bite report reveals the person bitten was an African American. Municipal court
practices are also guilty of targeting African Americans. Black citizens are 68% less likely to
have their cases dismissed and African Americans are around 50% more likely to have their
cases lead to an arrest warrant. Other evidence of racial discrimination was found among police
and court staff in Ferguson such as racist emails between police supervisors. This data reveals
that these disparities occur “because of unlawful bias against and stereotypes about African
Americans”. The Department of Justice had also “found no alternative explanation for the
disproportionate impact on African American residents other than implicit and explicit racial
bias” (United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, 5).
While the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases occurred close in time and both question
the intentions of police officers, there is one notable difference between them; the evidence
presented in the Michael Brown case was inconsistent because of a lack of video footage. Also,
the various eyewitnesses recounted contradicting events, making it difficult for the jury to decide
whether or not the gunshots were warranted. For example, some eyewitnesses claimed that
Brown put his hands in the air and surrendered, others claim he did not. The jury did not indict
Wilson due to the inconsistent evidence as well as the evidence that proves Brown and Wilson
struggled over his gun. On the contrary, the video evidence of Eric Garner’s death shows
excessive, as well as illegal force being used by police officers. Eric Garner was unarmed and
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showed no real threat to the lives of the police officers. The video shows Garner raising his arms
in surrender and does not show any signs of attempt to flee or threaten the lives of either officer.
Freddie Gray and the Baltimore Riots of 2015
The most recently publicized case of police brutality and racial policing occurred April
12, 2015. Freddy Gray, a 25 year old African American, was arrested in Baltimore city after
making eye contact with police and then running away. The officers claimed he was carrying a
switchblade, an illegal deadly weapon banned by Maryland, which later turned out to be a short-
bladed folding knife, similar to the ones many law-abiding Americans carry (Jonsson). The
altercation was recorded by a bystander and has since been replayed all over the media. The
video reveals Gray yelling in pain and being dragged into the police van with a limp leg. What
happens after is a clear act of police brutality: The police officers made their first stop at Baker
Street, removed Gray from the wagon, shackled him, filled out paper work and then put him
back in the van. The officers placed him on his stomach head first onto the floor of the wagon
without putting him in a seatbelt. Baltimore State Attorney, Marilyn Mosby stated, “following
transport from Baker Street, Mr. Gray suffered a severe and critical neck injury as a result of
being handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained inside of the BPD wagon” (CBS News).
During the second stop Officer Goodson checked on Gray but did not make any attempt to seek
medical assistance for the arrestee. Similarly, the third time they stopped, Gray asked repeatedly
for a medic but again, officers failed to get him help. Officer Goodson received a request to
assist at a nearby arrest. Once he stopped at the requested location, Sgt. Alicia White, Officer
Goodson and Officer Porter found Gray unresponsive in the back of the wagon. Again, none of
the officers called for medical assistance. About 30 minutes after Gray’s initial arrest, the police
officers arrived at the police station to find that Gray was not breathing. A medic was finally
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called and after examining Gray, revealed that he was in cardiac arrest and was critically injured.
His severe injuries to his neck and spine caused Gray to fall into a coma. He died a week later.
The six officers involved in the incident were charged for the death of Gray. They were charged
on accounts of manslaughter, false imprisonment, assault and misconduct.
On April 27, about a week after Gray’s death, Baltimore erupted into civil unrest. Gangs
and rioters set buildings on fire, looted local businesses and injured at least 25 police officers.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and called in the National
Guard. President Obama condemned the “criminals and thugs who tore up the city” and more
importantly, acknowledged, “there are some police who aren’t doing the right thing” and that
racial disparities within the police force are “not new and we should not pretend it is new”
(Bradner). He stated, "I think there are police departments that have to do some soul-searching. I
think there are some communities that have to do some soul-searching. But I think we as a
country have to do some soul-searching." These bold and honest statements by President Obama
echoed throughout America. It is time to fix this problem.
Solutions
Thorough Record Keeping and Individual Investigations
Whether it is due to the recent Ferguson and Baltimore riots, or to our country’s historical
struggle with racism, African American communities are completely aware or racial policing
within the police force. In a recent Gallop Poll, 2011-2014 data reveal that 59% of whites have a
good amount of confidence in the police, while only 37% of African Americans hold confidence
in police (Newport). This divide explains why there is trouble building agreement on this issue.
“A number of reports highlight that gap as the first step in understanding why problems with race
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in policing tenaciously persist” (Newport). The gap must be closed. This issue intensifies
because there is no reliable data on policing on a national level. Without more consistent data, it
will be extremely difficult to find solutions to police brutality and racial bias in policing. The
U.S. Justice Department’s investigation of Ferguson is a superior example of the positive
outcomes that can arise from gathering consistent data and doing a thorough examination of a
police force. While the Ferguson report was a good first step in solving issues of unjust policing,
it is just one of the thousands of communities affected by the issue. The Ferguson report and the
President’s Task Force report recommend that law enforcement agencies nationwide collect
more data on police-involved deaths and use-of-force incidents. A recent Bureau of Justice report
revealed that only about 50% of police-involved deaths are reported on an annual basis
(Morales). 50% is not enough to end this problem. If these incidents are not reported and
analyzed, how will our society ever make progress? It will not and the number of brutality and
bias policing incidents will continue to grow. Police officers must be accounted for their actions.
And simply put, the cases discussed above are just a few of the police brutality cases that occur
everyday. If we want to restore the relationship between communities, particularly African
Americans, and the police force, police officers must honestly and comprehensively report their
actions. More consistent data and thorough investigations of individual state and local law
enforcement agencies are crucial and must be done to solve this enduring problem.
Body Cameras
Another solution to this problem would be to require all police officers to wear body
cameras. This idea has been suggested in a few cities due to recent police brutality incidents but
has yet to become made a national requirement. If all state and local police officers wore body
cameras, officers would be much more inclined to act fairly and in accordance with the law. This
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would help agencies determine where police officers are going wrong and what they can do to
improve. It will encourage police officers to treat each citizen fairly by ignoring the color of their
skin and to use excessive force only and if their lives are being seriously threatened. Also, body
cameras would be a great source to collect reliable data. In cases such as the Michael Brown
case, eyewitnesses told very different versions of the story and the case lacked reliable evidence.
A body camera is the perfect solution to this problem. If a case similar to Michael Brown were to
occur, the court system would be able to confidently and accurately deliver justice. Although, it
may be costly for all police officers to wear one of these, the benefits definitely outweigh the
costs.
Eliminating Implicit Bias
Implicit bias is one of the main causes of racial bias policing. Implicit bias is the attitude
and stereotypes that determine our judgments and behaviors below our conscious awareness. The
implicit bias held by police officers can affect the ways in which they police and make life-
threatening decisions. Phillip Goff, a renowned UCLA psychologist, performed a study on how
implicit bias affects policing and found that “upwards of 90% of our actions are determine by
implicit beliefs, not explicit ones” (Dianis). He also revealed that everyone he tested associated
blacks with more negative traits than whites. Even though police officers may not hold
consciously non-prejudiced attitudes, they may exist in their implicit bias, causing them to
unconsciously target African Americans. In order to solve this issue, and prevent implicit bias
from interrupting the duties of police officers, every police department should undergo rigorous
training programs to change the way officers think and undo the implicit associations that
officers have developed throughout their lifetimes. Programs such as The Fair and Impartial
Program are in existence, but is involved in only select police departments. If this type of intense
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training and curriculum were to be offered to every police officer, the police force will have
better relationships with their communities and will be able to police free of any implicit bias.
This will not only help police be better at their jobs but it will restore citizens’ trust in the police
force.
In conclusion, it is obvious that the problem of bias policing and police brutality is not
going to be solved tomorrow. Our country faces decades of history of discrimination, racial
profiling and the use of excessive force, particularly on African Americans. While we have made
progress, our society still suffers from institutionalized racism. This is seen through the decisions
that some of our nations police officers make and will continue to be a problem unless we begin
taking serious action. That being said, I would like to recognize and thank police officers all
across the country who put their lives in danger everyday. While this report mostly points out the
things police officers do wrong, there are millions of officers who wake up every morning and
risk their lives in order to protect our communities. It should be our goal as a nation to make sure
these intentions are instilled in every single one of our U.S. police officers.
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