Police Brutality - Essay Example

Police Brutality

The nature and aspects of police brutality refer to the idea of using excessive force when it comes to dealing with the civilians. The controversies that focus on the police brutality topic have relations to different expectations and definitions over the idea and the meaning of excessive force. It is imperative to note that the police have the authority of using necessary reasonable force when performing their duties. So long as the people focus on not complying with the laws and resist the police, the use of force will always remain to be part and nature of policing in the society (Roberson 102).

Ideally, there is a difference when it comes to the legal or legitimate force and excessive or illegitimate force in use by the police. The argument on this issue has always been that the use of force should not only focus on the question of a reaction to the violation by the citizens by a give n police officer. However, it also involves a different set of actions where it does not conform to the spirit of the law and its understanding in the corridors of justice. The issues on police brutality may include unlawfully beating of different citizens by an officer who is using the cover of the law or police officers who use unjust means to harm other people and condone the same activity by their colleagues. Therefore, the issue of police brutality does not only focus on the simplicity of the presence of the use of force but also on the degree, omission, reasonableness, and kind.

Although one may argue that, the brutality by the police may occur whenever the officers use violence. Some of the media and news outlets have given a limitation to the definition of the ideas on the excessive force that is deliberate and conscious in comparison to the mistake by good faith of a given officer who uses an unnecessary force in a situation (Phillips 2). In contrast to this idea, the accreditation by the Communication Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) does not contemplate the views on the intention of the police officer. However, the act gives permission to the police officer to use necessary force in the process of accomplishing lawful objectives that are lawful. It also describes excessive force as any form or level of force that is by any standards is more than necessary.

Remedies to Reduce the Issues of Police Brutality

The use of lawsuits in many ways has proven that it is an efficient way of controlling the practices of brutality by the police. According to the US Department of Justice, it is empowered to sue a given police department. The act provides authority to the Justice Department to use any police officer where there have been allegations that there was practice or pattern of police brutality and any form of abuse of power.

There has been a dramatic impact of the suits that focus on the pattern of the use of the violation. Through this strategy, the Justice Department could sue and enter into consent decrees with many of the police departments. Some of the examples include the New Jersey Police Department in the limitation of its racial and reliance on different traffic stops. The other action is on the Ohio Police to focus on reducing the use of excessive force and the Pittsburg police department to increase its oversight and the issues of accountability. The other notable example is the Los Angeles Police Department over its frequent brutality and scandals where a Federal Judge ruled for the creation of laws that fight organized crimes which in any instance can be in use against the police. A monitor who is appointed by the courts has to ensure that the department complies with the consent decrees. Some of these lawsuits on patterns have a potential of bringing sweeping changes to the practices by the police and in the end, reduce the use of excessive force.

Additionally, any individual citizen or can sue a give n police department primarily for monetary damages. Some of the costs of these lawsuits can have great significance. One example of the case was in the Detroit Police Department, which had to pay an average of 10 million dollars per year to resolve some of the lawsuits per year in solving cases of police misconduct. In response to some of these suits, some of the police departments have made decisions and steps to reduce the cases of police misconduct. One example is where the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors had an arrangement of a special counsel in the process of investigating some of the problems facing the Los Angeles Police Department. Here, they gave recommendations on untimely reduction of the costs of litigation through police reforms.

The idea of the use of criminal prosecution is another suitable legal avenue that can help in deterring the increase in police brutality. However, it is imperative to note that some of the prosecutors have shown reluctance when it comes to pursuing criminal charges against some of the individual officers. The scenario presents a new problem where prosecutors have a reliance on the police officers in securing a conviction, and therefore they focus on not damaging the relationship with the institution. Additionally, some of the sentences against the individual police officers are hard when it comes to proving it beyond the threshold of the law which is beyond the reasonable doubt. In many other cases, the law requires that the jurors have to emphasize the issue of beyond reasonable doubt, which forces the prosecutors to avoid conviction of the police officers in some of the crimes that they commit.

Different forms of criminal convictions are rare against the police officers, but in other cases, they occur. In one of the cases of Abner Louima, Volpe Justin pled guilty to penetrating Louima with a broomstick and was a sentence of 30 years in prison. Another suspect was Charles Schwarz whose initial conviction was obstruction of justice. However, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Some of the sentence by the other officers in the crime had their convictions overturned by the appeal court. These types of cases seem not convincing and may be unclear when it comes to deterring some of the claims of brutality by the police officers. It is imperative to note that the issues of acquittal of the police officers have the effect of sending a message to the public that any given police officers can get away with crimes (Egharevba 78).

One of the other known potential mechanisms for the control of the brutality by the police is using complaint boards for civilians. These boards may focus on serving as reviewers of complaints by the citizens who are independent of the police force. Here, they can be useful in aiding in the process of monitoring different departments of police and therefore help in the review of the policy by force. Although most of these boards have faced criticism due to many issues that touch the interests of the public, they may be useful in increasing the transparency of the department of police, which may help in improving the confidence that the people have with the police through the process of complaints. However, it is essential to hold the idea that the review boards are only useful if there is cooperation with the police and the prosecutors.

Conclusion

The issue of police brutality remains to be a big challenge to the topic of law enforcement. The frequency of the occurrence of the police brutality has the probability of reducing in the future if there are sufficient mechanisms that focus on ensuring that there is accountability by the police and an increase on the emphasis of professionalism by the police. Although some cases of police brutality in many ways may be unavoidable, there is the need for the implementation of accountability measures to focus on reducing the overall pattern and occurrence of brutality by the police. The application of the accountability measures may help change the culture of police brutality. Until there is the implementation of some of the steps, the issue of excessive force by the police may not end in the coming years