About Police Brutality and Proposed Interventions
If you have watched the news over the past year, you probably have heard the names Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, and Eric Garner, all black individuals who have died in the hands of the police. Despite its mantra of "liberty and justice for all", the United States as a whole is threatened by this epidemic of radicalized police brutality. Currently, police are on track to be responsible for 1100 fatalities by the end of 2015 and when adjusted to reflect the US population, this total indicates that black people are being killed by police at over twice the rate of white, Hispanic, or Latino civilians (Newer N.p.) It seems that every day there is another story, another face, another devastated family on the news after a questionable killing or injury by police. With excessive use of force by police and the public's rampant denial of this issue, black confidence in law enforcement decreases, police are unaccountable for their actions, and innocent lives are lost. In response to racially charged police brutality, many have united under the "Black Lives Matter" movement in order to bring attention to systematic and intentional targeting of people of color in the United Sates.
Due to the complexity and magnitude of police brutality, in addition to the fervent debate surrounding it, there is much to consider when determining the most effective solution. Some argue that implementing the usage of police body cameras through legislation would curb officer’s use of unnecessary force while others feel that improved training of police officers is a remedy. However, some see police brutality as an issue that can only be solved when communities unite to take political and social action. This digital forum will examine the effectiveness and the advantages, along with the disadvantages, of these proposed solutions to racialized police brutality. |