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Why Is Police Use of Excessive Force Bad for Civilians?

Introduction

The use of force in the work of the police is inevitable. In most cases, the lives of the civilians

or the officers can be taken both when the use of force is used necessarily and when it is

improperly used. Most factors should be considered when an officer decides to use force in their

line of duty. Some of these factors include; has the officer been trained properly, is the use of

force justified, and if the force is improperly used, will the department be held liable. After the

incident of Rodney King in the early nineties, the agencies of law enforcement all over the nation

started to re-evaluate the policies of use of force and training. Through that, most of the officers

started to change their beliefs concerning the mistreatment and treatment of suspects. In the

March 1991 Gallup poll about the use of excessive force and mistreatment of police when in

contact with the members of the public, asked the respondents if they had ever been mistreated

or abused by the police. Out of the respondents, 5percent of the total polled as well as 9 percent

of the minority groups claimed to have been mistreated or abused. Other 20 percent of the
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respondents claimed to have known of someone who had been abused or mistreated by the police

physically (Alpert & Smith). The numbers derived from the survey show an alarming trend of

mistreatment and use of excessive force by the police during civilian contact. Members of the

public outcry over the incident of Rodney King 1991 as well as other thrust police conduct in the

public view. In response to this, training and policy changes together with the reaffirming had to

be applied in order to protect the public and also the officers and their departments.

However, after all that incident, the situation did not seem to change as the cases of police

brutality, physical abuse, mistreatment, and use of excessive force have become prevalent in the

21st century. There has been a lot of videos and news of police brutality and the use of excessive

force spreading around the media like on Facebook, television, or YouTube. Some might be

justified, and others are not at all justified. The recent incident of police brutality and use of

excessive force is the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. The incident

sparked the largest protest of racial justice in the United States. The incident went beyond the

United States borders and inspired global reckoning with police brutality and racism. There are

many other incidences where the police have been accused of using excessive force on civilians

(Schwartz). Some argue that the media reporting these cases might be misinformed or does not

know a particular fact, like if the person was resisting police arrest or the weapons being used. In

this case, this paper will research the police use of excessive force and argue why some people

justify the use of excessive force and why it is not good for citizens. The paper will also provide

some well-researched facts of why the use of excessive force is bad to citizens, who are affected

the most, the consequences of using excessive force as well as the solution to the issue. In this

case, the theme of the paper is; why police use of excessive force is bad.
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The epidemic of police violence in America is not only limited to what is on the news. For

each and every high-profile story of the police officer teargassing peaceful protesters or killing a

black person who is unarmed, there are a lot more other police misconduct allegations that did

not make it to the media. Some of them include; physical abuse ranging from the police

mistreating the prisoners to use of excessive force and racial profiling to mishandling suspects

who have not been proven guilty, among others.

Argument Against for the Use of Excessive Force by Police

Racial profiling and use of excessive force by police

“Racial profiling and the disproportionate use of police force are controversial political

issues” (Legewie). The African Americans are arrested and also roughed up by the police in rates

that are perceived to be wildly disproportionate, relative to the percentage of crimes which they

commit and the overall population share. Some of the police in the United States have acquired

certain beliefs concerning their work and their responsibilities in the community. They perceive

the world to profoundly be a dangerous place, and they are conditioned to perceive themselves to

be in danger constantly, and through this, the only means to guarantee their survival is through

dominating the community that they are supposed to be protecting. These beliefs, together with

largely held racial stereotypes, draw the police towards the use of excessive force as well as

adopt racist behaviors in some stressful and intense streets interactions.

However, racial profiling and stereotyping of black people as criminals, as well as police

overuse of force, can result in the deaths of innocent individuals. “George Floyd is one of a

thousand police killings that will probably happen in 2020. According to Statistia in the U.S.

there have been, “a total (of) 429 civilians ...shot, 88 of whom were Black, as of June 4, 2020”
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(Schwartz). For 9 minutes and 29 seconds, Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer, pressed

his knee into George Floyd's neck. George Floyd was an unarmed black man who died as a result

of this deadly use of force. The event reignited a heated discussion over police brutality and

excessive use of force, as well as racism. People from all over the world joined the "black lives

matter" protest, which created a lot of pressure on the police departments and also the politicians

mainly in America to take action either by reforming the tactics of law enforcement or even

abolishing the departments of the police in America.

According to research, “… improper force was used in 38 percent of encounters that involved

force” (Samuels et al.). This indicates that police uses a lot of force to deal with people. Even

though the momentum of change motivated the researchers to support new policies with ample

evidence, the leaders could miss the mark. A lot of people and agencies have been for a long

time arguing concerning the requirement for quality data on the police use of excessive force in

America, and also for rigorous studies which assess the interventions like the training on the way

to de-escalate interactions that are tense or mandating the utilization of the cameras that are

body-worn by the police. These research and statistics began to emerge as a result of the 2014

protests after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, as well as the death via

chokehold of Eric Garner in New York City.

The media outlets, academic scholars as well as government officials around that time

launched projects for data collection to have a better understanding of the police violence

frequency as well the risk factors which lead to it. There were some disturbing findings that

came from the growing data sets. The research indicated that about 1000 civilians die every year

at the hands of the police in America. Through one estimate, the black men in the United States

were found to be 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police in their lifetime more than the white
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men. Another research also indicated that Black people who are shot by law enforcement officers

fatally appeared to be twice as likely as white people to be unarmed.

The subject of police misconduct is a very controversial topic in the current days. With a lot

of deaths of Black Americans who were unarmed being witnessed in a few years, this subject

requires to be deeply addressed. Crime is inevitable, and this has caused police offers

everywhere from all over the United States to make both ethical and unethical decisions in their

line of duty. Police officers, in most cases, work under immersed stress and in dangerous

incidences through which they are entitled to use their discretion to the best of their ability.

However, the use of excessive force has contributed to the loss of many lives of many people,

including the innocents. The brutality and misconduct of the law enforcers that have occurred for

a very long time now have led to an outrage among society. Some of the forms that the police

use excessive force include; Baton beatings, use of firearms, chokeholds, unwarranted use of

Tasers, unlawful takedowns, among others. The use of excessive force has contributed to an

increase in tension between the police and the community they work for. Police brutality also

contributes to significant physical and psychological harm to the victims. It includes

considerable financial costs to society as well as undermines the legitimacy of the policing

institution. “Racialized police violence is a recurring issue” (Obasogie and Newman). The

police brutality victims are disproportionately Blacks or Hispanics in America. People who argue

for and support police brutality are mainly law enforcement officers, while those who argue

against police use of excessive force are the civilians and the human rights interest groups.

An argument for Police Use of Excessive Force

Some people who argue for giving the police full use of authority claim that; giving the police

authority to use excessive force motivates them to address a wider range of criminal activity.
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They also argue that it helps in improving the morale of the security officers, improve their

career chances, improve police-public relations as well as increase the deterrence of crime. The

common argument also used by the opponents is that the police use excessive force for self-

defense in most cases, which is an essential factor in ensuring the safety of the police officers in

their duties. “In general, the use of force is justified when it is necessary to make an arrest, detain

a suspect, or to protect an officer or a third party” (Wittie). They tend to claim that the police

officers should not only take into account the lives of others in the society but their own lives as

well. In this case, they argue that a law enforcer can instinctively and quickly respond so as to

safeguard themselves in a situation of life or death. This kind of action is identified as a "Fight or

Flight" response. It is referred to as an activity that is carried out in the part of the brain known as

the hypothalamus, which can lead to the police reacting based on his instinct as well as disregard

any other factor that is opposing. Through working in environments that are stressful, this kind

of action can be triggered (Smith et al.).

Solutions to Reduce Excessive Use Force by Police

As the opponents in this argument might partially be correct, I agree that some situations need

such dedication from their workers. However, I believe that the police officers should try as

much as possible to withhold very high ethical standards in the society that they serve and also

their employees. While some occupation, like the case with the police, needs a lot of dedication

to their work, some officers carry the burden of their work even outside the working hours. I

agree that officers undeniably handle responsibilities and workloads that can be too

overwhelming, where the expectations might not be easy to meet without a strong sense of

dedication and purpose. Most of the officers do not get enough time to prepare for their next

workday, and they are placed into unexpected incidences with hopes of being able to protect and
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serve society (Wood et al.). In this case, it is important for the police administration to consider

having proper working schedules for the police, which gives them time to be well prepared. Law

enforcement officers should not be overworked since stress and workloads can contribute to the

making of unethical decisions. This calls out for recruitments of enough police officers to avoid

scenarios of overworking them.

Another solution is adding more mental health resources for officers. Apart from solving

cases and going to the crime scenes, police officers expose themselves to different trauma

comprising both cumulative and acute trauma. This, combined with their day-to-day stressful

duties from regular issues, can contribute to the suffering of mental health issues for an officer.

In this case, poor mental wellness might contribute to poor working, leading to the police making

unethical decisions when dealing with civilians. To resolve this, the police department, together

with other support groups, should work together to raise awareness of the issue as well as

develop platforms to help the officers who are in need (Wihbey et al.).

The police department should consider adding more training and education requirements.

Studies have found that law enforcers with a college education are less likely to receive

complaints and engage in misconduct activities than officers with only a high school education.

Those seeking to end police brutality demand that all prospective law enforcement officers have

a bachelor's degree in order to be employed by the agency. They argue that this, together with

frequent training in de-escalation strategies, will help cops establish ethical principles and reduce

the use of excessive force. On the other hand, the law enforcers should receive more in-depth and

thorough training concerning their weapons and how to use them. They should also be well

trained on how to react in every incident or situation and the best weapon to use without harming

people. They should also be taught how to deal with the force and resistance of the community
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accordingly and ways to calm them down “Teaching officers when it is appropriate to use force

and which options are best suited for different situations can only be achieved through training”

(Wittie).

In this era, civilians should also be trained to stay calm in cases where a gun is pointed at

them. Police need to be trained in different areas to help counter the issue of racial

discrimination. The officers trained in the urban area, for instance, should be taken to the rural

areas or the regions with the most minority groups like the Blacks and the Hispanics, attend

community events and interact with different ethnic groups to familiarize themselves with their

backgrounds. This will help expand the knowledge of cops who are not from the same ethnic

background to stop stereotyping Black people as criminals, and when dealing with issues, they

will be able to treat them equally with the white community (Samuels et al.).

The policies governing the law enforcement officers should also be updated. According to

police violence researchers, departments may considerably reduce the frequency of excessive use

of force incidents by enacting more limited use of force regulations. The Use of Force Project

studied data on police killings from 2015 and 2016 and discovered that police department who

enacted the following rules witnessed a reduction in police killings: Officers must exhaust all

other options before shooting, and any use of force must be documented, chokeholds and

strangleholds are prohibited, if another officer uses excessive force, it is your responsibility to

intercede, shooting at moving automobiles is prohibited and before firing, there must be a

warning (Wittie). For instance; The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure states “in making an

arrest, all reasonable means are permitted to be used to affect it. No greater force however, shall

be resorted to than is necessary to secure the arrest and detention of the accused” (Texas Code of

Criminal Procedure).
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Conclusion

In conclusion, the use of excessive force by police when dealing with civilians is not the way

to go. The use of excessive force can contribute to both physical and psychological harm to both

the police and the citizens. It also contributes to the death of innocent people. To counter the

issue, the police department should offer more training to the police to educate them on the

impacts of using excessive force, educate them on how to use their weapons and when to use

them. They should also be educated on how to deal with civilians in an ethical manner. Police

should also stop stereotyping the black community as criminals and treat them equally to avoid

killing innocent people.

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Work Cited

Legewie, Joscha. “Racial Profiling and Use of Force in Police Stops: How Local Events Trigger

Periods of Increased Discrimination.” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 122, no. 2,

Sept. 2016, pp. 379–424, 10.1086/687518.

Obasogie, Osagie K., and Zachary Newman. “Police Violence, Use of Force Policies, and Public

Health.” American Journal of Law & Medicine, vol. 43, no. 2-3, May 2017, pp. 279–295,

www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Paper-Obasogie.pdf,

10.1177/0098858817723665.

Samuels, Julie, et al. Police Attitudes Toward Abuse of Authority: Findings from a National

Study. 2000.

Schwartz, Stephan A. “Police Brutality and Racism in America.” EXPLORE, vol. 16, no. 5, July

2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7331505/,

10.1016/j.explore.2020.06.010.

Smith, Michael, et al. A Multi-Method Evaluation of Police Use of Force Outcomes: Final

Report to the National Institute of Justice. 2010.

Wihbey, John, et al. “Excessive or Reasonable Force by Police? Research on Law Enforcement

and Racial Conflict.” The Journalist’s Resource, 28 July 2016,

journalistsresource.org/criminal-justice/police-reasonable-force-brutality-race-research-

review-statistics/.

Wittie, Mark. “Police Use of Force.” PB&J •, vol. 2, no. 1, 2008,

www.wtamu.edu/webres/File/Academics/College%20of%20Education%20and

%20Social%20Sciences/Department%20of%20Political%20Science%20and

%20Criminal%20Justice/PBJ/2011/2n2_03Wittie.pdf.
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Wood, George, et al. “Procedural Justice Training Reduces Police Use of Force and Complaints

against Officers.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117, no. 18, 20

Apr. 2020, p. 201920671, 10.1073/pnas.1920671117.