POLICE BRUTALITY

BY: MAGGIE CHAPPELL

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

My name is Maggie Chappell and I am a freshman at Virginia Commonwealth

University from Vienna, Virginia.

CLAIM

Citizens have lost trust and faith in law enforcement personnel because they abuse their authority and use unnecessary force.

What is police brutality?

How often does police brutality happen?

What effect does police brutality have on citizens?

How could citizens possibly regain the trust of law enforcement officers in the future?

WHAT IS POLICE BRUTALITY?

Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians.

Physical forms of police brutality:

• Nerve gas• Batons• Pepper spray• Tasers• Guns

It can also be false arrests, verbal abuse, psychological intimidation, sexual abuse, and racial profiling.

HOW OFTEN DOES IT HAPPEN?

According to a Washington’s Blog report based on official statistical data, Americans are eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist.

There are almost 5,000 reported cases of police misconduct reported a year.

It is estimated between 500 and 1,000 Americans are killed by police officers each year.

EFFECT ON CITIZENS

Victims of police brutality can have long term emotional distress disorders like PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), and chronic anxiety attacks because they live in fear.

Main cause of the shift in relationship between police and communities from safety to fear.

Police brutality also sparks a major increase in citizen protest.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

Police body cameras could be used to eliminate or at least lessen the amount of police brutality because we know people act differently when they are on camera, and when they could be held accountable for their actions.

Police need better training in nonviolent problem solving solutions.

Consequences for police misconduct could be increased. A large amount of police brutality complaints are never even investigated.

WORKS CITEDHirby, James. "What Is Police Brutality." TheLawDictionary. The Law Dictionary, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.

Kristian, Bonnie. “Seven Reasons Police Brutality is Systemic, not Anecdotal.” TheAmericanConservative. The American Conservative, 2 July 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.

“Long Term Effects on Police Brutality.” Cop Block. Cop Block, 15 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.

Rucke, Katie. “US Police Have Killed Over 5,000 Civillians Since 9/11.” MintPressNews. Mint Press News, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.