Police brutality in the United States

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Police brutality is the use of excessive or unnecessary force by personnel affiliated with law enforcement duties when dealing with suspects and civilians.

The term police brutality is usually applied in the context of causing physical harm to a person. It may also involve psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned police procedure.

In the 2000s, the federal government attempted tracking the number of people killed in interactions with US police, but the program was defunded.^[1] In 2006, a law was passed to require reporting of homicides at the hands of the police, but many police departments do not obey it.^[2] Some journalists and activists have provided estimates, limited to the data available to them. In 2019, 1,004 people were shot and killed by police according to The Washington Post, whereas the Mapping Police Violence project counted 1,098 killed.^[3][4][5] Statista claimed that in 2020, 1,021 people were killed by police, while the project Mapping Police Violence counted 1,126.^[6][5] From 1980 to 2018, more than 30,000 people have died by police violence in the United States, according to a 2021 article published in The Lancet.^[7] For 2022, Mapping Police Violence counted at least 1,176 individuals killed, making it the deadliest year on record.^[8] The US police has killed more people compared to any other industrialized democracy, with a disproportionate number of people shot being people of color.^[9][10][11] Since 2015, around 2,500 of those killed by police were fleeing.^[12]

Since the 20th century, there have been many public, private, and community efforts to combat police corruption and brutality. These efforts have identified various core issues that contribute to police brutality, including the insular culture of police departments (including the blue wall of silence), the aggressive defense of police officers and resistance to change in police unions,^[13] the broad legal protections granted to police officers (such as qualified immunity), the historic racism of police departments, the militarization of the police, the adoption of tactics that escalate tension (such as zero tolerance policing and stop-and-frisk), the inadequacies of police training and/or police academies, and the psychology of possessing police power.^{[14][15][16][17]} The US legal doctrine of qualified immunity has been widely criticized as "[having] become a nearly failsafe tool to let police brutality go unpunished and deny victims their constitutional rights," as summarized in a 2020 Reuters report.^[18]

Regarding solutions, activists and advocates have taken different approaches. Those who advocate for

History

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Slave patrols roots

In the Southern United States, some of the earliest roots of policing can be found in slave patrols. Beginning in the 18th century, white volunteers developed slave patrols (also known as "paddyrollers"), which were squadrons that acted as vigilantes.^[23] In 1704, the first slave patrol was established in South Carolina.^[24] Eventually, all states with legal slavery had slave patrols, and they functioned as the first publicly funded police force in the South.^[25] These patrols focused on enforcing discipline and policing of African-American slaves. They captured and returned fugitive slaves, quashed slave rebellions, terrorized slaves in order to prevent rebellions (including beatings and^[23][26] searches of slave lodges), broke up slave meetings, and kept slaves off roadways.^[25] The patrols also administered discipline of indentured servants.^[25] The patrols had broad influence and powers; they could forcefully enter any person's house, if they suspected the person of sheltering fugitive slaves.^[23] During the American Civil War, slave patrols remained in place. After the Civil War, in the Reconstruction period, the former slave patrol groups joined with other white militias and groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Meanwhile, early police forces of the South began to take on the role of policing and regulating the movement of African-Americans who had gained their freedom. New laws were put in place to restrict their rights, which were known as Black Codes.^[23] According to some historians, the transition from slave patrols to police forces in the South was a seamless one.^[25]

Texas Rangers

In 1823, the Texas Rangers was established by Stephen F. Austin. The Rangers used violence, harassment, and intimidation to protect the interests of white colonists. They worked in an area that was governed by Mexico, which later became the Republic of Texas, followed by the state of Texas. The Rangers were known to be particularly active across the Mexico-United States border. Their work included capturing indigenous people who were accused of attacking white settlers, investigating crimes such as cattle raiding, and raiding Mexican vaquero cattle ranches. They intimidated Mexican and Mexican-American people into leaving their land and homes, in support of white colonial expansion. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Texas Rangers supported and participated in extrajudicial killings and lynch mobs, such as La Matanza (1910–1920) and Porvenir massacre (1918).^{[2][27][28][29][30]}

Early police departments

In 1838, the United States developed its first formal police department, located in Boston. This was followed by New York City (1845), San Francisco (1849), Chicago (1851), New Orleans (1853), Cincinnati (1853), Philadelphia (1855), Newark, New Jersey (1857), Baltimore (1857). By the 1880s, all major US cities had police departments.^[31] As written by Dr. Garry Potter, "Early American police departments shared two primary characteristics: they were notoriously corrupt and flagrantly brutal. This should come as no surprise in that police were under the control of local politicians."^[32] The local political ward leader, who was often a tavern owner or gang leader, would appoint the chief of police of a neighborhood. The chief would be expected to follow the orders and expectations of the ward leader, which often included intimidating voters, harassing political opponents, and ensuring that the ward's business interests remained intact.^[33] The police officers typically had little qualifications or training as law enforcement officers, and they often took bribes and kickbacks. If conflicts arose, it was common for police officers to use force and brutality.^[32]

In the 19th century, police brutality was often directed at European immigrant communities,^[33] particularly those from Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Eastern Europe.^[34] The different cultures of these communities were often framed as "dangerous", which called for the enforcement of law and order.^[33] For example, Irish immigrants were considered a "dangerous" class, and they experienced discrimination by nativists.^[35] Meanwhile, organized crime and political parties were often intertwined, and police typically cast a blind eye toward gambling and prostitution, if managed by politically influential figures.^[36]

Strike breaking

After the Civil War,

By the late 19th century, local and state governments began to pass Jim Crow laws. These laws enforced strict racial segregation in schools, parks, neighborhoods, restaurants, and other public places.^[38] This era saw a rise in lynchings and mob murders of African-Americans, with the police not arresting the perpetrators.^[23] It was estimated that "at least one-half of the lynchings are carried out with police officers participating, and that in nine-tenths of the others the officers either condone or wink at the mob action," as reported by Arthur F. Rapper in 1933.^[39] Meanwhile, African-Americans suffered police brutality, such as the 1946 beating of Isaac Woodward in Batesburg, South Carolina.^[40] Due to the brutality of Jim Crow laws, many African-Americans fled to Northern and Western cities in the Great Migration, where they experienced police brutality, as well.^[33]

Professionalization of police

In the United States, the passage of the Volstead Act (popularly known as the National Prohibition Act) in 1919 had a long-term negative impact on policing practices. During Prohibition (1919–33), the problem of police corruption was only worsened, as crime was growing dramatically in response to the demand for illegal alcohol. Many law enforcement agencies stepped up the use of unlawful practices. Police officers were commonly bribed so that bootlegging and speakeasies could continue, in addition to the flourishing organized crime underworlds of cities such as Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia.^[41] Some police officers became employed by organized crime syndicates, and they helped perform duties, such as harassment and intimidation of rivals.^[36]

By the time of the

However, these changes were not welcomed by all community members. Police departments adopted tactics that often antagonized people, such as aggressive stop and frisk.^[46] Police departments also became increasingly insular and "isolated from public life" as a result of these changes, according to crime historian Samuel Walker. For these reasons, among other reasons, they were particularly unequipped to handle the cultural and social upheaval of the 1960s.^[34]

Civil Rights Movement era

The Civil Rights Movement was the target of numerous incidents of police brutality in its struggle for justice and racial equality, notably during the Birmingham campaign of 1963–64 and during the Selma to Montgomery marches of 1965. Media coverage of the brutality sparked national outrage, and public sympathy for the movement grew rapidly as a result. Martin Luther King Jr. criticized police brutality in his speeches. Furthermore, the period was marked by riots in response to police violence against African-Americans and Latinos, including the Harlem riot of 1964, 1964 Philadelphia race riot, Watts riots (1965), Division Street riots (1966), and 1967 Detroit riot.^[47] In 1966, the Black Panther Party was formed by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, in order to challenge police brutality against African-Americans from disproportionately white police departments.^[48][49] The conflict between the Black Panther Party and various police departments often resulted in violence with the deaths of 34 members of the Black Panther Party^[50] and 15 police officers.^[51]

In 1968, the

External videos
3/7/91: Video of Rodney King Beaten by Police Released[55]

In the United States, race and accusations of police brutality continue to be closely linked, and the phenomenon has sparked a string of

1992 Los Angeles Riots

broke out.

Anti-war demonstrations

During the

In June 1971, President

The war on drugs has been seen as responsible for police misconduct towards African-Americans and Latinos. While white people and African-Americans both use and sell drugs at roughly similar rates, African-Americans are over six times as likely to be incarcerated for drug-related charges, according to 2015 data.[64]^[54] Specifically, the use of stop and frisk tactics by police have targeted African-Americans and Latinos. In looking at data from New York in the early 2000s up to 2014, people who had committed no offense made up 82% to 90% of those who were stopped and frisked. Of those people stopped, only 9% to 12% were white. People who were stopped felt that they had experienced psychological violence, and the police sometimes used insults against them. Stop and frisk tactics caused people to experience anxiety about leaving their homes, due to fears of police harassment and abuse.^[60]

With the militarization of the police, SWAT teams have been used more frequently in drug possession situations.^[15] SWAT teams can be armed with weapons like diversionary grenades. In cases where SWAT teams were used, only 35% of the time were drugs found in peoples' homes. African-Americans and Latinos are disproportionately the targets of these raids,^[60] and according to the ACLU, "Sending a heavily armed team of officers to perform 'normal' police work can dangerously escalate situations that need never have involved violence."^[65]

Post 9/11

After the

The prevalence of police brutality in the United States is not comprehensively documented, and the statistics on police brutality are much less available. The few statistics that exist include a 2006 Department of Justice report, which showed that out of 26,556 citizen complaints made in 2002 about excessive use of police force among large U.S. agencies (representing 5% of agencies and 59% of officers), about 2,000 were found to have merit.[68]

Other studies have shown that most police brutality goes unreported. In 1982, the federal government funded a "Police Services Study", in which over 12,000 randomly selected civilians were interviewed in three metropolitan areas. The study found that 13.6 percent of those surveyed claimed to have had cause to complain about police service (including verbal abuse, discourtesy and physical abuse) in the previous year. Yet only 30 percent of those filed formal complaints.^[69] A 1998 Human Rights Watch report stated that in all 14 precincts it examined, the process of filing a complaint was "unnecessarily difficult and often intimidating."^[70]

Statistics on the use of physical force by law enforcement are available. For example, an extensive U.S. Department of Justice report on police use of force released in 2001 indicated that in 1999, "approximately 422,000 people 16 years old and older were estimated to have had contact with police in which force or the threat of force was used."^[71] Research shows that measures of the presence of black and Hispanic people and majority/minority income inequality are related positively to average annual civil rights criminal complaints.^[72]

Police brutality can be associated with

In May 2010, police responded to a call of a woman, Amy Hughes, erratically hacking a tree with a large kitchen knife. Hughes began advancing on a civilian, later identified to be Hughes' roommate. Officer Kisela decided to fire four shots toward Hughes and she was later treated for non-life-threatening injuries. It was later discovered that Hughes had a history of mental illness. Hughes filed a lawsuit against Officer Kisela, claiming excessive use of force and a violation of her Fourth Amendment right. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the officer, stating that the officer had probable cause to believe that the suspect posed a serious threat to the public and to other officers. The Court ruled that Officer Kisela is entitled to immunity.[82]

Water protectors

Water protectors have faced police brutality at the hands of militarized law enforcement. Notable cases include the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in 2016 when the Morton County sheriff's department (supplemented by officers from six states) attacked hundreds of water protectors with concussion grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons in sub-freezing temperatures.^[83] They subjected water protectors to strip searches after arrest.^[84] Energy Transfer Partners (the pipeline company) also employed a private security firm who used attack dogs and pepper spray against water protectors who were attempting to defend sacred burial sites from being bulldozed. Several water protectors were treated for dog bites. Police observed but did not intervene.^[85][86]

At the Stop Line 3 pipeline protests in Minnesota, militarized police have subjected water protectors to pepper spray and rubber bullets during a series of arrests, and protesters who've been jailed have reported mistreatment from officers such as lack of proper food, solitary confinement, and denial of medications. Over 600 people were arrested between January and August 2021.^[87] Enbridge (the pipeline company) enables increased police militarization by funding an escrow account that law enforcement uses to buy equipment and to train and pay officers. Enbridge had paid $2 million to law enforcement agencies through escrow by August 2021.^[88]

George Floyd protests

In May 2020, the issue of police brutality saw a surge in public response following the

The campaign #SayHerName was created in December 2014 by Kimberlé Crenshaw. This movement was brought about to raise awareness for the victims of police brutality that were black women.^[90][91] The #SayHerName movement is a social movement inside the Black Lives Matter movement. As Crenshaw told NPR, "Say Her Name is trying to raise awareness by insisting that we say their names because if we can say their names we can know more about their stories."^[91]

The name of Breonna Taylor was part of the Say Her Name movement. Taylor was killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky in March 2020. Police officers forced entry into her apartment, and Taylor was shot six times after her boyfriend Kenneth Walker shot officer Jonathan Mattingly. Breonna Taylor's death lead to worldwide protests and outrage.^[92][91]

Investigation

In the United States, investigation of

Beyond police departments and DAs, mechanisms of government oversight have gradually evolved. The

Data obtained by the Associated Press in 2016 showed a racial disparity in officers' use of stun guns.[102]

On 15 May 2020, Amnesty International suggested that American authorities should avoid repressive measures that unduly restrict human rights in the name of "protecting" people from COVID-19. The videos verified by researchers and Amnesty's Crisis Evidence Lab claimed the use of detention as a first resort; excessive and unnecessary use of force in the enforcement of COVID-19 lockdowns; and the imposition of mandatory quarantines in inhumane conditions.^[103]

On 22 June 2020, the University of Chicago reported that the police departments in the 20 largest American cities were failing to meet even the most basic international human rights standards governing the use of lethal force. The study revealed that America's biggest police forces lack legality, as they are not answerable to human rights compliant laws authorizing the use of lethal force.^[104]

Causes

Numerous doctrines, such as

Police officers often still hold significant advantages in legal proceedings and in courts. Records of officer performance and misconduct are sometimes hidden from public view through laws, such as 50-a in New York (repealed in 2020).^[108][109] The law of qualified immunity often shields police officers from prosecution, since it only permits lawsuits against government officials when they have violated a "clearly established" constitutional or statutory right.^[110] When cases of police are investigated for crimes, the collection of evidence is typically conducted by police officers, including witness statements, and police may have been the only witnesses. Prosecutors tend to have a close working relationship with police officers, which creates another conflict of interest, and they are often reluctant to aggressively pursue cases against law enforcement.^[2] Furthermore, courts tend to sympathize with police officers over civilians, who are often viewed as the "good party" in the case.^[111] In 2015, The Washington Post reported that 54 officers had been charged with fatally shooting someone while on duty over the preceding decade. In the 35 cases that had been resolved, a total of 21 officers were acquitted or their charges were dropped.^[112]

Police unions

There is a direction on or around correlation between rates of police union membership and number of people killed by police.^[113] Collective bargaining rights introduced by police unions from the 1950s onward (which are negotiated largely in secret) led to a substantial increase of police killings and other abuses especially towards people from racial minorities.^[114][115] Unions have negotiated labor contracts that stop law enforcement agencies firing officers after egregious acts of misconduct.^[116] A University of Oxford study of the 100 largest US cities found that increased protections for officers directly correlated with increased levels of violence and other abuses against citizens by police officers.^[115] A study by the University of Chicago found that after deputies gained collective bargaining rights in Florida sheriff's offices incidents of violent misconduct increased by around 40%.^{[117][114][118]} Researchers at the University of Victoria also found a 40% increase of killing when collective bargaining rights we enacted, with the overwhelming majority of people being killed being non white, the authors of the study described unions as "protection of the right to discriminate".^[113] A systemic pattern of "serious violations of the U.S. Constitution and federal law," was found by a Justice Department investigation of Baltimore's police department.^[115] A Minneapolis councilperson described the Minneapolis Police Union as a "protection racket".^[119]

Blue wall of silence

Police departments in the United States typically follow an unofficial cultural code, known as the "blue wall of silence". This can also be referred to as the "curtain of silence", "cocoon of silence", "blue code", or "blue shield". According to this rule, police officers do not report misconduct or abuse committed by other officers, and they will not step in when their colleagues are engaging in illegal or abusive behavior. This is because police officers typically consider themselves as part of a larger "brotherhood" or family among other officers.^{[120][121][122][123]} However, when neglected, officers are influenced to further speak out against the police officer that made the offense. On the other hand, if an officer does decide to speak out against another police officer, that same police officer may be subjected to harassment and in some cases, be ostracized.^[124] The Blue Wall of Silence is ultimately held together by fear of exile, and when the police force is often treated as a "brotherhood", speaking against "brothers" gives a perceived reality of betrayal and infidelity. This perception often steers officers away from breaking The Wall, leading into a spiral that ends in the wall remaining amidst.^[125][124]

Racial profiling

Police brutality can be associated with

Beginning in the 1960s, police departments began to offer cultural sensitivity and diversity trainings.^[130] However, these trainings are generally found to be ineffective and removed from the everyday reality of policing.^[2]

Since the 1970s, police departments have increasingly hired more non-white officers, following a court order to diversify police departments.^[129] The percentage of non-white officers doubled (14% to 27%) between 1987 and 2016.^[127] However, according to studies, there is no evidence that non-white officers are less aggressive to non-white civilians.^[127] Furthermore, there is no correlation between non-white officers and lower rates of police brutality or community satisfaction with policing. For example, police forces in New York and Philadelphia have comparatively diverse police forces, but they have been criticized for their aggressive tactics and racial profiling. This is explained by the fact that police department priorities are set by politicians^[2] and the larger systematic issues of police culture and racism are still prevalent.^[127]

Militarization of police

Police brutality is often linked to the "warrior mentality" and militarization of police departments.^[2] Under this system, new recruits enter police academies, where they may be instructed in a manner similar to paramilitary training^[131] or what is called a "warrior training". Some police academies even employ independent training companies, such as Close Quarters Battle, which has trained the United States Marine Corps, Navy Seals, and the special forces of other countries.^[2] These trainings focus on fear and defensive tactics, rather than community interaction and outreach. The recruits will focus on learning how to kill and aggressively manage crisis situations, as well as engaging in drill formations and standing at attention.^[131] Recruits will learn that any situation, including seemingly routine ones (such as traffic stops) can turn deadly, and they receive minimal training in how to manage complex social situations.^[2] As noted by Rosa Brooks, "Many police recruits enter the academy as idealists, but this kind of training turns them into cynics."^[131]

Once they are trained and working, police often think of crime as a war, in which they are "warriors", and some people are their enemies.^[132][2] The police are provided with military equipment, such as tanks, and some work in militarized units, such as Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams. Their equipment partially comes from the Department of Defense, due to the 1033 program. Established in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush, the program allows the DoD to give law enforcement their excess equipment (local authorities only pay for shipping costs), with an estimated $7.4 billion of property transferred since the program began.^[133] Furthermore, an estimated 19% of police officers are military veterans,^[134] documenting a "revolving door" between the military and the police, a phenomenon also found among FBI agents.^[135] Internal police records—provided by the Boston and Miami departments—"indicate that officers with military experience generate more civilian complaints of excessive force."^[136]

Broken windows theory

Since the 1980s, police departments have adopted the broken windows theory, as advocated by criminologists like George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson. This theory posits that signs of disorder or decay in neighborhoods (such as broken windows, graffiti, loitering, drug use, prostitution, etc.) create an impression that the area is neglected, thereby leading to further chaos and crime. Therefore, if police departments directly respond to smaller neighborhood issues, they can help prevent larger issues.^{[137][138][139]} By the 1990s, police departments had increasingly adopted this philosophy, and they adopted policing methods inspired by it, such as stop-and-frisk in New York City (adopted in 2001).^[137] Police departments were empowered to intervene in civilian life and act as moral authorities. Meanwhile, the problems associated with poor living standards were blamed on civilians, rather than political or economic forces. Consequently, police were given the ability to increase arrests, aggressive policing, and harassment of civilians, which further contributed to police brutality and racial profiling.^[2]

Threat hypothesis

Academic theories such as the threat hypothesis and the community violence hypothesis have been used to explain police brutality. The threat hypothesis implies that "police use force in direct response to a perceived threat from racial and/or economic groups viewed as threatening to the existing social order."^[140] According to the community violence hypothesis, "police use force in direct response to levels of violence in the community."^[140] This theory explains that force is used to control groups that threaten the community or police themselves with violence. This theory is applied mostly to shield non minorities from competition, fear, and perceived inconveniences. This is usually exercised on a minority, usually of African descent, without evidence or reasonable doubt. The strain minorities feel, weaken their mental health and discourages them.^[141] This ultimately caters to a white community as they no longer must worry about an African potentially winning over their economic position.^[142] Additionally, Threat Hypothesis also enables a "safer" environment for whites, as whites generally don't feel safe when around people of color. Usually, when around people of color, whites tend to police them. This makes the environment unsafe for nonwhites.^[143]

This style of policing is a less grotesque way of wrongly punishing people of color, the far more intense example would be the act of lynching, which would display a person of color be murdered and tortured in front of an audience.^[144]

Police dogs

A 2020 investigation coordinated by the

Police are supposed to have the cameras on from the time they receive a call of an incident to when the entire encounter is over.[149] However, there is controversy regarding police using the equipment properly.^[150] The issue regarding an officer's ability to turn on and off the record button is if the police officer is trustworthy. In 2017, Baltimore Police Officer Richard A. Pinheiro Jr. was caught planting evidence. The officer did not realize 30 seconds of footage was available even before switching the camera on.^[151] To solve this problem, it has been proposed to record police officers' entire shift and not allowing access for police officers to turn on and off the record button. This can cause technical and cost issues due to the large amount of data the camera would accumulate, for which various solutions have been proposed.^{[152][153][154][155]}

Another possible issue that can occur is the public's inability to access the body camera footage.^{[156][157][158]}

According to a survey done by Vocativ in 2014, "41 cities use body cams on some of their officers, 25 have plans to implement body cams and 30 cities do not use or plan to use cams at this time."^[150] There are other issues that can occur from the use of body cameras as well. This includes downloading and maintenance of the data which can be expensive. There is also some worry that if video testimony becomes more relied upon in court cases, not having video evidence from body cameras would decrease the likelihood that the court system believes credible testimony from police officers and witnesses^[147]

Civilian review boards

Civilian review boards have been proposed as another solution to decreasing police brutality. Benefits of civilian review boards can include making sure police are doing their jobs and increasing the relationship the police have with the public.^[159] Civilian review boards have gotten criticism though. They can be staffed with police who can weaken the effectiveness of the boards. Some boards do not have the authority to order investigations into police departments. They can also lack the funding to be an effective tool.^[159] The origins of the Civilian Review Boards date back as far as 1950, when "18 organizations formed the "Permanent Coordination Committee on Police and Minority Groups" to lobby the city to deal with police misconduct in general."^[160] Due to the political climate of the time, the Civilians Boards were used as a false solution to help the public feel as if they were heard. Unbeknownst to the public, the Civilian Review Boards would ultimately house Officers among its staff, decreasing the effectiveness.^[160]

Lawsuits and qualified immunity

Excessive use of force is a

Since 1967, this remedy has been restricted by Supreme Court precedents through qualified immunity which grants police officers immunity from lawsuits unless their actions violated "clearly established" law.^[163] In practice, most jurisdictions rely on court precedent to define clearly established law, so to be successful plaintiffs often must show that a previous court case found the particular act at hand unlawful.^{[164]: 45–4} For example, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals granted immunity to an officer who shot a 14-year-old who dropped a BB gun as he raised his hands, because unlike a 2011 case where an officer was held liable for shooting a man who lowered a shotgun, the boy had pulled the BB gun from his waistband.^[165][166] This is often a stringent requirement, and in a majority of cases since 2005, police officer have been granted immunity for their actions.^[165] Lawsuits are sometimes successful, however. For example, in a 2001 settlement, New York City was required to pay a plaintiff $7.125 million in damages and the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association was required to pay $1.625 million. At that time, it was the most money the city had ever paid to settle a police brutality lawsuit and is considered the first time that a police union has paid a claim to settle a brutality suit.^[167]

Redirecting funds to other departments (defund the police)

After the murder of George Floyd, there have been widespread calls to defund the police.^[168][169] The idea behind this is that money is diverted from policing to the areas needed to prevent crime, for example, housing, employment, welfare, etc.^[168] There have been calls for this since society has seen a lack of reform in policing around police brutality and discrimination.

Police abolition

The

Police abolition is a process that requires communities to create alternatives to policing. This process involves the deconstruction of the preconceived understandings of policing and resisting co-option by reformists. It also involves engaging in and supporting practices that reduce police power and legitimacy, such as defunding the police.[173]^[177][178]

New York anti-restraint law

On June 8, 2020, both houses of the New York state assembly passed the

Effects

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Police brutality is the unlawful use of excessive or otherwise unwarranted force against individuals or groups of people.[181]^[182] Some definitions also include verbal harassment, intimidation, and other non-physical actions that may cause harm.^[183] The World Health Organization names police brutality as a form of violence, and defines violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation."^[184]

Data from 2021, published by Mapping Police Violence, shows that the excessive force imposed by police officers had increased in the decade prior to its publication^[185] and caused social misinterpretations of the role that police officers play in the community.

According to Gallup, Inc., in 2015, the percentage of people who have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the police hit its lowest since 1993 at 52 percent.^[186] Of this 52 percent, Democrats saw the biggest drop in confidence. Democrats' confidence in police dropped to 42% from 2017 to 2018 compared with 2012–2013, a larger change than for any other subgroup. Over the same period, Independents' (51%) and Republicans' (69%) confidence in the police has not changed.^[186] By mid-2020, Gallup reported that the overall trust in police had fallen further, with only 48% of Americans asserting "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the police. However, faith in the police from Republicans had risen to 82% in the same poll.^[187]

Firearms usage

The Supreme Court Decision of Tennessee v. Garner made it possible to shoot a fleeing suspect only if they may cause harm to innocent people to prevent officers from shooting every suspect that tries to escape.

Stereotypes

Lorie Fridell, Associate Professor of Criminology at University of South Florida, states that "racial profiling was the number one issue facing police [in the 1990s]", which led her to two conclusions: "bias in policing was not just a few officers in a few departments and, overwhelmingly, the police in this country are well-intentioned." According to a Department of Justice report, "Officers, like the rest of us, have an implicit bias linking blacks to crime. So the black crime implicit bias might be implicated in some of the use of deadly force against African-Americans in our country".^[188]

A 2014 experiment conducted on white undergraduate female students showed that there was a higher degree of fear of racial minorities. The paper concluded that people with a higher fear of racial minorities and dehumanization had "a lower threshold for shooting Black relative to White and East Asian targets".^[189]

While the Justice Department reported that Cleveland police officers used "excessive deadly force, including shootings and head strikes with impact weapons; unnecessary, excessive, and retaliatory force, including Tasers, chemical sprays, and their fists" on the victim, there was no real repercussions from their actions.^[190]