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Liz Thornell
Mrs. Harrell
English II
May 15, 2015

Police Brutality

Police brutality, though a somewhat exaggerated occurrence, is a very serious and everpresent matter. While some believe it is embellished by the media, other feel as though it is a
severely under-reported occurrence. There is still controversy over the frequency and true reason
behind this abuse of power. When police officers are given the authority, they may misuse their
power and feel as though there will be no consequence for their actions. In some cases, these
officers are actually released without any punishment. However, there is disagreement over
whether or not the media and civil rights groups have inflated these events or if said cruelty does
happen but is not reported. Police brutality has a negative effect on citizens and police officers
alike because it causes social unrest within a community and can lead to violence and rioting.
Police brutality has been sensationalized by the media and by civil rights activists
(Auerbach 1). Auerbach suggests that civil rights activists and the media exaggerate police
brutality and attempt to convince the public that is a common occurrence. In many cases of the
manipulation of power by law enforcement, broadcasters will have the tendency to make it
appear more corrupt than it actually is. While the media may attempt to convince people that an
act of violence has ensued as a form of discrimination or racism, it could have only been a police
officer defending themselves against a non-compliant suspect. In fact, some police brutality

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incidents are examples of police defending themselves from the attack of a dangerous suspect
(Auerbach 1). Auerbach says that many recorded incidents were self-defense and that the public
was overreacting. Police have to make difficult decisions in the face of danger; therefore, their
seemingly-offensive actions were most likely the result of an officer being stuck in a difficult
situation.
Allegations of police brutality are not uncommon, with many accusations coming from
individuals in poor neighborhoods, minority neighborhoods, and major cities (DiLascio 1-2).
DiLascio is conveying the idea that police brutality is common and is a source of racism. Many
people are biased to believe that police brutality, specifically in which there is a white officer and
an African America suspect, is strictly a result of racism. While this sometimes may be the cause,
it often will result in riots within the city that the offender resides in. As a result of these riots,
more police brutality may ensue and further tensions between the public and local law
enforcement will increase greatly. Thousands of undocumented and unrecorded incidents of
police brutality have undoubtedly occurred (Walter 2). Walter believes that police brutality is a
much more common incidence than we think. In reality, police brutality often occurs and is a
source of racism.
In my opinion, while police brutality may not happen at the frequency the media portrays,
it is still a common occurrence. There are also many rules that prevent people from
understanding the truth of these instances. For example, the Blue Code of Silence is a code that
gives police officers who were witnesses of brutality the ability to refuse to talk about said
incident. With the large amount of under-reported brutality, the possible abuse of power in police
stations is very high. Police brutality has an extremely negative impact on a community because

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police officers are supposed to be fair and truthful; this, in turn, causes citizens to no longer feel
safe with this many instances of violence.
Citizens and police officers may feel uneasy and tension between one another as a
negative result of police brutality can be present. Police brutality overall is a very serious offence
and abuse of power. There has been a 25 percent increase in the use of tactics by law
enforcement officials that allegedly violate citizens civil rights (Walter 3). This demonstrates
the idea that police brutality occurs more than the common person is able to understand. As a
result of the negligence of law officials, communities will feel as though they are not adequately
protected and will have a large amount of distrust in their local police force. With the lack of
evidence and fair, unbiased trials, police officers are normally not justly punished. In conclusion,
police brutality has a very undesirable effect on the public and can cause many issues of unrest
and rioting in a society.