In another article by Cassandra Chaney, the importance of how the public perceives the

police is introduced using statements blogged by 16 men and women. These comments will
depict the police force as an entity and rationalize their flaws, supporting the argument that
Chaney makes regarding police brutality and misconduct as a whole. In the article, Racism and
Police Brutality in America, Chaney presents findings from NPMSRP (National Police
Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project) and uses these findings to shed light on three major
themes including: suspicion, brutality, and respect for the law enforcement (Chaney Racism and
Police Brutality in America 485). For the first theme, suspicion of the law enforcement, Chaney
uses a blog comment made from a man named Doug, who questions, What about their buddies
who watched, covered for them, or looked the other
way? This statement by Doug clearly depicts how
police officers who commit no wrong are equally to
blame for the misconduct committed by their fellow
Figure 8: Image of police brutality. This image
shows how some of the police officers are
turning their heads away from the
misconduct that is occurring.

officers when they disregard, ignore or cover up for

http://www.rawstory.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/08/homelessman_15
0817e-800x430.jpg

8). Because many police officers turn away their heads

mistakes made by members of their department (Figure

from their fellow officers who practice misconduct, they

lose respect in the eyes of the community surrounding them because in a sense they are
condoning the brutal acts committed by other police officers. Although indirectly, a majority of
police officers are complicit in [brutal] acts by covering them up or ignoring them (Chaney
Racism and Police Brutality 488). By stating this, it is evident that even police officers who do
not discriminate or use violent tactics when dealing with minority groups, especially Blacks are
also to be blamed. This is due to their lack of intrusion on what their fellow officers are doing.

Chaney uses this to show how police officers who turn their head the other way are also equally
responsible for all the police misconduct that occurs (Chaney Racism and Police Brutality in
America 488). Supporting another theme of brutality, Chaney uses another blog written by a
girl named Christina who states:
My husband was really abused by an officer last week. He got out of the truck put
his hands up and got on the ground. While he was on the ground the officer tased
him. It was stuck in his skull...then the officer continued to taze him 2 more
times...While he was having a seizure. I am at a loss. I dont know who to report
this to.
This portrays a situation in which the victim was not a Black man, but instead a man of a
different race. By using this as evidence, Chaney shows how
many police officers overuse their powers and act extremely
since they have the power to. Christinas husband did nothing
wrong and followed all orders, yet he was tased multiple times.
This demonstrates how police brutality is constantly increasing
Figure 9: This image portrays the
respect and honor that police
officers withhold in the United
States. https://s-media-cacheak0.pinimg.com/236x/eb/73/a7/eb
73a7e889c34ffa3ca6bf6fb9304838.j
pg

and nothing is being done to stop it; Cristinas story helps us to

understand how this trends plays out all across America because
it is not the only incidence of police brutality (Chaney Racism
and Police Brutality in America 490). Finally, Chaney depicts

the theme of respect (Figure 8) of police officers by using a blog written by Ashley:
I am completely in support of GOOD law enforcement. However, I believe that
support should include a civilian mechanism to cull those who dont maintain the
standard of professionalism met by the average officer, in a fashion similar to

the reasonable person standard. Its a standard thats common to many of

todays high-stress professional arenas. As a nurse, no matter how bad my day
may be, egregious personal injury to those I was assigned to serve and protect
will be punished both by law and by the moral codes of my society. There is a
civilian mechanism in place for those injured parties, or even concerned
professionals who see a co-worker in distress, to seek help.
This blog written by Ashley lays the foundation of the expectations for police officers
and clearly demonstrates the respect that police officers have to earn from society. Society
expects police officers to be kind and considerate and do their job correctly without extensive
misconduct and brutality in order to receive respect for what they do. Chaney describes the
hypocrisy of bad cops who demand respect, but in return show little to no respect towards
citizens, especially people of minority populations (Chaney Racism and Police Brutality in
America 494). Thus, Chaney demonstrates few of many examples to showcase how police
officers as a whole are to blame for a lot of the misconduct that occurs, especially towards the
Black population.
On the other hand, Kane, White, and King argue that it is the sole responsibility of
individual police officers who are to blame for the misconduct and brutality that they conduct.
Along with providing a counterargument to Chaneys argument, these authors, more specifically
King, offer ways to implement a better system of punishing police officers who commit
malpractice. In the article, Bad Cops, Kane and White argue that police misconduct remain
inconclusive...because of the inconsistent definitions of misconduct and the difficulty of
obtaining the data required to make such statements (Kane and White 737). They argue that
because of the inconsistency of data, there is no real way to prove that the institution of policing

conducts malpractice as a whole. Kane and White argue against Chaney

in that majority of police officers only become officers after scoring
well in police academy. Those police officers who win awards and
medals are less likely to engage in misconduct (Figure 10); therefore,
this portrays the idea of not all police officers being brutal and
committing malpractice (Kane and White 741). They also claim that

Figure 10: Image of police

medal

NYPD conducts background investigations that disqualify candidates

https://upload.wikimedia.
org/wikipedia/commons/t
humb/a/a9/Mov_hires.jpg/200px-Mov_hires.jpg

with arrest records and employment disciplinary histories (Kane and

White 738). This offers the belief that police officers are chosen very carefully and are capable
at doing their jobs after a lot of thought and training. Kane and White clearly state most officers
do their work without engaging in (career-ending) misconduct (Kane and White 743). Chaney
uses this very argument to counter the idea that police officers are individually responsible.
Chaney believes that if turning a blind eye to other fellow officers is in a sense committing the
same misconduct that they are (Chaney Racism and Police Brutality in America 485).
However, Kane and White take that as statement as
inaccurate because the police officers who do not commit
misconduct should not be blamed for it. It is an individual
choice to commit wrong. The main focus of Kane and
Figure 11: This image demonstrates the
wide diversity of police officers.
http://static01.nyt.com/images/2013/12/2
7/nyregion/jp-recruit-2/jp-recruit-2articleLarge.jpg

Whites article is that the misconduct conducted by police

officers is very rare and most officers do their jobs
without malpractice (Kane and White 743). They provide

evidence that the NYPD has become more diverse and even have Black police officers (Figure
11). Sexton would be skeptical about this idea due to the fact that he believes that the diversity

created through the addition of Black police officers only hurts the Black population in the end
due to the clash between the good and bad images of success. This clash allows for the
degradation of the Black population and entraps them into a system of oppression, rather than the
success of multiculturalism (Sexton 39-40).
Supporting the idea that individual police officers are to blame for their actions, William
King uses his article, Police Officer Misconduct as Normal Accidents, to add to the arguments
that Kane and White make. Kane and White made claims accounting for individual officer
attributes and community factors, and now King is going to add to these factors by introducing
an organizational factor into the argument (King 771). King begins his
article by redefining the arguments made by Kane and White in his own
words, by stating that bad cops share a handful of common attributes that
are evident before their employment as police officers and that the
environment in which an officer is put into relates to the misconduct. King
claims that if an officer is put into a community where drug dealers are not
Figure 12: Image of a
cop using a drug test to
decide if people are
guilty or not.

present, they will be unable to rob the dealers (King 771) and thus will not

http://cdn.c.photoshel
ter.com/imgget/I0000Y6sv_1Wcdb
s/s/750/750/barberroadside-drug-testbarberdrugwipe10.jpg

being in a certain environment and its impact on the behaviors of police

conduct any malpractice. Thus, King brings to the light the importance of

officers. If a police officer is not in a bad environment where a lot drug

deals or violence occurs, then the police officer will commit less

misconduct. Thus, King offers his own take on the situation and supports the idea that the victim
is also to blame for the brutality they face. However, King offers solutions to prevent misconduct
by police officers. He suggests police officers can prevent misconduct by creating rules [and]
creating surveillance mechanisms to detect mechanisms and then punish wrongdoers (King

772). Although such preventative ideas already exist, they are not implemented as effectively as
they should be. For instance, in Figure 12, the police officer is using a drug test to check whether
or not the suspect truly is under the influence of drugs and is not resorting to violence as his first
instinct. Thus, if these methods were more strongly forced upon police officers and the
punishments by other law enforcement, such as the judiciary, were actually implemented when
officers commit wrong, then a lot can change and police officers might be seen as more
respectful people. These organizational factors will
make a unit of police officers follow the proper
guidelines and help aid each other to become better
officers. It will prevent individual bad cops from
influencing the reputation of police officers as a whole
Figure 13: In this picture, a police officer is being
arrested for the crimes he committed.
http://41.media.tumblr.com/a0b992d4a66d8c2
27c664b6e878aa272/tumblr_nfs257Ek6w1rn7n
rdo1_1280.jpg

and will solely punish the individual who commits the

malpractice (King 772-773). All in all, Kane and
White, as well as King support the idea that individual

police officers should be blamed and punished for their wrongdoings (Figure 13) versus the
entire police force attaining a bad reputation, of which is enforced by Chaneys articles.
Personally, I believe that not all police officers are racist and some and some do their jobs
very well; they are in fact human beings who respect one another, despite the color of ones skin.
In order to give evidence of my claim, I am going to utilize four videos that went viral on the
internet in the past year. These videos portray police officers as humble beings who love to be
active and take part in their community without discriminating against others. For instance, in a
YouTube video, an officer named Alan Jones was seen taking part in a church event in
Maryland. He joined a group of Black men, women, and children and began to show off his

double dutch skills, a type of jump roping activity. One person who was there shared their side of
the story and said that [the officer] talked with everybody, he enjoyed the music, he ate, and
enjoyed himself (The Jump Roping Cop). Thus, this viral video shows how not all white police
officers are racist and some are very down to earth and kindhearted.
I am now going to explore the controversy over black police officers and white police
officers and the many implications that have arisen using a YouTube video. According to
Sexton, Chaney, and Kane and White, black police officers are way more aggressive and violent
towards the Black population than white police
officers; however, in a YouTube video that went
viral last year, a few police officers, including a
black officer, is seen playing basketball with a
group of teenagers (Figure 14). The police offices
are on duty and they approach a group of teens,
both black and white, are begin playing basketball
Figure 14: This image shows police officers, both white and
black, playing basketball with a group of students.
Shaquille O'Neil is also pictured playing with the officers
and students.
http://media2.abc15.com/photo/2016/01/24/knxv%20g
ainesville%20pd%20shaq%201%20

with them. This depicts the police officers in a

positive light, as non-racist beings, who are
interacting with the kids of their community. In the

video, even the black police officer looks like he is having a lot of fun and the kids also look like
they are having a joyful time; there are absolutely no signs of harassment on either end of the
basketball court (NYPD Officers Pickup Basketball). Thus, this shows how not all black police
officers are discriminatory towards their own race, and that many times it is just individual
officers responsible for misconduct.

In another similar video, a cop is called

in response to a noise complaint made by a
neighbor complaining about kids making too
much noise while playing basketball. When the
police officer arrives, instead of breaking up the
game, or using police force to intervene in the
game, the cop join the kids and plays basketball

Figure 15: This image portrays police officers playing

basketball with a group of Black kids.
http://thefederalistpapers.integratedmarket.netdnacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Screenshot2014-07-18-20.24.371.jpg

with them (Figure 15). The cop says, I aint got no problem with it (Inside Edition). This
clearly showcases the non-discriminatory attitude that the police holds and thus offers a
counterargument to the claims made by Chaney that police officers as a whole unit are to blame
for all the innocent murders of Black people, such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric
Garner (Nguyen 791, Okafor 46).
Adding to my argument is a video from the Fox News website of a black, 22 year old
man, who talks about his experience being pulled over by a white police officer. The man, Will
Stack, says that he was pulled over for improper use of the median (Fox News). He continues
on describing the process of giving the officer his license and registration. After listening
respectively, the officer left, giving Stack a warning. Stack created this video in order to show
how not all officers are crooked and not all officers are racist, bad people. And not all people
who get shot or tased or arrested by officers are innocent victims"(Fox News). This video
showcases something very important. It shows how being black doesnt mean youre a victim
and being white doesnt mean youre a racist. Because of this video, I firmly believe that there
are officers out there that do their job correctly and do not engage in misconduct every chance
they have.

Many stories often shed light on the negativity around police officers and their brutal
actions; however, there are instances that exist where individual police officers joyfully engage
in activities with people of all races. Unfortunately, society fails to bring all of these instances to
light and many of these real life, humane actions committed by police officers are left unseen by
the public eye. Therefore, stereotypes of racist white police officers exist and I believe that only
individual police officers are to blame for certain hate crimes, and innocent murders of Black
people. However, there are police officers who do their job well and are not discriminatory
individuals and it is important to note that.

Sources
Chaney, Cassandra. Armed and Dangerous? An Examination of Fatal Shootings of
Unarmed Black People by Police 8.4 (2015): 45-63. The Journal of Pan African Studies.
Web.24 Jan. 2016.
Chaney, Cassandra, and Ray V. Robertson. "Racism and Police Brutality in America."
Journal of African American Studies J Afr Am St 17.4 (2013): 480-505. Web.
"Cop Responds To Noise Complaint About Kids Playing Basketball... By Joining Their
Game." Inside Edition. Inside Edition, 22 Jan. 2016. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/14231-cop-responds-to-noisecomplaint-about-kids-playing-basketball-by-joining-their-game>.
Durr, M. "What Is the Difference between Slave Patrols and Modern Day Policing?
Institutional Violence in a Community of Color." Critical Sociology 41.6 (2015):
873-79. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.

Kane, Robert J., and Michael D. White. "Bad Cops." Criminology & Public Policy 8.4
(2009): 737-69. Web.
King, William R. "Police Officer Misconduct as Normal Accidents."Criminology &
Public Policy 8.4 (2009): 771-76. Web.
Nguyen, Mimi Thi. "The Hoodie as Sign, Screen, Expectation, and Force."Signs: Journal
of Women in Culture and Society 40.4 (2015): 791-816. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
"'Not All Officers Are Racist': Black Man's Defense of Police Goes Viral." Fox News
Insider. Fox News, 13 Apr. 2015. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/04/13/not-all-officers-are-racist-black-mans-defensepolice-goes-viral>.
"NYPD Officers Pickup Basketball (by Jay Todman)." YouTube. YouTube, 22 May
2015. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuWb3eSDk0w>.
Okafor, Victor Oguejiofor, PhD. "Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Et Al.:
A Survey of Emergent Grassroots Protests & Public Perceptions of Justice." The
Journal of Pan African Studies 7.8 (2015): 43-63. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
Sexton, Jared. "The Ruse of Engagement: Black Masculinity and the Cinema of
Policing." American Quarterly 61.1 (2009): 39-63. Web.
"The Jump Roping Cop | Police Officer Shows Off Jump Rope Skills at Community Day
-Maryland." YouTube. YouTube, 1 Sept. 2015. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGnE2OpABo4>.