Police misconduct is illegal action or the violation of an individuals constitutional rights

by a police officer or officers. Examples of police misconduct include police brutality,

dishonesty, fraud, coercion, torture to force confessions, abuse of authority, and sexual assault,
including the demand for sexual favors in return. Any of these actions can increase the likelihood
of a wrongful conviction.
Police misconduct stats gathered by the Cato Institutes National Police Misconduct
Reporting Project confirmed that: about 1% of all police officers commit police misconduct and
that the consequences of this misconduct are usually very little and in some cases may not
occur. At times, police misconduct happens within the same department. One case, former
Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge, was arrested on federal obstruction of justice and perjury
charges for allegedly lying about whether he and other officers under his command participated
in torture and physical abuse of suspects dating back to the 1980s. More than one time, Burge
tortured and physically abused people in police custody in order to obtain confessions. Burge
was aware that detectives he supervised engaged in torture and physical abuse of people in police
custody. One incident, in order to get a confession from a person, the police officers placed a
plastic bag over the suspects head until he lost consciousness. Burge was fired from the police
department in 1993 and was later convicted in federal court for perjury.
Four of Burges victims of torture, who were on death row because of their confessions,
were set free by the governor after Burges police misconduct was brought up. There were 14
documented cases where death sentences were based on confessions involving allegations of
torture.

In most police misconduct cases, the misconduct is not usually torture. A lot of times
police simply push and push in order to obtain a witness statement. In the case of Timothy
Atkins, Atkins was convicted after a witness, Denise Powell, testified that Atkins had confessed
to the crime. After Atkins was in prison for more than two decades, evidence that Powell was
pressured by police to testify against Atkins was revealed. When reversing Atkins conviction, the
judge held the officers, who interviewed Powell, for trial.
Police officers are here with the intent to making our communities safe. Sometimes they
cross the line and use the power of their badges to make a case that otherwise would not be
triable especially when a brutal and senseless crime occurs. Other officers are often loyal enough
to report police misconduct because of the loyalty they feel for their fellow officers. The use of
cell phone cameras has allowed citizens to record and report police misconduct. Although, in the
past, most police misconduct stories were assumed to be false a quick search on youtube can
change that really quickly. Upon searching hundreds of videos exposing incidents of police
misconduct pop up.
Now making a report of police misconduct can be a challenge for the average citizen,
mainly because when reporting police misconduct a person has to make the report to the agency.
In many cities a citizens review board will review complaints against police officers. Reforms
and close monitoring are required to make sure that police misconduct is discovered quickly and
that innocent people are not wrongly accused.
Throughout history efforts to control society have been interupted by brutality in one way
or another. Police Brutality exists in many countries and is only one of several forms of police
misconduct. Police brutality is the excessive use of physical force, assault, verbal attacks, and

threats by police officers and other law enforcement officers. The targets of the violence are
usually the poor, the working class, the politically rebellious, and ethnic minorities. Police
brutality is often associated with racial profiling. Differences in race, religion, and politics
between police and citizens can contribute to how some police officers view the population as
generally deserving punishment.
Abuse by law enforcement officers in the United States is one of the most serious human
rights violations in the country. Police officers have engaged in unjustified shootings, severe
beatings, fatal chokings, and unnecessarily rough treatment. The history of police brutality is
very long, going through phases of violence, corruption, and reform.
This is one story that tells of a Florida football player who crashed his vehicle in a small
suburb of North Carolina: In September 2013, former FAMU football player Jonathan Ferrell
crashed his vehicle in a suburban area of Charlotte, North Carolina and went seeking help. After
knocking on the door of a nearby house, the homeowner panicked and called the police.
Charlotte-Mecklenberg officers said the 24-year-old advanced towards them when they arrived
on the scene thats when one officer fired a stun gun and Officer Randall Kerrick followed up,
unloaded his firearm and shot the unarmed young man 10 times. Ferrell was pronounced dead
and Kerrick charged with voluntary manslaughter. In January 2014, a grand jury decided not to
indict Kerrick, citing insufficient evidence to bring a case against the officer. (Global Grind.)