Karapetyan1

MikeKarapetyan
ProfessorTurner
English114B
April17,2017

LawEnforcementinAmerica

Weliveinacountrywherethelawistobeupheldtothehighestofstandards.

OverthecourseofAmericanhistory,lawenforcementhasdevelopedintoanorganized,

professionalinstitutionwhosemission,onemightthink,istosafeguardthiscountrys

citizensfromharm.Employingover9,000swornofficers,theLosAngelesPolice

Department(LAPD)isoneofthelargestlawenforcementinstitutionsinAmericatoday.

Thecodeofconductissimple:toprotectandtoserve.However,asaresidentofLos

Angeles,IfeelthatLAPDofficersarenotdoingtheirjobastheyshouldbe.Wepay

hardearnedtaxesinordertosupportthemaintenanceandstabilityofapowerfullaw

enforcementinstitutionsothatLosAngelesresidentscan,inturn,livesafely.Yet,we

stillwitnessacountlessnumberofcasesofpolicebrutalityandracialprofilingonthe

streetsofLosAngeleseveryyear.Inspiteofthedecreaseincrimesincethe1990s,there

hasbeenanincreaseinpoliceinvolveddeaths.Infact,accordingtoanannualFBIreport

(i.e.UniformCrimeReport),policeinvolveddeathsareatanalltimehighwithinthelast

twodecades.Giventhissoberingdevelopment,itissafetosaythatourlawenforcement

institutions,andmorespecifically,policedepartments,arenotproperlyeducatingtheir

soontobepoliceofficersofhowtocarryouttheirjob.Tobetteraddressthisissueof

policebrutality,weneedtoreformourpolicedepartments,sothatwerestassuredthatwe

couldsleeppeacefullyatnight.
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TheLAPDcurrentlyhas21geographicaldivisionsdispersedthroughoutLos

Angeles.Eachdivisionisresponsibleforkeepingpoliceofficersintheirrespectiveareas

sharpandinexcellentphysicalandmentalshape.Infact,mostpoliceandlaw

enforcementjurisdictionsinAmericaworkthesamewaytheLAPDdoes.Thefederal

governmentdoesnotsetthecurrentstandardsforofficertraining;eachstatedoes,

althoughstatesstandardsarelowincomparisontothefederalstandardssetforpolice

officerswhoaretrainedinotherarenassuchashandtohandcombat,mentalendurance,

intelligencegathering,etc.Forinstance,policedepartmentsprovidelittlehardtrainingon

howtoexpertlyandprofessionallydeescalateapotentiallylifethreateningsituationor

applytechniquestoavoidconflict.Instead,allwehaveseenareviolentkillingswithboth

officersandciviliansamongstthecasualties.Thisisdueinlargeparttopoliceofficers

beingtrainedtousedeadlyforceifnecessary.Tosomeextent,Ibelieveofficershave

becomeaccustomedtothis.Killingisn'ttheobjective,"saysGeoffreyAlpert,professor

atUniversityofSouthCarolinawhoresearcheshighriskpoliceactivity."Theobjective

istoremovethethreat."Duetothelackoftrainingondeescalatingconflictriddled

situations,wehaveseenmanyavoidableshootingsandkillingsinwhichapoliceofficer

responsibleforashootingdeathwasnottargetingaspecificpersonbasedonethnicityor

appearance,butoutoffear.AccordingtoformerpoliceofficerSethStoughton,Inmost

policeshootings,officersdontshootoutofangerorfrustrationorhatred.Theyshoot

becausetheyareafraid.Andtheyareafraidbecausetheyareconstantlybarragedwiththe

messagethatthattheyshouldbeafraid,thattheirsurvivaldependsonit.Notonlydo

officershearitinformaltraining,theyalsohearitinformallyfromsupervisorsandolder
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officers.Examplesincludetheshootingof22yearoldJohnCrawfordinDayton,Ohio,

whoheldatoygunwithastrikingresemblancetoanactualgun,andwasgunneddown

byapoliceofficer.AnotherwouldbethecaseofTamirRice,whosetoygunpoliceonce

againmistookforarealoneandhewasgunneddownasaresult.Theseincidentsindicate

thatpoliceofficersareclearlyafraidandthisfearneedstobeaddressedwithreform.

Personally,IhavehadmyownexperienceswiththeLAPD.InJune2011,whenI

was16yearsoldandasophomoreinhighschool,IsignedupfortheLosAngelesCadet

Academy.ThisprogramisanLAPDsponsored18weekprogramthatallowsteenagers

fromtheagesof1618toexperiencewhatanLAPDofficerspendshisdaydoing.Within

those18weeks,Icompleted170hoursofclassroomandphysicalinstruction.Idefinitely

enjoyedthisprogram,anduponcompletingit,cametotheconclusionthatpoliceofficers

donotreceiveenoughcreditforwhattheydo,sincetheyoccupysuchadangerousjob

andworktirelesslytoensurethesafetyofothers.Whatstopsusfromlivinginatotal

anarchy?Lawandorderistheanswertothatquestion.Thepurposeoflawistorightthe

wrong.Ascitizensaffectedbylawandordereveryday,weareallinneedofafully

functioningandprofessionalpolicedepartmentinourrespectivecitiesandcommunities.

Withsuchahighdemand,onewouldthinkthattwicetheeffortwouldbeallocatedin

maintainingsuchinstitutions.

Alotofpeoplebelievethatpolicearejustifiedinthebrutalitiestheycommit.

Peoplestillhavefaithinourlawenforcementsystemandover75percentofpeopletoday

stillbelieveitisacceptableforpolicetouseforceonindividuals.Afterall,policedohave

averydangerousjobandifapossiblesuspectisnotcooperating,whywouldtheynotuse
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force,theyargue.Attheendoftheday,policeofficersarehumanbeingsaswellandthey

needtoprotectthemselvesaswell.Toaddtothat,64policeofficersweremurderedin

2016accordingtoareportbyCNN.Thisdemonstratesthatthereisaproblemonboth

ends.Policecannotprotecteverydaypeopleiftheydonothaveenoughauthoritytodoso

andcannotevenprotectthemselveswhentheirsafetyisindangeraswell.Wecannot

expecttoreceiveprotectionfrompoliceofficerswhenwearenotcooperatingwiththem.

Ontheotherhand,however,manyarguethattheproblemlieswithpolice

departmentsandthelackoftrainingtheyofferofficers.Aftergainingacceptanceintothe

policeacademy,recruitsparticipateinclassroomandpracticalinstruction.Theylearn

everythingfromtostatelawstoselfdefensetechniques.However,whyaretherenot

additionaltrainingsinpolicedepartmentstrainingprogramsinvolvingdeescalating

situationsorcalmingdownpublicpanic?Withsuchahugeproblemasthenumberof

policebrutalitycasesinourcountry,whyarethesemuchneededtrainingtechniquesstill

beingignored?Wecannotfixaproblemifweignorethatitevenexists,especiallya

problemthataffectssomanyinthiscountry.Therefore,thisiswhereweneedto

implementourreform.Aftertrillionsarecollectedintaxrevenueeachyear,acertain

amountshouldbewithdrawntogotowardsnewandimprovedtrainingprogramsforour

policeofficers.

Manywouldbenefitfromanewandimprovedlawenforcementsystem.By

many,Imeaneverysinglecitizenofthiscountry.Amongreformsthatshouldbe

implemented,theabandoningofthe21footrule,arulethatprovidesthatpoliceare

justifiedinshootinganyonethatseemsdangerousandwalkswithin21feetofthem,and
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deescalationtacticsarehighonthelist.Countlessdeadlyincidentsthathavetakenplace

todayhaveoccurredduetolackofknowledgeindeescalationtactics.Agreatexample

ofapotentialpreventabledeathhadpoliceofficersbeentrainedindeescalationtactics

wouldbethedeathof37yearoldAltonSterling,whowastackledtothegroundby

policeandlatershotandkilledforresistingarrest.Theofficerwasclearedofany

wrongdoingandthecasewasruledajustifiablehomicide,althoughthatwasnotthecase.

Infact,manynewsoutletssuchasCNNevendubbedthekillingasAnexecutionstyle

murderonbehalfofthegovernment.Thisofficerwasclearlynottrainedproperly.One

caseidenticaltothatofAltonSterlingshouldhavebeenenoughtoopentheeyesof

policedepartmentsnationwide.

Intheend,theonlywaywewilleverseeimprovementsinpolicedepartmentsand

adecreaseinpolicebrutalitycasesnationwideisweactuallyimplementreformstothe

lawenforcementsystembyaddressingitsshortcomings.Onewaytostartisbyfocusing

onincreasingofficertrainingondeescalationtacticsandprovidingnonviolentsolutions

toconflicts.Consequencesformisconductareminimalandsettlementsareshiftedto

taxpayers.Reformwillbringusonestepclosereliminatinginhumanekillingsand

financiallossesamongallourcitizenry.
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Works Cited
Danylko, Cleveland.com Ryllie. "Shooting to Kill: Why Police Are Trained
to Fire Fatal Shots." Cleveland.com. N.p., 10 Dec. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

Stoughton, Seth. "How Police Training Contributes to Avoidable Deaths."

The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 12 Dec. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

Davis, Nicholas Quah Laura E. "Here's A Timeline Of Unarmed Black

People Killed By Police Over Past Year." BuzzFeed. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr.
2017.

Johnson, Kevin. "Police Killings Highest in Two Decades." USA Today.

Gannett Satellite Information Network, 11 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.