Topic > Ethnic Minorities as Targets of Police Brutality in America

Table of ContentsPolice Brutality Essay OutlineIntroductionCounter ArgumentPolice Brutality CasesMy ArgumentConclusionPolice Brutality Essay ExampleIntroductionCounter ArgumentMy ArgumentConclusionEssay on Police BrutalityIntroductionOverview of Police Brutality and its Disproportionate Impact on minoritiesDiscussion of the gap between law enforcement and minority communitiesCounter-argumentPolice focus on minorities based on crime dataInfluence of media in portraying police as a threatChange in police behavior in communitiesInstances of police brutalityDeath of Eric Garner and excessive use of forceShooting of Tamir Rice at a Young AgeKilling of Trayvon Martin and Racial ProfilingMy ArgumentFear and Distrust in Minority Communities Due to Incidents Like TheseConclusionSample Essay on Police BrutalityIntroductionThere have been many incidents recently that show that minorities are disproportionately targeted by police brutality. police. It seems that all cases involving police brutality also involve minorities. Law enforcement does not consider itself a threat; it is the minority communities that feel targeted. Politicians have attempted to create policies to make police departments more accountable to the community they serve to break down the barrier between police and citizens. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Targeting ethnic minorities is essentially racial profiling; this is a strategy that many law enforcement agencies follow based on crime data. Officers tend to target minorities just because of the statistics. Minorities are linked to certain types of crime, and officers pay more attention to minorities because they are presumed to be at greater risk of committing a crime. The media plays an important role in how minorities view the police because when police brutality involves minorities it turns into a civil rights issue, which is then publicized all over the news. Minorities have developed distrust among officers and see them as a threat to their communities due to racial profiling, a power structure formed where the police are seen as a superior power to the oppressive power. I agree that police are seen as a threat to minorities based on incidents involving police brutality. Counterargument Law enforcement pays close attention to minorities based on crime data. Unfortunately, crime data links certain ethnicities to specific crimes, which has led to racial profiling. Statistics show that minorities pose a threat to the community and the criminal justice system, therefore officers should not be seen as threats, they are simply more alert to minorities based on hard facts. Many will argue that police officers pose no threat to minorities; rather the minorities themselves see the agents as a threat. The media plays a huge role in making cops appear as if they are threatening minority communities. When the police use excessive force, especially against a minority, it shows that the police are racist, however the clips shown never show the full story. There are situations in which the police have been accused of brutality and threats towards minorities; media clipsthey make agents look that way. The media only shows violent scenes of police officers using excessive and brutal force, yet often leaves out the information and steps that led them to use excessive force. There may have been situations where officers felt as though they had to use excessive force if they felt unsafe. Without all the knowledge of every police brutality situation involving minorities, it is unfair to take for granted what we hear in the media about police officers. It is a very broad statement to say that police are threatening minorities because not all police officers are threatening minorities and that is not a problem in every community. Not everyone except some police officers are threatening minorities and using excessive force based on an individual's ethnicity. In the cases of Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and Trayvon Martin, police used excessive and unnecessary force. In each of these situations it appears that these men were targeted because they are black. After hearing about police brutality in these three cases, minority communities have a reason to feel threatened. Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and Trayvon Martin were all killed by police officers. None of these men had done anything so dangerous that an officer would have to use excessive force. My Argument Eric Garner was “killed by NYPD officers in 2014 on Staten Island during an arrest for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes” (New York Amsterdam News, 2016) . Garner was not cooperating with the police because he did not feel like dealing with the police today, due to resisting arrest; Officer Daniel Pantaleo put him in a chokehold. Officer Pantaleo held him too long, making it impossible for Garner to breathe. He repeated “I can't breathe” several times ((New York Amsterdam News, 2016). NYPD officers ignored him and did not perform CPR because they believed he was still alive, after calling an ambulance to the New York medical examiners ruled that Garner's death was a homicide. A man died from a minor crime, the excessive force used in this situation was unjustified fear in minorities because minorities seem to be the only ones facing police brutality. Tamir Rice's death has created distrust and lack of trust between the community and the police force. Tamir Rice was 12 years old when he was killed for having played on a swing with a fake gun (THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS, 2015), an eyewitness called the police after seeing the boy point the gun at people passing by, but the message was not conveyed that perhaps he was. it was a fake gun, so when the cops arrived they thought the gun was real and shot him. The officers should have investigated whether the gun was authentic or not before shooting. This excessive advantage cannot be justified in any way, “according to some, playing outdoors with toy weapons is now a threat to society” (THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS, 2015). This case created a civil rights conflict between communities and created that barrier that police pose a threat to minorities. In 2012, a 17-year-old African-American boy named Trayvon Martin was killed by a gunshot to the chest. One evening Martin was seen leaving a gas station and walking through an apartment complex by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman (Gabbidon and Jordan, 2013). Zimmerman called 911 and reported Trayvon Martin as.