Excessive Force by Police Many

Excessive Force by Police

Many people are familiar with the cases of Abner Louima and Rodney King, two famous examples of police brutality. The death of Amadou Diallo in New York is another example covered extensively in the media. However, for every case of police brutality that receives media coverage, many more go unnoticed.

This paper argues that police brutality is far from an aberation, covered in the media only in extreme cases. Instead, this paper maintains that the police brutality is a growing problem.

The first part of this paper looks at data regarding the police use of extreme force, especially among racial minorities. The second part then examines why these abuses continue. In the last part, this paper looks at the role of the media, and the reasons behind selective media coverage.

A national pattern

Far from being aberrations, the cases of Louima and Diallo are part of a national pattern of excessive force. The late 1990s saw several more cases that did not garner as much press coverage. In 1998, for example, a thirteen-year-old named Timothy Wilson was fatally shot after six officers chased the boy for weaving and reckless driving. In 2000, Louisville, Kentucky residents erupted in protest after an unarmed black man suspected of auto theft was chased by two police officers, and shot 22 times and killed. A similar case happened in Houston in 1998, resulting in the death of unarmed Mexican national Pedro Oregon. (Novick 1999).

These last three cases have much in common. First, they did not happen in major cities. King was a resident of Los Angeles, while Louima and Diallo were residents of New York City.

In contrast, Louisville, Houston and Kansas City are not considered large media markets. Thus, similar shootings in smaller markets do not garner as much national attention.

Another similar thread is that the shootings involved members of racial minorities. Police officers contend that excessive force in less than 1% of contacts with civilians and suspects. Contrary to these statistics, however, blacks perceive excessive force as a problem. A further survey conducted by NBC News found that 43% of black respondents had little confidence on the police in the matter of "not using excessive force on suspects" (cited in Weitzer 1999).

Many members of various minority groups feel that they are unfairly targeted, especially with regard to the use of excessive force and the differences that white and black residents ascribe to these incidents. In many cases, such as the cases of Wilson and Oregon, the incidents are sparked by non-violent offenses.

In addition to fatal shootings, many police officers are also resorting to the use of TASER or stun guns, in situations which were previously resolved without the use of force. Statistics from the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Florida, for example, show a stunning increase in the use of TASERS. In 2000, there were only three reported uses of TASER guns. A mere two years later, that figure jumped to 295 (Amnesty International 2005).

Systemic bias

There are several reasons behind this national pattern of abuse. First, despite efforts from grassroots organizations and community leaders, there is a clear lack of political will in solving this problem.

Jesse Jackson, for example, equates the excessive use of force against black people as "domestic terrorism." Additionally, Salim Muwakil (2002) observes that many African-Americans are incredulous that the four police officers who fired 41 bullets at Diallo were acquitted of any charges.

Analysts like Muwakil locate this problem in the system of law enforcement, pointing out that "anti-black biases are so tightly woven into the fabric of American law enforcement" (Muwakil 2002). These biases are invisible to everyone but the black victims, many of whom have come to expect practices such as racial profiling as standard.

The September 11 terrorist attacks have added another dimension to racial profiling. In addition with fighting local crime, many police chiefs were tasked with "interviewing" immigrants of Middle Eastern descent. Analysts worry that the imagery of "terrorist" and "immigrant" will be a potent source of increased uses of excessive force (Bai and Tang 2002).

Finally, the fact that juries rarely convict police officers for use of excessive force indirectly contributes to this culture. The police officers accused in the Diallo killing and the Rodney King beating, for example, were acquitted. Author and former prosecutor Scott Turrow wrote about the difficulty of even indicting officers who had patterns of abuse. In one case, the jury returned a hung verdict against a known "hitter," despite the baton marks on the back of the victim. Even more disturbing, members of the jury joined the defendant at the celebration party, held after the trial (Turrow 2000).

These systematic biases make it difficult for the media to devote adequate coverage to instances of police brutality. The entrenchment of the use of force in police culture means that such cases are far more commonplace than previously thought. The September 11 attacks further encourage race- and ethnicity-based profiling, and many media outlets are understandably leery of being labeled as "unpatriotic." The Patriot Act makes it even more difficult to get reliable reports when police officers use excessive force on their subjects.

Media ownership

Mainstream media is in a strong position to influence public opinion on many issues, such as police brutality. However, as discussed in this paper, many mainstream and local media outlets do not adequately cover these issues. Furthermore, in many cases, coverage is slanted to make police less culpable for their behavior.

The case of Tyisha Miller, a young black woman killed by police in Riverside, California, is a stunning example. Police were called in to aid an unconscious Miller, who was sitting in the passenger seat of a car. The officers opened fire when Miller supposedly reached for a weapon. Investigations later stated that the officers were guilty of "errors in judgment" (Novick 1999).