How Race and Ethnicity Affect Police Brutality

While no one is immune from police brutality, statistics show that African-Americans are far more likely to be the victims of police brutality than are whites. As Lopez notes, “Black people accounted for 31 percent of police killing victims in 2012, even though they made up just 13 percent of the US population.” Moreover, of the people killed by police who were not attacking, 39% were black (Lopez). These statistics have not improved over time. Between 2015 and 2016, there were 1,146 victims of police violence and nearly 40% of those victims were either African-American or Hispanic, according Bui, Coates and Matthay. The tragedy is, of course, that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, African-Americans and Hispanics only account for a quarter of the U.S. population. So how is it that roughly half of all victims of police brutality are minorities who altogether make up only a quarter of the population served by police? The problem has not gone unnoticed by researchers. James, for example, has pointed out that “research on police officers has found that they tend to associate African Americans with threat” (30). In other words, there is an inherent bias or prejudice in many police officers when it comes to judging blacks.  This is something that has been verified by Hehman, Flake and Calanchini who found that police violence against blacks is disproportionately found in some regions of the U.S. and is a sign of significant bias against African-Americans.
However, not everyone reports the same statistics—or at least reports them in the same way. Lemoine reported that “last year, according to the Washington Post’s tally, just 16 unarmed black men, out of a population of more than 20 million, were killed by the police. The year before, the number was 36. These figures are likely close to the number of black men struck by lightning in a given year.” Lemoine makes it look as though police brutality against blacks is over-exaggerated and over-emphasized. By reporting actual figures like this one, it is hard not to argue. When reporting percentages, the proportion of blacks who are brutalized or killed by police does seem to be a bit harder to accept. Lemoine’s statistics make it seem much more palatable. The problem is this: should society be willing to accept any percentage or any numbers with respect to police brutality? Should it not be the case that whether the victims are white or black, police brutality itself should not be occurring?
And certainly it can be said that police brutality towards blacks is out of proportion to the actual population as a whole. The number is made worse when one considers the incarceration statistics for black men in America. 33% of the prison population is African-American—more than whites, who only make up 30% of the prison population, accord to Pew Research. As Pew Research notes, these statistics can be made to look even more startling when put this way: “In 2016, there were 1,608 black prisoners for every 100,000 black adults – more than five times the imprisonment rate for whites (274 per 100,000) and nearly double the rate for Hispanics (856 per 100,000).” The way in which figures are represented can create a narrative that is shocking or less so—but with police brutality against blacks, the figures are not good no matter how one looks at. In fact, police brutality never looks good no matter who is impacted by it, whether white, black or Latino or Asian. Police brutality is a problem that can afflict just about anyone, as the statistics show.
Still, it would not be fair to suggest that blacks are not discriminated against by the law. The research shows that they are, as has already been indicated above. The culture of America has long been steeped in racism and discrimination. Even though blacks were freed after the Civil War, it was another century before they were really granted their civil rights—and it nearly took another war just to win them that. For 100 years after the passing of the 14th Amendment, blacks were treated abominably under Jim Crow laws throughout America. This has led, culturally speaking, to the creation of an atmosphere in which blacks are treated with bias by law enforcement officers, even if law enforcement officers do not realize their bias.
This type of bias occurs quite frequently. If one is a minority, one is far more likely to be a target of police brutality than if one is a white person, just based on the percentages. While white people are still the recipients of police violence more so than blacks, just based solely on the numbers, the numbers show a disproportionate amount of violence with respect to population size of each groups. The main cause for this disproportionate size is cultural. Racism has been embedded in the American culture since the founding of the country in 1776.
Race and ethnicity affect police brutality primarily because the culture that has been established is passed on from generation to generation as a result of the influences that impact people’s behavior. These influences stem from media, peers and groups, and all people are susceptible to the messages communicated by these agencies. The problem is that even if one does possess an implicit bias, one may not even realize it. It is undoubtedly safe to safe that a good number of police officers in the U.S. are unaware of harboring any bias or prejudice towards minorities—though they are more likely to harbor them.
Bias and prejudice is not something people realize they have, as it does not always advertise itself on someone’s face. It is typically latent in one’s mind and comes out in subtle ways until it is triggered in an altercation and leads to police brutality. The brutality shown towards Rodney King, for example, in the 1990s was one example of police brutality getting completely out of hand as officers responded to a call with an unnecessary show of violence.
Police violence against whites often does not get nearly as much air play, however, because it is not construed as a racially motivated phenomenon. Anytime that white officers use unnecessary force against black persons, it is quickly labeled racial. The fact is, however, that not all brutality against blacks is racial, just like not all police officers are racist. Sometimes officers simply lack the restraint they need to de-escalate a situation and keep it from spiraling out of control.
The problem in America is that racism does exist and has existed fiercely in the past. Therefore, people who want to stop the spread of racism are very mindful of it anytime it appears it could be showing signs of life again. So they are quick to take action against officers who may be engaging in police brutality against African-Americans. As a society, however, the U.S. should be actively engaged in stopping police brutality altogether—not just against blacks but also against whites. In spite of the disproportionate percentage of blacks killed by police compared to whites, it still remains that more whites are killed by police each year. These are just the statistical facts. The important takeaway is that no matter how one looks it, police brutality should be looked upon as a plague that is negatively affecting the country, and regardless of whether one is white or black, one should not tolerate police brutality. Whether it is race or ethnicity prompting the brutality, the fact remains that it has to stop.
Works Cited
Bui, Anthony L., Matthew M. Coates, and Ellicott C. Matthay. "Years of life lost due to
encounters with law enforcement in the USA, 2015–2016." J Epidemiol Community Health 72.8 (2018): 715-718.
Hehman, Eric, Jessica K. Flake, and Jimmy Calanchini. "Disproportionate use of lethal
force in policing is associated with regional racial biases of residents." Social psychological and personality science 9.4 (2018): 393-401.
James, Lois. "The stability of implicit racial bias in police officers." Police Quarterly 
21.1 (2018): 30-52.
Lemoine, Philippe. Police Violence against Black Men Is Rare. National Review, 2017.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/09/police-violence-against-black-men-rare-heres-what-data-actually-say/
Lopez, German. There are huge racial disparities in how US police use force. Vox,
2018. https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/8/13/17938186/police-shootings-killings-racism-racial-disparities
Pew Research. The gap between the number of blacks and whites in prison is shrinking.
Pew Research Center, 2018. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/12/shrinking-gap-between-number-of-blacks-and-whites-in-prison/
U.S. Census Bureau. Population of the United States by Race and
Hispanic/Latino Origin, Census 2000 and 2010. https://www.infoplease.com/us/race-population/population-united-states-race-and-hispaniclatino-origin-census-2000-and-2010