Dear Mr. or Ms. President,

Police officers, who were once referred to as peace keepers, are now more law enforcement. Police agencies around the United States seem to be stuck more on quotas and creating revenue for their county or city. Making many officers strive for many unnecessary arrests. We need to stop Police Brutality.

How many people are going to die from police brutality? When will police brutality stop? Following tragic deaths at the hands of police, like that of Eric Garner, He said “I can't breathe” again and again but the police still choked him out. In this article titled, How long, O Lord, how long?, by Curtiss Paul De Young “How long will we deny racism in the United States? The people being killed by police are black and brown. Whites are rarely killed by police. When whites are killed by police it is a last resort, not a first response. Whites must recognize how deeply intertwined anti-black racism is in our perceptions and actions”(De Young). Meaning that America is saying racism is no longer going on. But police brutality is still going on. How long will the killing of African Americans by police officers continue? The killings of Alton Sterling from Louisiana and Philander Castile from Minnesota, these are more police brutality killings. This shows that police brutality is happening and many have died from police brutality. In this article titled, Why Police 'Brutality' Is Not The Issue, by Faith Kirk, “The problem is not with the police” (Kirk). Meaning that police brutality is not happening. It only happens because, of the way the African Americans act.

In many countries there are laws which are protecting against police brutality. Under these laws, police brutality is seen as a very serious offense and is investigated by district attorneys. Unfortunately, even with the law covering police brutality, many complaints made by civilians about excessive use of force are not investigated. Researchers suggest that it happens because the police has the authority to use force when necessary, and, often, it is difficult to prove that police brutality has taken place. More police officers now constantly record all interactions with civilians. Later on the recorded conversations can be reviewed in the case of an investigation.

How long will we deny racism in the United States? The people being killed by police are black and brown. Whites are rarely killed by police. When whites are killed by police it is a last resort, not a first response. Whites must recognize how deeply intertwined anti-black racism is in our perceptions and actions especially in our policing. Denial of this is an act of racism. In this article titled, Excessive or reasonable force by police? Research on law enforcement and racial conflict, by John Wihbey:

“The Justice Department releases statistics on this and related issues, although these data sets are only periodically updated: It found that in 2008, among people who had contact with police, “an estimated 1.4% had force used or threatened against them during their most recent contact, which was not statistically different from the percentages in 2002 (1.5%) and 2005 (1.6%).” In terms of the volume of citizen complaints, the Justice Department also found that there were 26,556 complaints lodged in 2002; this translates to “33 complaints per agency and 6.6 complaints per 100 full-time sworn officers.” However, “overall rates were higher among large municipal police departments, with 45 complaints per agency, and 9.5 complaints per 100 full-time sworn officers.” In 2011, about 62.9 million people had contact with the police (Wihbey). Meaning that police brutality is still going on. With data that shows the African American who were killed who had no force against police.

This shows that police brutality is still going on in the United States of America. police brutality is a problem in society because people are getting hurt by cops who are abusing their power and getting people into situations that they shouldn’t be in. My evidence was shown in the stories that I have read and the statistics I have found through my research. With data showing that african american teens had no force against police. Showing how police brutality increased from 2002 - 2008.

Sincerely, Mussie Habtom

Sources:

(Wihbey) (Kirk) (De Young)