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Concept
Police brutality
Summary
Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, asphyxiation, beatings, shootings, improper takedowns, and unwarranted use of tasers.
The origin of modern policing can be traced back to the 18th century in France. By the 19th and early 20th centuries, many nations had established modern police departments. Early records suggest that labor strikes were the first large-scale incidents of police brutality in the United States, including events like the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, the Pullman Strike of 1894, the 1912 Lawrence textile strike, the Ludlow massacre of 1914, the Great Steel Strike of 1919, and the Hanapepe massacre of 1924.
The term "police brutality" was first used in Britain in the mid-19th century, by The Puppet-Show magazine(a short-lived rival to Punch) in September 1848, when they wrote:
The first use of the term in the American press was in 1872 when the Chicago Tribune reported the beating of a civilian who was under arrest at the Harrison Street Police Station.
In the United States, it is common for marginalized groups to perceive the police as oppressors, rather than protectors or enforcers of the law, due to the statistically disproportionate number of minority incarcerations.
Hubert G. Locke wrote:
Sometimes riots, e.g. the 1992 Los Angeles riots, are a reaction to police brutality.
The persistence of police brutality in many nations can be linked to a collective failure of the criminal justice system. Governments enacting policies, poor police training, and a lack of legal repercussions for officers who use excessive force against civilians all increase the likelihood of police brutality occurring. Additionally, social issues like racial discrimination and poverty can exacerbate the brutality and its effects on marginalized communities.
Official source
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