When Police Act Wrongly

What is Police Brutality?

Instagram and Police Brutality

Figure 1. The homepage of Instagram

Instagram is the second most popular app in the Apple Appstore (1). On Instagram, there are good and bad people. In 2017, seventeen percent of young people said they had been the victim of abusive behavior on Instagram (2). However, this statistic is not reflective of the all the people who use Instagram. Instagram connects over 500 million people daily from all over the world (3). Many people have Instagram accounts that offer daily anecdotes, inspirational quotes, or life hacks to improve their followers' daily lives. Similar to how Instagram is made up of both good and bad users, there are good and bad police men and women. 

Police Brutality

Figure 2. A policeman

Majority of police are good people that make their community safe from crime. However, some police are bad. One of the things that makes a cop bad is when a cop uses an extreme amount of force in a situation that does not require that degree of force. This use of too much force is defined as police brutality (4). Police brutality is when cops use their strength in a way that has a hurtful, non-justifiable connotation (4). Police brutality is illegal and can put police in jail, however, often it doesn't. 

Examples of Police Brutality

Figure 3. The news story of Freddie Gray

Have you heard of Freddie Gray? A recent occurrence of police brutality was when a man named Freddie Gray was killed by police. In April of 2015, Freddie was being arrested for suspiciously running away from police while holding a switchblade (5). While Freddie was being driven back to the police station in a van, he broke his neck (5). This is an example of police brutality because Freddie was only going to the police station over a small arrest, and during the drive he was killed. Freddie did not deserve to be killed by law while being driven to the police station (5). Shortly after what happened to Freddie, there were riots in Baltimore, Maryland (5). This was the angry response of the public to the unjust way Freddie was killed. What happened to Freddie Gray is sad and should not be taken lightly. 

Police Brutality in Books

Figure 4. The Hate U Give eBook

A similar story to Freddie's is the story of Starr in the book The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas. The Hate U Give is about a girl named Starr who witnessed her best friend, Khalil, get shot by a cop (6). The book follows her reaction to stand up for what is right (6). These two stories are similar because they show times when police act brutally. In The Hate U Give, there is rioting after Khalil is killed. This is similar to Freddie Gray's death because after he was killed there was rioting in Baltimore. The Book about Starr was made into a movie, The Hate U Give. This movie was first released on October 19, 2018. The Hate U Give is an enjoyable movie because it shows police brutality from a teenager's point of view.

Think for Yourself!

In every situation in life, there are always good and bad people. For example, you go to Starbucks one day and the barista there is mean. For instance, one of your teachers in school might not be your favorite because they are strict. Last week, the Comcast worker that was at your house angered you because he was not be able to fix your WiFi. But these examples do not represent all people of those job descriptions. There are nice baristas, teachers, and utilities workers who can all do their jobs well. In the same way, there are lots of good cops. There are also some bad cops. When cops use force unnecessarily, they are bad. They are committing cases of police brutality. Police brutality is bad and should be reported. If you ever see someone getting treated brutally by police, report it. Don't let yourself become a bystander who never spoke up for justice. 

Figure 5. A light bulb with a police hat

References

1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2018/12/04/apple-unveils-2018s-most-popular-apps-youtube-fortnite-minecraft-and-more/#36ad2ae160dc

2. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40643904

3. https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-statistics/

4. https://definitions.uslegal.com/p/police-brutality/

5. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32400497

6. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32075671-the-hate-u-give

Figure 1: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/instagram-adds-support-horizontal-vertical-818189
Figure 2: https://dumielauxepices.net/police-clipart/police-clipart-pulis
Figure 3: https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/6-baltimore-police-officers-charged-in-freddie-grays-death/
Figure 4: https://www.amazon.com/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas-ebook/dp/B01M0614T9
Figure 5: https://clipart.me/istock/police-bulb-with-thumbs-up-675116