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Michael Delgado

English 11

Ms. Oberg

31 January 2018

Out With the Old In With the Old

Police violence is something that has been a part of our history for some time now. Death

by a police officer’s sidearm, and hospital visits by the end of an officer’s nightstick are anything

but few and far between in this day and age. As much as one might attempt to deny it, this police

brutality that I’m speaking of has been primarily directed towards minority groups living in the

United States. While most will get their information from the news or from social media, he or

she will most likely decide right there and then that these occurrences either have to do with the

victim’s race or they don’t. In many cases the victim is black and the officer is white, at least the

cases that are most commonly reported by the media and others. This leads me to the question of

why police brutality is directed towards minority groups.

While I’m a member of the minority in this country it has been in my best interest to be

aware and somewhat knowledgeable of the violence from police. I’ve had the privilege to be

exposed to several different perspectives on the topic, all people who are experts in their field of

work. I have listened in to Lex Scott, a Black Lives Matter advocate and leader. Erin Alberty, a

​ ho at one time specialized in the reporting of police

reporter for ​The Salt Lake Tribune w

shootings and police brutality here in Utah. Officer J.T. Bigelow, a Lieutenant in the West

Jordan Police force, and the chief of police in Murray, Utah. Prior to listening to each of these
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speakers I have done some research specifically on the shootings and or killings of blacks

throughout the country. The killing of Michael Brown, Darrien Hunt and Eric Garner are just a

few off the list, but this goes much further back than just these three individuals. The Rodney

King incident for example, is one of the most famous based on the brutality and violence that

was put on display by the police. This proved to be a major turning point in that many decided to

take a stand and stop putting up with the way they were being treated. This of course is what led

to the Rodney King Riots, which are also so famously depicted and captured on camera. The

Chicano Moratorium protests are also a point of police brutality in which I was originally

somewhat aware of before doing any major research on the subject. This is unique because it was

directed towards a group other than those of color, yet it was still a group in which was a part of

the minority.

My search consisted of an attempt to expand my knowledge of the different forms and

cases of police brutality, which I was hoping would give me the opportunity to better understand

the reasons for it. What I found was that even as much as I already knew about the topic, it was

even more eye-opening than I could have ever expected. Just like any other controversial topic,

this one proved to have its fair share of opinions and perspectives, some very shocking, some

logical and concise. In ​The Huffington Post ​an article read, “The news on both left and right has

been awash with stories of police troubles, each of course with a different angle. On the left we

have exposés of police abuse, brutality, corruption and the deaths of suspects in custody or being

arrested; on the right the focus is on street riots, lawlessness and violence against the police. We

have seen stories from Ferguson, ​Albuquerque​, ​New Orleans​, ​South Florida​, ​Baltimore​,
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Philadelphia​, ​New York​, ​Chicago​, ​Los Angeles​, ​San Diego​ and ​Seattle​.” (Schweitzer).​ I​ found

that the outlook on the issue as a whole tends to be looked at very differently by those who are

members of a minority group and those who are not. This of course was to be expected, but what

I did not expect was to come across such a great deal of information that I wasn’t knowledgeable

of beforehand.

Throughout the course of my research I was able to learn a number of fascinating things

in regards to the issue at hand. Though I had heard of the march from Selma to Montgomery I

learned far more about it than I ever had before. This story of course is known by many, but the

level of violence and force that was used by the police during those attempts to march was

ridiculous and outrageous. An article stated, “​protesters marching the 54-mile route from Selma

to the state capital of Montgomery were confronted with deadly violence from local authorities

and white vigilante groups.”​ (History). It’s the right of every U.S. citizen to peacefully protest

and speak out when he or she feels that it is necessary. Those who were involved in the march

were acting nothing but accordingly, yet they were punished and beaten for it anyway. The

controversial side of it here is the fact that the march took place because people were trying to

fight and stand for their equality within the country, and they happened to be doing it for people

of color and minority groups, for as they always have been, were treated like anything short of a

human. Once again, the question of why comes into play.

I also did some research on police shootings, ones where those who are being shot at are

left dead. What I found was that the police officers that are typically involved in these situations
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are kept safe and hidden right after the fact. In ​Time ​magazine it said, “​But rarely does it happen

that seamlessly. For a host of reasons, including entrenched bureaucratic practice, privacy

concerns and fear of compromising a criminal investigation.” (Phelps). ​The media will release

the information and even footage of the victim, but very rarely ever release the information of

the police officers who committed the act in the first place. It seemed that this is most commonly

the case whenever it’s a white police officer shooting and killing a person of color, and it seems

obvious that the reason would be because it is such a controversial topic for many who learn of

it. With any issue such as this one there are always solutions and alternatives that are brought up

and suggested by many. This was something that I also learned of during my research. For

example, the implementation of body cameras for every police officer across the country has

been an idea trying to find its way in the world. It was originally pushed by the Obama

administration, and he was attempting to fund the idea of body cameras so that all police officers

could wear one and be monitored in a more effective way. This to me sounds like a great idea,

and it is one that needs to take true effect throughout the entire country. Police officers aren’t

held accountable enough for some of their actions and they need to be. Too many people have

died and have been treated poorly by the police, it needs to come to an end.

I found this process to be extremely unique and enjoyable. It’s not often that a teacher

allows his or her students to openly discuss an issue or topic that he or she is passionate about.

Expanding my knowledge is of course a valuable thing, but there are times when that expansion

is towards things that I’m not nearly as interested in, so the experience becomes less enjoyable. It

feels that these ideas and opinions want to be heard, which is a nice feeling to have. In doing this
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research I found that there may not be a simple cut and dry answer as to why police brutality is

directed towards minority groups. I think that race certainly plays its own role, but that isn’t the

only reason it occurs as often as it does. Maybe police officers feel that they are entitled to do

such things or maybe they get bored on the job. Whatever the reasons there have to be

alternatives and solutions because it has certainly gotten out of hand. After looking through the

topic and the issue I would say that there are a number of things that could be implemented in

order to make this a lesser issue. However, people must look past their pride and their egos and

find a way to make a decision that is better for the innocent people who are affected by this

brutality on a day to day basis.