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sayHutton Tendler
John Kubler
English 114A
20 November 2014
Against Police Brutality: A Never-Ending Affair
Imagine yourself driving down the street minding your own business when a cop
approaches behind you. He follows you for a few minutes and decides to flash his lights at you.
Since you have broken no laws, you assume he must want to pass you. Suddenly, five other cop
cars begin to follow. Instead of blocking off the road, they forcefully ram your car into the dirt.
When they approach your vehicle, they begin to taze you through the sunroof, and proceed to
beat you mercilessly. This kind of incident happens every day in America. For this individual,
Robert Leone, the trouble has only begun. (Hohol 0:25). This story can be reviewed on
YouTube.com. It is the law to pull over when a registered police vehicle flashes his lights behind
you. Leone may have made a small mistake by not pulling over. However, he did not speed or
bring the police officers on a high-speed pursuit. The officers had no reason to crash into his car
the way they did and physically beat him in the hours to come. He was taken in and out of
custody and even emitted into the hospital several times in the first 24 hours of arrest. Police
officers are taught an appropriate use of force to deal with criminals and are not allowed to inflict
unjust physical or emotional pain. They are especially not allowed to kill unless they are in fear
for their own lives; even then, it is taught to detain a criminal to ensure justice is served. On the
other hand, being a police officer can be challenging. Officers are forced to make quick decisions
regularly. Sunil Dutta, a Los Angeles Police Officer, defends why a cop might take further action.
Dutta states that it is up to the citizens, not the police, to stop the brutality. He says that the

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violence will decrease if the offender follows the orders of the officer. Jon Murad, police officer
with the NYPD, comments on the Michael Brown case (which I will expand on), arguing Duttas
claim by stating, Shooting someone trying to take your gun is lawful, especially if hes a
significant physical threat; shooting someone surrendering with their hands up is not, even when
its the same guy and mere seconds separate the events, (Freed 1). Therefore, Murads
statement concludes that there is always a way to deal with these types of situations and that it is
rarely okay to hurt or kill another individual.
As the news begins to spread through the media, we all begin to ask ourselves the same
question: What can we do to stop police brutality? A journalist, David Packman, described a
statistical report of police misconduct in the United States in 2010. His evidence concludes 6,613
officers were reported of allegations of misconduct. 23.8% of those individuals were involved in
excessive force reports. 9.3% were involved in sexual misconduct complaints. 4.5% were
involved in assault reports, and 3.6% in civil rights. (Packman 1). The statistics show that a large
number of police officers in America have been accused of misconduct. It is increasing
significantly because it is happening everywhere today. Many of these incidents have been
caught on camera; from the dash cameras in cop cars, to surveillance cameras, and even from our
own personal cell phones. These cases were once so few and far in between due to the lack of
sufficient evidence. However, with the technology that we have today, we are able to see
everything first hand. These media sources are also being shared all over social media and news
websites. Protests have grown all over the nation and wont stop until justice is served.
There have been many suggestions as to how we can decrease these uses of unjust force. The
question I would like to investigate is to what extent this cruelty is accepted in our society today

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and how we can stop it. The most challenging aspect will be broadening the publics awareness
towards police brutality.
The Department of Justice is making it clear that the rule of law applies to everyone. An
example of this is the Edgar Azrate case. Ryan Grim, the Washington Bureau chief for The
Huffington Post, and Matt Ferner a former editor from Huffpost Denver, explain the series of
unfortunate events in Edgar Arzates life. Although Azrate is far from a good role model, he still
didnt deserve the cruelty police officers inflicted towards him. Arzate is an illegal immigrant.
He has mental health issues and has struggled with addiction; he has also spent time in prison
and has been deported twice. Arzate went to a friends house, when no one answered he began
fumbling outside, trying to get into the house. When police officers showed up, Arzate ran fourblocks and surrendered in the front yard of a neighbors home. He was severely beaten by the
arresting officers, he was kicked, punched, and hit with a flashlight. The incident can be seen
from the neighbors surveillance camera. The officers noticed the camera and whispered
something to each other before pulling him out of sight from the camera. Arzate was taken into
custody, charged with resisting arrest and assaulting an officer which later resulted in alleged
charges of personally inflicting great bodily injury to an officer who broke his hand. Two
months later he was driving with his family to a preliminary hearing for his charges. Grim states,
Suddenly, three unmarked cars pulled the family over and Arzate was quickly taken into
custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. (Grim 1). They arrested Arzate and
he was held by immigration authorities for six weeks. He wrote a letter to The Department of
Justices Civil Rights Division and they put a hold on Arzates deportation; the state of
California has dropped all but one charge, a felony for an attempted burglary. The Department of
Justice wants everyone to know that they must abide by the laws. Other than running from the

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police initially, Arzate surrendered, unarmed, and was not a threat to any of the arresting officers.
It is significant that the DOJ got involved and is trying to clarify to everyone that the law applies.
Lastly, Id like to discuss one of the largest growing stories in media today. Michael
Brown from Ferguson, Missouri was walking down the street when he was fatally shot six times
by police officer, Darrell Wilson, on August 9th. Wilson got a call from police dispatch saying
there was a robbery at a local convenience store. Brown and his friend fit the description. What
happened next is unknown. Elliott McLaughlin, a writer for CNN, reports, One side says the
teenager was surrendering, his hands in the air to show he was unarmed, when the officer opened
fire. Authorities counter that Brown attacked the officer in his car and tried to take his gun.
(What we know about Michael Browns Shooting 1). The lack of sufficient evidence makes this
case extremely hard for the grand jury to make a verdict. Officer Wilson was found not guilty.
The protests for Brown increased tremendously, some were peaceful, and others turned into
riots on the streets of Ferguson. Officer Wilson was also accused of racial discrimination. This
case is so significant because of the fact that Wilson shot Brown six times. Wilson had to go
through the police academy to become an officer and he knows the proper way to detain a
criminal. Wilson was under pressure and had to make a decision quickly; for whatever reason, he
feared for his life and decided to end Browns. Despite the fact that he felt endangered, Wilson
knew that he very well could have shot him somewhere that would not kill him if he got
immediate care, and then he could be taken into custody to serve time for whatever crime he
committed. However, Wilson did not spare Browns life on this very day; instead the officer shot
Brown six times four of which were in his arm. If Brown did not die after the first few shots,
Wilson could have called for back- up and gotten Brown some medical attention, so that justice

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could be served. Therefore, Wilson was in the wrong, and an unarmed Brown did not deserve to
die.
Personally, Ive never experienced a case of police brutality. Although, I know a few
people who have experienced this kind of cruelty. My stepdad, Duke, was also involved in
several police brutality acts. He is an African American and grew up in the 70s. Duke says that
when you were a kid and you got into trouble with the cops, you wouldnt tell your parents,
because you were most likely doing something you werent supposed to be doing. This made it
easier for the police to take advantage of their power. In one incident, when Duke was about 16
years old, he went to a local neighborhood party. Some of the kids were gambling when they
heard the police sirens. Everyone ran, except Duke, as he decided to stay and take the money that
was left on the table. As he started to run, the cops stopped him and threw him against a fence,
they told him to put his hands up and spread his legs. They then proceeded to search him for
weapons and paraphernalia. They found nothing and kicked him in his butt so hard that he was
literally lifted off the floor. In this case, he was let go and left with bruises. He was too young to
tell his parents what happened or why. It still doesnt justify the fact that they felt the need to use
excessive force. They could have written him a ticket, called his parents, or given him a warning
and sent him on his way. Back then it was acceptable to use force in order to enforce laws and
rules. Today it is looked down upon, and it should be. It is much easier to talk to someone and
tell them what they did wrong, or to write a ticket would make the person responsible for their
actions. I dont think using force really does any justice.
One idea to stopping police brutality is to put police officers through training again. In
New York, a local citizen, Erin Garner was put in a chokehold and killed by the local police after
the investigation. The officer along with his colleagues were put through retraining. However,

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independent police auditor, LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, in reference to the Michael Brown case,
commented, All of the training and retraining in the world are of no moment if officers see the
people they are charged to protect and serve as subhuman and dangerous. (Cordell 1). In other
words, if the police act superior to citizens, especially those of other races, then retraining will be
pointless. Racism is something that is built up inside and it can become psychological; training
for police actions, does not change how the mind works or thinks. She also states that there
should be an oversight agency that is independent from the police forces. Many states have this
already, but those that dont are being analyzed and reviewed by other police forces. And finally,
she explains that every officer should be enforced to wear a body-worn camera. In 2009, the city
of Rialto, California started this program and studies show that use of force incidents have
already decreased by 59%. Civilian complaints have also decreased by a grand sum of 87.5%.
(Cordell 2). Nedra Pickler, political journalist for the Associated Press stated, Obama is
proposing a three-year, $263 million spending package to increase use of body-worn cameras,
expand training for law enforcement and add more resources for police department reform.
(Obama Proposes Body-Worn Cameras for Police 1). This concludes that our nation is already
seeking further action to allow for justice in our society.
To sum everything up, police brutality should be punishable. Police officers have the
upper hand; this should not give them the right to inflict pain mentally or physically on anyone.
They are trained to deal with criminals every day. If they were to hurt or kill everyone they
came in contact with, this world would be a scary place. If the officer feels in danger, he/she is
forced to make a decision quickly. This often leads to fatality, which is tragic in any event. It
does not mean that the officer is always right about the decision they made. It just means that
they should have to deal with the consequences of their actions. We need to start dealing with

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police brutality in the best way that we can. By making citizens aware of this problem and
seeking further action will help to make this country a better place to live. It will help citizens to
regain trust in police officers and it will allow for justice to be served. We should never be in fear
for our life or safety and we should always be able to call a police officer without hesitation
when we are in need of help.

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Works Cited
Hohol, Larry. Police Brutality Worse than Rodney King The Robert Leone Story. Online
video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 20 June 2012. Web. 18 November 2014.
Graphs. Police Brutality Statistics. graphs.net. n.p. n.d. Web. 18 November 2014.
Everett, Sean. Abused by the State: Police Brutality Statistics. quietmike.org. n.p. 16 July 2014.
Web. 19 November 2014.
Grim, Ryan. Ferner, Matt. Justice Department Blocks Deportation of Immigrant Beaten by
California Police. Huffingtonpost.com. The Huffington Post Inc. 6 October 2014. Web.
17 November 2014.
Grim, Ryan. Man Savagely Beaten by Police on Video May now be Deported.
Huffingtonpost.com. The Huffington Post Inc. 19 August. 2014. Web. 20 November 2014.
Brown, Emily. Timeline: Michael Brown Shooting in Ferguson, Mo.. USAToday.com. n.p. 18
November 2014. Web. 20 November 2014.
Cordell, LaDoris Hazzard. Policing the Police. Slate.com. The Slate Group. 15 August 2014.
Web. 19 November 2014.
Freed, Benjamin. Cop Writes Washington Post Op-Ed Defending Police Brutality.
Washingtonian.com. Washington Magazine, Inc. 19 August 2014. Web. 20 November
2014.
McLaughlin, Elliot C. What we know about Michael Browns Shooting. CNN.com. Turner
Broadcasting System, Inc. 15 August 2014. Web. 7 December 2014.
Pickler, Nedra. Obama Proposes Body-Worn Cameras for Police. Pbs.org. NewsHour
Productions, LLC. 1 December 2014. Web. 7 December 2014.