Title: Police Brutality

Speaker: Bryce VomBaur

Specific Purpose: My audience will be persuaded that they should display sympathy
towards police.
Thesis Statement: Police are not to blame for police brutality.
I.

Story of Dinkhellers death (Cammy Clark, Miami Herald)

II.

I am a citizen of the United States, and along with everyone else in the
country, I have been watching the controversy unfold.

III.

Police are not to blame for police brutality.

IV.

In fact, it is a result of noncompliance, difficult decision-making, and lack

of training.

Transition: So what do I mean by noncompliance?

Body
1.

Police are not to blame because of noncompliance.

a. According to Oxford Dictionary, noncompliance means failure to act in
accordance with a wish or command.
i. Example of officer telling citizen to put hands up or stop walking
b. Sunil Dutta of the Washington Post wrote an article describing his stance
as a cop.
i. The bottom line of his article was he wouldnt hurt anyone as long
as they comply and dont threaten him.
ii. He says that no officer goes to work wanting to shoot someone.

c. Then why does it still happen?

i. Because people dont comply.
ii. There are countless cases in which suspects dont follow the
instructions given by the officer. Since this is the case, officers
often feel threatened, causing them to inflict harm.
iii. Corruption does occur within police, so comply now, save lives,
and take legal action later.
iv. Picture yourself as cop (you feel like your life could be taken away
if a suspect is threatening you by not complying, what do you do?)
Transition: This brings me to my next point: decision-making.

2.

Police are not to blame because it is difficult to make these decisions.

a. In a report by Fox 10 Phoenix, reporter, Troy Hayden, and minority rights
activist, Jarrett Maupin, went through an experiment to understand what
cops go through. Both Hayden and Maupin experience the same results.
i. In the first situation, the volunteer identifies a man who looks like
he is robbing a car. The volunteer tells him to step away from the
car. The suspect doesnt comply and, within a matter of seconds,
goes to the back of the car, pulls out a gun, and shoots the
volunteer.
ii. In the second situation, the volunteer identifies a man who appears
to be involved in a confrontation with another officer. The
volunteer asks whats going on, when he is suddenly charged by

the angry man. Both Hayden and Maupin tell the man to back up,
but the man doesnt comply. As a result, they shoot the man. The
man turned out to be unarmed.
b. Can you imagine being in these situations?
i. In both situations, decisions had to be made in a matter of seconds;
officers didnt have time to think them through.
ii. The primary motive for their decisions was how safe they felt.
iii. I know it would be an incredibly difficult decision for me to put
my life at risk not knowing what a suspect was capable of. If only
there was a way for officers to know what decision to make.
Transition: This brings me to my final point: lack of training.

3.

Police are not to blame because of lack of training they receive.

a. In an article by the Miami Herald, Cammy Clark talks about a MILO
Range Use-of-Force and Firearms Training System that is used for the
Monroe County Police Department.
i. Through this system, they are put through a simulation of events,
ultimately deciding how much force to use. After the simulation,
an instructor goes over the video with them review what they did
right and wrong.
ii. Because of this system, there has only been one officer-involved
shooting in the past decade, and that decision to pull the trigger
was correct.

b. So why doesnt every police department in America have this system?

i. Well because to buy the system and find room to take advantage of
it, it cost the department $250,000.
ii. The bottom line is that most police departments are not willing to
pay that much for a simple simulation.
c. As a result of this, most officers who face the decision with whether of not
to pull the trigger, face it for the first time.
i. They are inadequately trained and are forced to make a decision
based on judgment alone, not experience.
Transition: Since proper training is so rare, police are not totally at
fault for the decisions they make.

Conclusion:
I.

Police shouldnt face all the blame for the unfortunate events that take place

II.

Police brutality is simply a result of noncompliance, difficult decisionmaking, and lack of training.

III.

If the nation were to try to sympathize with police instead of attacking them,
there would be more respect and understanding amongst everyone.

IV.

I encourage all of you to try to put yourself in an officers shoes next time you
hear a controversial story because the job is not as simple as it is made out to
be.