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Andrew Christensen

Mr. Di Somma

ERWC

6 October 2016

Sense of Justice

Thesis: Racial profiling is unnecessary because it violates the rights of American citizens

Paragraph 1 Police Brutality

First, police brutality disregards citizens civil liberties with unjust searches and

procedures wasting innocent people's time. When studies went back to see how many people

were searched, most searches by the police showed up negative meaning that the time and

resources dedicated in searches do not yield positive results (Williams 67). Police officers

everyday waste innocent people's time by stopping anyone who looks suspicious. Even our U.S.

Department of Justice has realized that a number of major police departments have engaged in a

pattern or practice of excessive force (Natarajan). By abusing their power, police treat people

like degenerates. Research on the Los Angeles Police Department gave an idea why, minority

communities that had been unfairly targeted in the past continue to experience greater mistrust

and fear of police officers (Natarajan). Minority communities do not trust police officers

because most of the officers live in safer places treating minorities with hostility. Departments

should arrange it where officers are placed in districts similar to the one they live in, so minority

groups are treated equally.

Police not only physically breach citizens civil liberties, but also contravene the

constitution because of the Patriot Act. The United States government has even aided racial

profiling by implementing the U.S. Patriot Act [which] includes national security policies some
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argue restricts citizens civil liberties and often violates the U.S. constitution such the fourth

amendment (Williams 54). Police should not be able to search and frisk anyone they want

unless they are certain that a crime has been committed. Researchers found the statistics in New

York averaged over the past 6 months black people accounted for 85 percent of traffic stops, 90

percent of tickets and 93 percent of arrests. In cases like jaywalking, which often hinge on police

discretion, blacks accounted for 95 percent of all arrests (Apuzzo). The amount of power police

have should be restricted because they are eligible to detain anyone who they suspect of

committing a crime. As a result of racial discrimination, the Justice Department concluded The

Ferguson Police Department was routinely violating the constitutional rights of its black

residents (Apuzzo). The Justice Department knows how unconstitutional police have become,

yet do not do anything about racial profiling. Police should not be able to break unlawfully break

the fourth amendment without reason to do so.

An actual case of a man gettting racially profiled his rights were violated is with a black

man named Freddie Gray.Police abuse their power to the point where the Baltimore Police

Department for years has hounded black residents who make up most of the citys population,

systematically stopping, searching and arresting them, often with little provocation or rationale

(Oppel). The police do not have enough limitations on determining whether a man is fit to be

searched or not. In the case of Freddie Gray, a man who was arrested and beat for having a legal

knife died after receiving no medical attention had the city [Baltimore] and Justice Department

have agreed in principle to identify categories of reforms the parties agree must be taken to

remedy the violations of the Constitution and federal law described in this report (Oppel). The

Freddie Gray marked a turning point in 2015 because his rights as a black man were not only
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taken away from him, but also was excessively brutalized and did not get any medical attention.

All over America, incidents happen on a daily basis where police violate minority rights.

Apuzzo Matt. Ferguson Police Routinely Violate Rights of Blacks, Justice Dept. Finds. The

New York Times, 3 March 2015, www.nytimes.com. Web. Accessed 9 October 2016.
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Oppel, Stolberg, and Matt Apuzzo. Justice Department to Release Blistering Report of

Racial Bias by Baltimore Police. The New York Times, 9 August 2016,

www.nytimes.com. Web. Accessed 9 October 2016

Ranjana Natarajan. Racial profiling and excessive force by police are unconstitutional.

But they're still happening. The Washington Post, 15 December 2014,

www.washingtonpost.com. Web. Accessed 9 October 2016.

Williams, Bill and Michael Stahl. An analysis of police traffic stops and searches in

Kentucky: a mixed methods approach offering heuristic and practical implications.

Stanford University, 23 July 2008, Web. Accessed 9 October 2016.