Why Is Police Brutality Directed

Towards Minority Groups?

By Michael Delgado
Why Ask? I’m personally a member of two
separate minority groups here in the
United States. One side of me being
Vietnamese and the other Hispanic. I
also find myself with a number of
friends, who themselves, are also in
danger of these occurrences based on
their background and the color of their
skin. I may not be able to find a way to
stop the issue, but I’d like to better
understand why it’s an issue in the first
place.
What I Already My knowledge was predominantly
based on shootings involving white
Knew... police officers and people of color. The
person of color being the victim, and
the police officer being the killer.

- Michael Brown (fatally shot)

- Darrien Hunt (fatally shot)
- Eric Garner (choked to death)

Rodney King, Chicano Moratorium

protests.
What I Wanted To I was hoping to find answers, and make
connections as to why issues between
Learn... the police and minorities is such a
major problem. There have been
several alternatives and solutions put
forth by many, but most have not been
put into place to keep innocent people
from being shot and killed. Why is this
so difficult to get a hold of and bring to
an end? Why can’t everyone agree that
a life being lost is a tragic thing that
needs to come to an end.
How I Went About There were a few questions that I
asked while going about my research. I
My Research... took info from the internet and from
several guest speakers. (Lex Scott, Erin
Alberty…)

- What are the various reactions to

police brutality?
- Why is the information of the
police officers involved in these
shootings kept a secret?
- Does it involve race?
- Do biases change on the street?
What I Learned... - Police officers are often protected
because of fear of compromising
an ongoing investigation.
- Body cameras are not required in
every state for all police officers.
- The police officer’s word is taken
into consideration before the word
of a victim or a witness.
- There are more white police
officers than there are officers of
color or of a minority.
- Police officers are allowed to fire
their weapon at any time that he or
she feels threatened.
What I Learned... - Despite common profiling,
statistics show that there is a
greater number of white people
who commit crimes than there are
people of color or of a minority.
- Police officers also have the ability
to pull over or stop any individual
for any reason that they see fit.
What I Think About After all my research, I found that there
is no cut and dry answer to a complex
All This... question such as this one. There is no
question that a racial bias is involved in
the occurrences of police brutality, but
the answer as to why it happens
doesn’t seem as simple as that. One
might say that it’s ridiculous to look at
the world or at people this way, and
others will disagree. It is a
controversial topic that has not found
its way to a solution quite yet, but there
needs to be an end to it all soon.
 History.com. Selma to Montgomery March. General
One File. Web. 28 Jan. 2018.

Works Cited... Schweitzer, Jeff. A Troubling Response to Brutality.

Huffington Post. 4 May 2016. General One

File. Web. 28 Jan. 2018.

Sanburn, Josh. Why Police Departments Don’t Always

Release Body Cam Footage. Time

Magazine. 17 Aug. 2016. General One File. Web.

28 Jan. 2018.

Nodjimbadem, Katie. The Long, Painful History of

Police Brutality in the United States.

Smithsonian.com. 27 Jul. 2017. General One

File. Web. 28. Jan. 2018.