POLICE BRUTALITY DEFINITION
David Carter defines police brutality as, “any action by a police officer without regard to motive, intent, or malice that tends to injure, insult, tread on human dignity, manifest feelings of inferiority, and/or violate an inherent legal right of a member of the . . .” public.
POLICE BRUTALITY FACTS
49% of cops agreed that they should punish the suspect themselves, 84% have witnessed another officer use excessive force, and 52% say that it is common to turn a blind eye to abuse when it happens. Sexual harassment was the second-most frequent offence (10.9%), after brutality (19.4%).
It also states that 10,000 complaints of abuse were filed against the Chicago PD (2002-2004), but only 19 resulted in disciplinary action, less than 40x the national average.
The ICPS shows that the US has the world’s highest prison population at 2,228,424, and second-highest percentage rate (707/100,000), with Seychelles (868/100,000) at #1.
The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement reported in 2012 that US police killed 313 black people without trial. That is one black person every 28 hours.
The United Nations (CERD) has released a harsh report condemning the killing, discrimination, and disparity against Blacks, citing the killing of Michael Brown crisis in Ferguson, MO.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
The ACLU document, entitled, “Fighting Police Abuse: A Community Action Manual“, gives an instruction and resource manual communities can use to fight abusive cops in their cities. Our blog post, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS is another useful resource.
When police are harassing you or innocent civilians, make sure to document the following information: The officer’s name, badge & car number, physical description, witnesses, time of day, and location.
Smartphones are instrumental in court cases, as the evidence, video or audio, can be used in to convict police officers. Copblock.org has an extensive number of apps to download in order to do this.
