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Jasper Hosier
Mrs. Mantlo
English 4
27 October 2016

How often does police brutality actually happen?

There is a lot of talk about police brutality these days. The media makes it seem like
everything the police do is obuse citizens. The majority of these cases of police brutality are
justified however. Police come in contact with unpredictable individuals. And part of a police
officers job is to make arrests. There are people out there who would do anything to stay out of
jail. Including taking someones life. Police must use appropriate force to deal with these
individuals.
The media will show all these videos of police engaging a suspect with their
weapon, using pepper spray, or an officer slamming a suspect on the ground. But there are very
few police encounters like that. According to Wihbey, in 2008 1.4% of people who came in
contact with police reported having force used or threatened towards them. Most people will
believe they had unjustified force used on them when in reality they might have been resisting
so force was necessary. Roughly 9 reports of police brutality are filed per 100 officers.
Looking into the tactics of police officers shows that the amount of force they use on the
job is effective. The NYPD started to take an aggressive approach on battling the wholesalers,
who have been controlling entire city blocks. According to Reibstein, murder rates in the city
have decreased by half in the last three years. Police have also take a more aggressive approach
to taking down mass shooters. According to Chang, Police will rush into the area of an active

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shooter instead of sitting at a distance. Which was their old tactic. This changed after the
Columbine High School shooting in 1999.
Police officers face many dangers from people with weapons to people who are under the
influence of drugs or alcohol. Most of the time these people wont comply with police and will
try to harm the officers in order to get away. Crime spreads through cities like a virus. In 2007,
crime in Los Angeles had gone up 14 percent, according to Norris. There are 40,000 gang
members in LA alone according to the mayor of LA Antonio Villaraigosa. James Wagner says
that the new incentive to join gangs is for drugs and money. This means there are more doped up
people on the streets who might be carrying weapons. Just more threats for the country as well as
police officers.
With the rise in crime and gang activity in the country police are faced with threats such
as drugged out individuals and people with weapons. Police are highly trained who have to deal
with these individuals on a daily basis. There have been many cases where police have fired
upon civilians on the news. Many of these individuals had a weapon on them that caused the
officer to draw his firearm to protect himself. Not all cases of police brutality prove the officer
guilty. They are simply doing their job.

Wihbey, John. "There Is Conflicting Information on Police Brutality." Police Brutality. Ed. Michael Ruth. Farmington Hills,
MI: Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Excessive or Reasonable Force by Police? Research
on Law Enforcement and Racial Conflict." 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.

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Reibstein, Larry. "NYPD black and blue: aggressive police tactics have made a big dent in crime - at the cost of a rise
in civilian complaints." Newsweek 2 June 1997: 66+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

Chang, Cindy. "Police tactics in San Bernardino rampage win high praise from experts." Los Angeles Times (CA) 04
Dec. 2015: Points of View Reference Center. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.

"Violence Rises, and L.A. Mayor Puts Gangs on Notice." All Things Considered 25 Jan. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints
in Context. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

"Report: Chicago Gang Activity Spreading to Suburbs." Morning Edition 20 June 2006. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.