The rise of the badge & the views of the public

Police brutality is a issue that is being spread rapidly throughout the U.S. This act consists of illegal choke holds, improper use of firearms, excessive beating, man handling, verbal attacks, and racial profiling. This issue has been a concern for the public for ongoing years, but really sparks controversy now more than ever. Many people believe it’s a major issue in this country, but police feel safe continuing the brutal acts.

Will the opinions and concerns of the public ever matter?

In a small survey of 10 people, everyone felt that this was a major issue. Several responses even asked, “why wouldn't it be” or stated, “of course”. In general, people acknowledge that this is a major issue in the country - but authorities are not acting on it.

A teacher at Forsyth Satellite Academy, Taiyo Ebato, states, “police brutality is a major issue because it keeps happening and it’s been happening, but very little is being done about it especially from federal, state & local governments.”

Taiyo expands on his view by saying the this brutal act has become apart of America's history. It connects to the existence of racism for ongoing years. Police brutality is a way of controlling black and brown individuals, while protecting the interest and property of the white and wealthy.

Former Mayor Giuliani states on CBS’s Face the Nation, “If you want to deal with this on the black side, you’ve got to teach your children to be respectful to the police and you’ve got to teach your children that the real danger to them is not the police; the real danger to them, 99 out of 100 times, 9,900 out of 1,000 times, are other black kids who are gonna kill them. That’s the way they’re gonna die.”

This comment by Giuliani was an issue because there are many other races that are killing people of their shared ethnic group, not only African Americans. Giuliani’s comment not only offended the public, but also protected the excessive acts committed by officers.

Recent acts of police brutality have been seen in the cases of Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, and Stephon Clark.