In recent months, due to several instances of terrible events leading to either death or injury, the people of this country have been alerted to the long existing police brutality in the United States. This police brutality mentioned is the excess use of force by police upon those they are officially made to protect. While such acts have been brought more to light recently, being mentioned in the media more frequently before, although still not frequently enough, the use of significant and unnecessary amounts of force by our officers is nothing new.
In Albuquerque a report of a pattern of excess and even deadly force used by their police for was made on the tenth of April of 2014, before the recent protests against police brutality took place. Since 2009 there have been “20 fatal police shootings, most (of which) were not constitutional” (McLaughlin), by the Albuquerque police. In addition to these shootings, in the same time period by the same group of officers, through review of two hundred filed reports in which force was used, it was shown that these officers “use tasers on people who are nonthreatening, posing minimal threat, passively resisting or unable to comply with orders due to mental state” (McLaughlin). The practice of such brutal acts seem to be caused by flaws in the training used in the police force and policy, in addition to a severe lack of accountability by the police officers.

A most recent case that sparked many more recent protests is that of Eric Garner. Eric was a middle aged man of 350 pound who lived in New York. The man was stopped by police, accused to selling cigarettes. Upon putting his hands up and requesting that he not be touch, one of the officers wrapped their arms around Garner’s neck in a chokehold. Garner was brought to the ground stating “I can’t breath, I can’t breath”, the his desperate cries were silenced as he soon died from lack of oxygen caused by compression of the neck and chest. Not only does this case present the excessive and criminal use of force by the police against civilians, but it also worthy to point out that “The choke hold tactic is prohibited by the NYPD” (Sanchez). Although “the New York Medical Examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide” (Sanchez, Prokupecz) the officer who committed this crime, Daniel Pantalea, who not indicted by the New York Grand Jury. This is also further proof of the severe lack of accountability on police.

These and other events presented to the people leave them with a quite a few questions in mind. Aren’t police here to protect civilians, not kill them? Shouldn’t those who have committed a crime be held responsible for their acts, no matter their occupation? These along with many other questions lead up to the conclusion that, if one must question the police force in such ways at all, something has gone horribly wrong. Police should be working for the people, to protect them, but as they are, they are figures of fear and unbreakable power. Police have become immune to the law they so often and so harshly enforce. This allows them to do unspeakable things such as kill, frisk, beat, and rape, with their greatest possible punishment being having their badge taken away. For these crimes, some even are simply put on paid leave, also known as vacation. With all of this, it is apparent that the way out police force is run has become broken and corrupt, therefore it the job of we, the people, to take a stand and fix it.