Police Violence.
According to Amnesty,org, "The term 'police brutality' is sometimes used to refer to various human rights violations by police. This might include beatings, racial abuse, unlawful killings, torture, or indiscriminate use of riot control agents at protests."
Most of us already knew that. But, what a lot of people don't realize, is just how disproportionate the number of cases, of police violence towards minorities, or people of color is. According to the L.A. Times, since 2000, police have killed 964 people. Out of those 964, 776 were minorities, or people of color. The numbers look even scarier when you compare the population percentage in L.A County to the percentage of police killings based on race,
Latino people being the biggest population in L.A. County, also have the highest percentage of deaths, but Black people only make up about 8% of L.A County's population, but they make up 24% of deaths by the police. This shows a major problem. Police in L.A County aren't only guilty of high numbers of police violence, but racially motivated, or targeted violence.
According to Amnesty,org, "The term 'police brutality' is sometimes used to refer to various human rights violations by police. This might include beatings, racial abuse, unlawful killings, torture, or indiscriminate use of riot control agents at protests."
Most of us already knew that. But, what a lot of people don't realize, is just how disproportionate the number of cases, of police violence towards minorities, or people of color is. According to the L.A. Times, since 2000, police have killed 964 people. Out of those 964, 776 were minorities, or people of color. The numbers look even scarier when you compare the population percentage in L.A County to the percentage of police killings based on race,
On a national scale, Black people are 2.9 times more likel to be killed by police, according to mappingpolicevilolence.org.That number is only second to the number of Pacific Islanders killed by police.
Being from LA. County, this is a problem that's all around me. Something needs to be done. A good place to start would be, to hold officers accountable for their actions, and even words. Also remove arrest, and ticket quotas.Quotas make it more likely for cops to target minorities. I don't believe in defunding the police. But, I do. think instead of militarizing the police, that funding should go into more racial, and diversity training. As well as stricter background checks. If parents looking to adopt a child have to go through incredible scrutiny, why don't police officers, who are entasked in protecting all of us. Lastly I find it a good idea for a social worker to accompany a police officers. Maybe even an internal compliance officer.
This has more recently come to light in the media due to cell phone footage, and body cam footage. But it has been going on since the beginning of this country. Some people think it began and ended during the Civil Rights movement, but it's just as prevalent now, and I can't imagine how many times it happened before cell phones and body cams.
I grew up in South Gate, a predominantly Black, and Hispanic neighborhood. I remember being a kid and seeing the video of Rodney King being beaten on the street on the news.I couldn't understand why the police, whom I was taught at school to look to for safety, were hurting someone. I remember watching the riots that followed on TV, and seeing the glow of fire in the not so distant skyline. I asked my dad why this was all happening, and he couldn't answer me. I now realize how hard to explain all of this would have been. That all stuck with me. Later as a teenager, I moved with my family to Azusa. Another mainly Hispanic, and Black neighborhood, and I began to see how the police treated my friends and I. We were all minorities. At first I thought that's just how the police was with everyone, until my Caucasian friend, and I both were picked up by cops for graffiti. Two Caucasian cops. My friends parents were called, and he was picked up and got to go home. I on the other hand was slammed on the hood of the car, videotaped on a camcorder, and arrested. After that I paid attention to how those around me were being treated by police. Later in life two of my friends became police officers. One Latino at the LAPD, and the other Caucasian at the Huntington Beach PD. Both quit after about a year. The things they saw, and stories they told me about. They couldn't handle the way their own "brothers in blue" were treating people, including the homeless. I lost faith in the police, and believe in protecting one another as a community. Something needs to change. That is why I'm majoring in Social Work, to try and make a difference. That's why this is important to me.
Being from LA. County, this is a problem that's all around me. Something needs to be done. A good place to start would be, to hold officers accountable for their actions, and even words. Also remove arrest, and ticket quotas.Quotas make it more likely for cops to target minorities. I don't believe in defunding the police. But, I do. think instead of militarizing the police, that funding should go into more racial, and diversity training. As well as stricter background checks. If parents looking to adopt a child have to go through incredible scrutiny, why don't police officers, who are entasked in protecting all of us. Lastly I find it a good idea for a social worker to accompany a police officers. Maybe even an internal compliance officer.
This has more recently come to light in the media due to cell phone footage, and body cam footage. But it has been going on since the beginning of this country. Some people think it began and ended during the Civil Rights movement, but it's just as prevalent now, and I can't imagine how many times it happened before cell phones and body cams.
I grew up in South Gate, a predominantly Black, and Hispanic neighborhood. I remember being a kid and seeing the video of Rodney King being beaten on the street on the news.I couldn't understand why the police, whom I was taught at school to look to for safety, were hurting someone. I remember watching the riots that followed on TV, and seeing the glow of fire in the not so distant skyline. I asked my dad why this was all happening, and he couldn't answer me. I now realize how hard to explain all of this would have been. That all stuck with me. Later as a teenager, I moved with my family to Azusa. Another mainly Hispanic, and Black neighborhood, and I began to see how the police treated my friends and I. We were all minorities. At first I thought that's just how the police was with everyone, until my Caucasian friend, and I both were picked up by cops for graffiti. Two Caucasian cops. My friends parents were called, and he was picked up and got to go home. I on the other hand was slammed on the hood of the car, videotaped on a camcorder, and arrested. After that I paid attention to how those around me were being treated by police. Later in life two of my friends became police officers. One Latino at the LAPD, and the other Caucasian at the Huntington Beach PD. Both quit after about a year. The things they saw, and stories they told me about. They couldn't handle the way their own "brothers in blue" were treating people, including the homeless. I lost faith in the police, and believe in protecting one another as a community. Something needs to change. That is why I'm majoring in Social Work, to try and make a difference. That's why this is important to me.
“Police Violence.” Amnesty International, 1 June 2021, https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/police-brutality/.
“Mapping Police Violence.” Mapping Police Violence, https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/.
“L.A. Police Killings: Tracking Homicides in Los Angeles County since 2000.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2022, https://www.latimes.com/projects/los-angeles-police-killings-database/.
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