Assignment: Premise Paper

Walden University

Factors behind African American Males Being Victims of Police Brutality

Introduction

A huge percentage of African American males have fallen victims of racial profiling and police harassment and brutality. While one of the main factors behind such incidents is attributed to racism, there are still many factors that motivate police officers to be brutal towards African Americans. These other factors include lack of accountability by the police force, poor socioeconomic backgrounds of victims, and negative perception of the police by African American males.

Annotated Bibliography

Brunson, R. K. (2017). “Police don't like black people”: African‐American young men's accumulated police experiences. Criminology & public policy, 6(1), 71-101.

The research article analyzed surveys conducted on African American males and other racial minority groups regarding their perceptions of the police (Brunson, 2017). The article analyzes the experiences that racial minority groups have with violence and harassment with the police for doing nothing illegal or being in the wrong. The article also attempts to find a connection between the perceptions of the racial minorities towards the police and the factors that make them victims of police brutality (Brunson, 2017). The article concludes that most of the racial minority groups, especially African Americans are being racially profiled by the police and that most of the police officers are subtle racists. This article is related to the research question in terms of defining the reasons behind why the police do not like people of color or have harsh encounters with them.

Smiley, C., & Fakunle, D. (2016). From “brute” to “thug:” The demonization and criminalization of unarmed Black male victims in America. Journal of human behavior in the social environment, 26(3-4), 350-366.

The research article confirms that Blackness has been directly associated with criminality in the United States of America. The main factors that led to the criminalization of African Americans are stereotypes, myths, and racists ideologies (Smiley & Funkule, 2016). The criminal justice system has for the longest time in the American history been fueled by racial violence, prejudices and misconceptions that have been created and disseminated through the media. The research paper goes on further to claim that whenever a major crime has been committed Black males are allegedly considered to be ‘persons of interest’ and ‘suspects’. The article investigates the history of criminalization of African American males and its relationship with the modern day unarmed victims of law enforcement brutality. This article relates to the research topic in the sense that it investigates the history of criminalization of African American males in an attempt to find out why the said population falls victims of police brutality at disproportionate rates.

Chaney, C., & Robertson, R. V. (2013). Racism and police brutality in America. Journal of African American Studies, 17(4), 480-505.

The research article examines the findings provided by the National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project (NPMSRP) to determine how the public perceived the police and how race and racism played a part in it. The research paper attempts to provide insights on the rate of police brutality in America according to NPMSRP. The research paper also attempts to understand the perceptions of the public, especially African American males, about the police department (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). The research paper finally concludes that the public, especially African Americans have contempt for law enforcement, are suspicious of law enforcement, they view law enforcement as agents of police brutality. For racially superior groups, most of them confessed that they had respect for law enforcement and trusted them to do their jobs effectively. This article relates to the research topic in the sense that it attempts to connect how racism is a factor behind the disproportionate rates at which African American males are victims of police brutality.

Desmond, M., Papachristos, A. V., & Kirk, D. S. (2016). Police violence and citizen crime reporting in the black community. American sociological review, 81(5), 857-876.

The research article confirms that high profile cases of police violence is experienced in disproportionate levels, by African American males. The disproportionate rates of African American males being victims of police brutality has raised security concerns over lower citizen crime reporting patterns since most of them fear being racially profiles. The research paper focuses on the most publicized case of police brutality against unarmed black man, Frank Jude, who was affected by the 911 police call (Desmond et al., 2016). After the broadcasting of the incident of Frank Jude’s beating by the police, the residents of Milwaukee and its neighborhoods became reluctant to report crimes leading to low crime reporting rates. The research paper discusses the effects of police brutality against unarmed African Americans on the crime reporting rates in the United States. This article relates to the research paper in the sense that it discusses how police brutality affects the overall security of a neighborhood and the factors driving the police to become brutal towards unarmed African American males.

Wu, Y. (2014). Race/ethnicity and perceptions of the police: A comparison of White, Black, Asian and Hispanic Americans. Policing and society, 24(2), 135-157.

The research focuses on racial minority groups, that is, the Hispanics, African Americans, and Asian Americans and their perceptions of the police. The research paper attempts to investigate what racial minority groups felt about how the police solved their crime problems, racial profiling, and bias of law enforcement (Wu, 2014). The paper also attempts to discover the factors that make most of racial minority groups, to have negative perceptions of the police. The research paper found out that educational attainment and employment status as one of the main factors that drive police brutality towards African American males. This research article relates to the research topic because it investigates the perceptions that racial minority groups have towards the police and the factors driving their perceptions.

Chaney, C., & Robertson, R. V. (2015). Armed and dangerous? An examination of fatal shootings of unarmed black people by police. Journal of Pan African Studies, 8(4), 45-78.

Between the years 1995 and 2015, 78 black males and females were murdered by the members of law enforcement. The research attempts to follow up if the police officers involved in the killings were indicted. The research paper research questions were, (1) How does the murder of an unarmed African American male support White Supremacy? (2) How does the killing of an unarmed black man affect the society’s trust in the police? (3) What do non-indictments of the police suggest about the lives of Africa Americans? (Chaney & Robertson, 2015). The research article concludes that the death of unarmed African American males undermines the confidence of the public in the police and increases their concerns over the police becoming a threat to their security. This article investigates the events where unarmed black men were shot by the police in an attempt to understand the events leading to the police’s excessive use of force towards the said population.

Worden, R. E. (2015). The causes of police brutality: Theory and evidence on police use of force (Vol. 2, pp. 149-204). Routledge, New York, NY, ed.

The research article attempts to find information on the causes of violence by the police towards unarmed African Americans. The information obtained, indicating the causes behind police brutality towards African American males can be used to make administrative, governmental, and managerial police reforms. The research article looks at police behavior and the factors behind their behaviors (Worden, 2015). The article connected behavioral theories on police behavior with evidence on the use of force by law enforcement members towards unarmed African American males. This research article relates to the research topic because it addresses the causes of police brutality towards unarmed African American males.

Smith, W. A., Hung, M., & Franklin, J. D. (2011). Racial battle fatigue and the miseducation of Black men: Racial microaggressions, societal problems, and environmental stress. The Journal of Negro Education, 63-82.

According to the research article, African American males are the most vulnerable racial and gender group in the United States. According to the American Human Development Report, African American males have poor health conditions due to racial battle fatigue, miseducation, problems in the society, and environmental stress (Smith et al., 2011). According to the research article, most of African American males have fallen victims of police brutality, an experience that deteriorates the physical and mental health conditions of an individual. Furthermore, the research indicated that police brutality affects individual both mentally and physically especially because victims do not seek medical attention after the incident. This research article addresses the effects of police brutality on unarmed African American males, and the factors causing the police to be brutal towards the said population.

Weitzer, R. (2015). American policing under fire: Misconduct and reform. Society, 52(5), 475-480.

The current most exposed police assassinations of African American males have sparked an unparalleled amount of public discussion concerning policing in the U.S. Commissions have been formed to investigate police misconduct and the current reforms have been subjects of debated. The article confirms that the confidence of the public in the police gets undermines especially after a controversial incident of police brutality being heavily publicized. The article also talks about how incidents of police brutality have been politicized, with activists on one hand and the police on the other (Weitzer, 2015). The research paper also goes on further to explain how the activities that go on after a widely publicized incident of police brutality affect the rates of police brutality towards African American males. This research article publishes the findings of commissions formed to address the issue of police brutality towards racial minority groups, and attempts to find the reasons behind the police’s excessive use of force towards the population.

Gilbert, K. L., & Ray, R. (2016). Why police kill black males with impunity: Applying public health critical race praxis (PHCRP) to address the determinants of policing behaviors and “justifiable” homicides in the USA. Journal of Urban Health, 93(1), 122-140.

The research paper focuses on finding the root causes of excessive use of force by the police towards African American males. The criminalization of African American males in the history of the United States has resulted into an increase in dangerous policing behaviors and has also created an unequitable environment where African American males have a low chance of survival in the hands of African American males (Gilbert & Ray, 2016). The research article develops a framework that can be used to improve research and interventions to address the inequalities observed in the recent trend of ‘justifiable homicides’ by the police force. This research article relates to the research topic in the sense that is investigates and provides the reasons behind why the police kill black males with without being incarcerated for it.

Conclusion

The above research articles address the issues of racial stereotypes and myths and the criminalization of African American males. Each of the research articles discusses a different concept but all address the issues of police brutality towards African American males. These literatures aim at improving knowledge on the issue of police brutality towards African American males, and what policy makers can do to address the excessive use of force by law enforcement.