5 Shocking Facts About Police Misconduct You May Not Know

One way to prevent police misconduct is to stay informed about everything. This includes some more and less popular facts about this matter.

That’s why here we prepared some of the most shocking ones for you. Ready? Let’s go!

Not All Races Suffer the Same

Unfortunately, the researched cases show that not all races have the same treatment by the police. Moreover, fewer whites are victims of police misconduct when compared to other races.

Among the most targeted ones are black Americans as well as Hispanic, Latinos, and Native Americans. Usually, these are minorities and for some reason, officers trust them less. In many of the reported cases, even if those people did nothing to provoke the officers, they ended up attacked.

Many of the Victims Are Unarmed

Especially, black Americans become victims of police brutality no matter whether they are engaged in some dangerous activities or sit in their car and drive around. Not to mention that in many of the cases, the victims were completely unarmed.

According to The Guardian, as much as 32% of the black people that were shot by the cops even though they had nothing with them. This speaks a great deal of the mistrust in these people and is very related to the previous fact about the race and the unequal treatment.

Excessive Force is the Most Common Type of Police Misconduct

This is somewhat expected but it still deserves to be pointed out. It’s tragic and shocking that most of the victims suffer the usage of excessive force by an officer. This happens regardless of their gender, size or race.

More precisely, the cases incorporated physical use of force like chokes, strikes, and other forms of violence.

Education of Police Officers Matters

As with all professions, education makes a difference. When it comes to police officers, it should be noted that in most countries, only a high school diploma is required to become an officer.

Obviously, this isn’t always sufficient for performing the duty in a responsible way. Of course, it all depends on the officer. But maybe the level should be higher to have a chance at lowering down misconduct even for a small percentage.

Police Officers Report Misconduct

On the bright side, things aren’t always as dark as they may seem. Police officers themselves wake up and become more aware of the violence. This is very promising for the future.

Moreover, ncjrs.gov states that 61% of the officers report serious law violations done by their colleagues.

Final Words

After all of this, it’s clear that things need to change. And a very important first step is to report violence by officials and ask for help. Police brutality attorneys are there for this purpose. Just find one that matches your budget and tell them all the details related to your case. Sites like USAttorneys.com, for instance, contain information about hiring these attorneys. So, good luck and talk to us about your experience with this!