The Synergy Project Magazine - August 2020

THIS IS A CALL
FOR POLICE
ACCOUNTABILITY
By Candace Jung
Police have long been
painted as the enforcers of
law and order. But following
countless instances of police
brutality and the deaths of
Black individuals inflicted
by police officers, trust in
the police force has declined
considerably; only 36% of
Black Americans trust the
police (Talev & Witherspoon,
2020). Most recent is the
ill-fated murder of George
Floyd, where a Minneapolis
policeman named Derek
Chauvin planted his knee
on Floyd’s neck until Floyd
took in his last breath. His
death had sparked outrage
all over the nation, with
demonstrations occurring in
all fifty states containing the
same message: condemn police
brutality. Floyd’s death has
initiated a discussion about the
police force once again, calling
for justice and accountability.
Regarding the frequency
of police brutality, these cases
cannot be isolated to a few
corrupt police officers; instead,
it is proof of a system that
allows irresponsibility and
flawed judgment. Historically,
police have been put in a
position where they are not
held accountable for their
actions. In cases of excessive
force, the police are rarely
charged or convicted. The
Federal Department of
Justice, restricted by its lack
of resources, is not able (or
sometimes unwilling) to
investigate complaints of police
brutality. Furthermore, these
cases are often confidential and
not transparent to the public,
thus preventing them
from being aware of the
events involving the
use of excessive force
by police (Ritchie
& Mogul, 2016).
In
addition, there
is the judicial
doctrine of
qualified
immunity,
another factor
that allows
the police
force to act
unjustifiably.
This doctrine
protects
police officers
from lawsuits
stemming from
the violation of
an individual’s
constitutional rights,
providing as a defense
for the police even if
they have committed
unlawful actions (Sobel,
2020). The justification
for qualified immunity, as
described by the Supreme
Court in Harlow v. Fitzgerald
(1982), is that it guards
“the need to protect officials
who are required to exercise
discretion and the related
public interest in encouraging
the vigorous exercise of official
authority”; in other words,
because of this doctrine, police
are allowed to act without
hesitation in the name of
justice (Skelton, n.d., para.
2). But qualified immunity
has allowed police officers to
escape liability when sued.
Qualified immunity has
allowed
the
police to beat
an individual senseless
and throw tear gas grenades
into a person’s house without
repercussions (Barakat, 2020).
Citizens of the United States
live in a country where there
are systems put in place that
enable police to commit actions
that normal citizens would be
arrested for. However, there is
one recent invention that has
transformed accountability in
the police force: cell phones.
There is a
deep injustice in
the police system o
this country. We mu
hold those
responsible
accountable.
Using
the cameras
of cell phones, people have
been filming police using
excessive force on Black
Americans, recording the
injustice that would not have
been reported otherwise. As
a result of these videos which
often go viral, police are not
able to silently kill Black
Americans without the outcry
of the whole nation.
Through the
20 POLITICAL