Discrimination and Racial Disparity
Discrimination in the American continent is a common phenomenon since independence. Racial disparity has always made the white community to get more favors in the political, social, and economic sphere as blacks remain to be in the receiving end. Consequently, the white supremacy has infiltrated into the law enforcement system where the white race receives better treatment that the minority groups. In particular, the black community continuously experience police brutality and with the emergence of technology, recorded police killings and torture is available to the public for consumption and scrutiny. This has been associated with the perception held by the police that the black community is constituted of gangs and other crime offenders. The resulting consequences of the police brutality include physical injury and death, psychological stress, racist public reactions, and blacks' systematic disempowerment.
Police Killings and Deaths of Black Victims
Brutality by the police results in the injuries or deaths of black victims. Data collected by The Guardian revealed that Black Americans are 9 times more likely to be killed by police officers compared to their white counterparts. For some victims, death may not occur immediately, but may result from repeated injuries while under incarceration. The killings by the police may increase the rates of Black-specific mortality. In a UK article, James Jones' Unarmed Black Male: exploring human stories behind the numbers of police brutality, it was found that many blacks are killed as a result of police brutality. According to the article, the recorded police-related deaths in the US in 2015 were 1,146. Out of this 16% were African Americans who are aged between 15 and 34 yet the black community represents only 2% of the national population (p. 1). Out of these reported incidents, only 6 police officers had been convicted; this is an indication that police brutality is partly a norm of the American society.
Psychological and Emotional Effects
Police brutality is also associated with psychological and emotional effects among the victims and their families. When individuals experience harassment, unwarranted routine searches, and loss of lives which go unpunished, the victims as well as the whole black community get the message that their bodies are disposable, police property, or undeserving justice. In the article, James Jones' Unarmed Black Male: exploring human stories behind the numbers of police brutality, James Jones reveals that there was video evidence showing the shooting of William Chapman, an 18 year old black boy. Such traumatizing videos can continue to agitate the family (p. 2). Defending loved ones or family members after they have been killed is also excruciating, causing negative emotions. These emotions, amidst the fact that they are warranted, might damage the mental wellbeing and may elevate distress among the black population.
Physiological Impact and Health Risks
When individuals face police brutality, and hear about stories of such incidents, they begin to worry about being victims themselves. When they experience threats, their bodies release hormones and they receive signals which design mechanism for the short term survival. These could accelerate respiratory process and heart rate (Jone 878). However, in the case where the threat is persistent, like repeated police brutality incidents, the survival mechanism becomes dangerous as the body organs become worn out as a result of increased allostatic load. Such incidences can, thus, result in various diseases including cognitive impairment, stroke, diabetes, cancer, accelerated aging, or death. In their article, Racial Trauma is Real: The Impact of Police Shootings on African Americans, Turner and Richardson noted that police brutality can result in increased psychological and physiological symptoms. Any trauma can increase stress while affecting the functioning of the brain, limibic system, and even the immune system. The chronic state may hinder development of sense of future as one loses the sense of time.
Racist Public Reactions and Stress
Racist public reactions always emerge after brutal killings, which may further fuel anger among the black community. It is always stressful for blacks to explain to their non-black friends or colleagues about the incident of police brutality. While some of the people, particularly the white race, would blame the brutality upon the victims, media or politicians may scrutinize the protests towards accountability or arrests against the killings (Turner and Richardson n.p). Such public reactions may further cause stress to the victims and their families. The men, women, and children from the black community may wake up to an incident of killing, but would be expected to go about their usually activities as if no life had been lost. Such expectations as well as the justifications of police killings are sources of racial stress which can result to poor psychological or mental health. Cooper and Mindy explained that the racial discrimination that is associated with the brutality among the law enforcement ay cause deterioration in health including blood pressure, asthma occurrence, and diabetes (p. 2). These health impacts may translate to poor economic productivity and lack of empowerment.
Systematic Disempowerment
Police brutality has greatly been linked with systematic disempowerment of the black communities. The danger constantly witnessed sends signal of lack hope for justice. Excess use of force and inadequate persecutions may also increase the feelings of powerlessness among blacks. In addition, the perceived lack of law justice may culminate mistrust with the law enforcement by the black population (Jones p. 878). This would further hinder access to the necessary justice system services such as the protection of witnesses or inventions during disasters. Jones argued that the worsening relationship between the police and the black community may contribute to increased resentments towards the law enforcement (879). He points out that the series of negative impacts witnessed may further result in the negative attitude towards the police than any other race. Turner and Richardson also argued that police brutality may result in increased suspicion and vigilance which may be extended to other social institutions including schools, the government, the justice systems, and agencies. Thus, it is evident that brutal treatment against the black community may disempower the community.
Conclusion
In summary, police brutality can lead to detrimental impacts among the black community. The persistent brutality by the police causes series of injuries and deaths which spur hatred of the law enforcement by the black community. The brutal treatment has also been associated with psychological and emotional effects among the victims and their families as some of them develop trauma resulting from the violent scenes. In addition, the resulting killings have also encouraged racist public reactions from the media, politicians, and the white communities which may further fuel anger among the black community as well as cause systematic disempowerment. It is, thus, important that community policing is adopted to enhance the relationship between the black community and the police.
Works Cited
Turner, Erlanger, A., and Richardson, Jasmine. “Racial Trauma is Real: The Impact of Police Shootings on African Americans.” 2016.
Jones, James M. "Killing fields: explaining police violence against persons of color." Journal of Social Issues 73.4 (2017): 872-883.
Koch, Fiona. "James Jones’ unarmed black male: exploring human stories behind the numbers of police brutality." POLIS: journalism and society at the LSE (2017).
Cooper, Hannah LF, and Mindy Fullilove. "Excessive police violence as a public health issue." Journal of Urban Health 93.1 (2016): 1-7.
