Police brutality is a serious universal problem that is now discussed as a public health issue. If one believes and preaches using excessive force by the police is as ‘Only an American thing,’ that is ignorance. It happens.
People all over the world have reached the point to admit that police using excessive and deadly force is no longer a topic that should be discussed if it’s a legal or moral issue. People now definitely need to demand the matter to be discussed and solved as a public health issue. People being subject to assault or dying at the hands of the police is not something to be ignored or justifiable considering police behaviour is reasonable. It is no secret that police brutality is committed against oppressed or marginalised civilian groups.
The truth is police is never designed to protect ordinary civilians. Police is a force still we maintain to be more useful to by the rich and powerful to control the system treating ordinary citizen only as threats. Now you may argue that stating the above fact is fueling the ‘us (civilian) verses them (Police’) mentality more from the perspective of civilians. Yes, it will create more tension and the cycle of this serious public health issue will continue only if we stop finding the solution to the problem leaving the discussion right there.
Instead of coming to a halt after accepting that police versus us is a universal culture, we the people have to work towards to satisfactorily understand to make the police satisfactorily understand that police are here to ensure community safety.
The community should be able to make it possible because the community is largely made by the civilians who vote to appoint leaders who set the seal on passing the required law and policies. because the public officials fundamental duty is to protect the civilians.
When police brutality is in the news we argue. Some of us are too quick to condemn the victim already deciding, the victim is a criminal who didn’t deserve human rights. Some of us are too quick to accept police are reasonable in the situation because of the idea that is planted in our heads. Some of us too quick to believe what is shown to us by the power, portraying these victims, these activists are ‘very bad people.’ We quickly lose our ability to see things clearly and analyse the political game that is played to keep our ignorance alive. Police Brutality in America is not new. Police Brutality in other parts of the world is not new. Excessive police force use against minority and marginalised people dates back to the beginning of the police force.
Earlier people with power and wealth who had the authority to control the media didn’t consider police brutality as news worthy for obvious reasons. Now the world is a different place. The world has become a different place because people demanded world be a different place. Body Worn Cameras aka BWC’s are used by law enforcement wouldn’t be possible if the public didn’t work towards its possibility.
The ongoing efforts to establish community policing, proper training given to police to minimise violence wouldn’t even be considered if people didn’t demand something is done.
We see the police using violence against civilians in India, we see how Indigenous people are treated in countries such as Canada and Australia. We know how Sri Lankan Police is able to get even a ‘wild bear’ to confess to a crime which it has no idea of. Among all those things we have America in the news. Always.
That’s because the American people do not tolerate. American people fight for their civil rights. They are not afraid to be heard. From civil rights protecting movements to the most ordinary person getting to the street to protest set the example that we must fight for our rights, we must speak up against violence.
But then why now the number of police-caused firearm fatalities are higher in the United States of America compared to other developed nations? Why do Americans still struggle to find solutions soon to this public health issue just like other developed countries? Does this mean American civilian do not know the meaning of the power of the vote, which is the most powerful tool that can be used to elect leaders fulfilling the expected duty which is ensuring civilian safety in the right way?