Two Major Concerns with Police
1. Concerns with the way in which police perform certain duties (e.g., arrests and
interrogations)
2. Concerns with the prevalence of police brutality
Concern #1
● Use of coercive tactics during an interrogation
○ Maximization
○ Minimization
● Terry Stops
○ Racial Profiling
Concern #2
● Police Brutality: The unwarranted or excessive and often illegal use of force against
civilians by US police officer
● Police brutality has been around for decades
History of Police Brutality
● 1920s
○ Brutality against members of Italian-immigrant communities
● 1940s
○ Zoot Suit Riots in LA against Mexican American youths
● 1960s
○ Harassment of homosexuals and transgender individuals & the Stonewall Riots
● 2001
○ Harassment of Muslim Americans
Police Brutality
● Police brutality has, historically, mostly been aimed at Black men
● The Great Migration (916-1970s)
● Watts Riots of 1965 (Los Angeles)
● Detroit Riot of 1967
● LA Riots of 1992
Contemporary Examples of Police Brutality
● Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri (2014)
● Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland (2015)
● George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2020)
● Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee (2023)
Consequences of Police Brutality
● Perceptions that procedural justice is lacking
● Police Legitimacy is questioned
How can we improve?
1. Concerns with the way in which police perform certain duties (e.g., arrests and
interrogations)
2. Concerns with the prevalence of police brutality
Concern #1
● Use of coercive tactics during an interrogation
○ Maximization
○ Minimization
● Terry Stops
○ Racial Profiling
Concern #2
● Police Brutality: The unwarranted or excessive and often illegal use of force against
civilians by US police officer
● Police brutality has been around for decades
History of Police Brutality
● 1920s
○ Brutality against members of Italian-immigrant communities
● 1940s
○ Zoot Suit Riots in LA against Mexican American youths
● 1960s
○ Harassment of homosexuals and transgender individuals & the Stonewall Riots
● 2001
○ Harassment of Muslim Americans
Police Brutality
● Police brutality has, historically, mostly been aimed at Black men
● The Great Migration (916-1970s)
● Watts Riots of 1965 (Los Angeles)
● Detroit Riot of 1967
● LA Riots of 1992
Contemporary Examples of Police Brutality
● Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri (2014)
● Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland (2015)
● George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2020)
● Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee (2023)
Consequences of Police Brutality
● Perceptions that procedural justice is lacking
● Police Legitimacy is questioned
How can we improve?
