Police brutality or sacrifices for security?

The trend of police brutality continues in America. Officers are heavily armed and paid to be bullies, many argue. They often use violence against helpless unarmed people, while citing self defense as the reasoning.

At a recent event in Monterrey, California police used, what was supposed to be, non-lethal force. In the end they burned down a house and killed a man. The police however were at the wrong house. In metropolitan areas throughout the nation, police constantly roam the streets to keep an eye out for crime.But have you ever wondered how everyday Americans feel about their presence?The police have an increasing a rocky relationship with the people they are supposed to serve and protect. When news broke in the early 1990s that a political activist named Rodney King had been brutally beaten by police, people began to question the aggressive tactics used by authorities.After surveying many Americans, a few facts become clear. While most people don’t seem to feel threatened when police are in plain view, most everyone agreed on one simple fact: police use excessive force far more than is necessary.“I haven’t personally encountered any bad police,” said DC resident Collinda Smith. “But there are definitely times when they’re harsher than they have to be.”Whether or not people have personally experienced police brutality, cases like the one of Rodney King have left bitter memories in the minds of Americans.“Every time when police officers use brutality or excessive force, I think it needs to be noticed more because I don’t think that the media projects enough.” commented Ricardo Henderson.Former Reagan administration official, Paul Craig Roberts, said police are using violence, not for protection but just for the sake of violence. “They are using teasers against mothers with children, against old people in wheelchairs. They’re body slamming 92-year old grandmothers,” he said. Roberts argued those who are attracted to joining police forces are bullies and sociopaths.“The personality that goes into that line of work is a dangerous personality, in many cases,” he commented. “Another thing that has happened is the police has been militarized by the federal government. They are not issued with military type weapons and they have been trained to view the public as an enemy. They see the public not as something they protect but as an enemy that needs to be suppressed and dealt with. They are very quick to use violence.”