Police Brutality Occurences

Police brutality has been the main subject of the media for the last couple months due to the unreasonable murders of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner. In all these cases, police used unnecessary force which ended in death for three African American citizens whose actions clearly didn't warrant murder. None of the officers responsible for these crimes were indited for their actions, despite the fact that individuals who have been indited for much less. However, since the individuals responsible are law enforcement, the people we are meant to trust to protect us, the families of these victims were not even given the opportunity to see justice dealt to those responsible for the deaths of their loved ones. The untimely deaths of these three people are certainly not the only examples of police using excessive force. At least the policemen involved in these incidents didn't intend to murder other human beings; at least they can say that they have the "excuse" that they originally entered the scene with the intention of doing the job they were sent to do. However, there are many cases in which law enforcement officials did harm for the sole purpose of doing harm. In these cases, it wasn't "unreasonable force," it was cruel, inhumane torture, that we wouldn't expect from a fellow human being, let alone a police officer.
In 2005, Robert Davis, a retired elementary school teacher from New Orleans, was arrested and brutally beaten by police on suspicion of public intoxication. The assault was caught on tape: four officers ganged up on one, old man, who clearly could've been cuffed easily by the strength of half an officer. The focus here isn't on race, because many of these attacks were on white individuals as well, but I'm sure you can guess what the nationality of this man was. Although the officers involved were either fired or suspended, they were not charged, despite the fact that they attacked and brutally beat an unarmed man.
In 2004, Frank Jude was viciously beaten by several off-duty Milwaukee police officers as he was leaving a party. The officers claimed he stole one of the officer’s wallets that contained a police badge. Jude's friend, Lovell Harris, was cut by a knife by one of the officers, managed to get away. Jude, however, was brutally punched, kicked, and stabbed in the ears with a pen. In fact, even the officers who were called to stop the fight joined in to stomp on the man's head. Originally, the jury acquitted the three officers charged, but the federal grand jury ended up charging three out of four of the officers. At least in this case, there was some justice for the man who was viciously beaten by the people who's job it is to protect.
Steve Biko, an anti-apartheid leader dedicated to the empowerment of African Americans, was arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967.Bike was interrogated for 22 hours. He was tortured and beat before he fell into a coma. During his stay in prison, he suffered a horrible head injury and was chained a window for a full day before being transported to another prison to receive treatment but by the time they got there, he was already dead. The cause of death was determined to be the head injury, even thought the police claimed it was due to a self-proclaimed hunger strike, and the officers responsible were, predictably, never prosecuted.
One of the most famous cases of police brutality was the beating of Rodney King, because it was caught on video and circulated around the world. King and two friends were surrounded by police and ordered to lie on the ground after the end of an 8 mile chase. King refused and was shot with a taser gun, which brought him to the ground. However, officers didn't stop there; King was then brutally beaten with a baton and kicked repeatedly. During the state trial, all officers were either acquitted or unresolved, but the riots sparked a federal trial in which two were found guilty and two acquitted.
These are just a few examples of police brutality, incidents that are a more clear cut than the murders of Brown, Rice, and Garner. This just goes to show that every case including a police officer cannot be chalked up to adrenaline, or threat, or just doing their job. It proves that just because we should be able to trust them to morally do the right thing doesn't mean that we always can. That doesn't mean that any of these officers intended to kill someone, it only means that their actions in that moment were possibly immoral because their views were possibly clouded. Shooting an unarmed teenager is not moral. Giving a 12 year old 4 seconds to hear, process, and follow a screamed order before gunning him down is to moral. Choking a man for selling loose cigarettes is not moral, and these cases should at least go to trial, at least have the opportunity to deliver the justice these families believe they deserve.