A Call for Action

The recent highly publicized killings of unarmed black men by police officers have stirred up feelings of outrage and frustration within and among objective and fair-minded people from every walk of life. In response to the killings and their feelings of shock and despair, people have united and are making a public cry for justice for the victims. These groups want the offending officers subjected to the same legal procedures other Americans who commit similar crimes experience. They want the responsible officers arrested, charged, and tried. They also  want to insure justice is served by having an independent investigation into the killings.

Some of those demanding justice for the victims, including me, view police killings of unarmed people as symptomatic of a much larger problem in the nation’s police forces. That problem is the abuse of legal authority by some officers to brutalize people, and then attempt to cover up their crimes by levying false charges against helpless suspects.

As the following list highlights, police brutality is widespread and occurs more frequently than some want to admit. However, the list is not exhaustive. For example, the Abner Louima case is the only sexual assault case noted. But numerous law enforcement officials have been convicted of sexual assault.

The List

• Rodney King was beaten mercilessly by police officers in Los Angeles, California on March 3, 1991. He survived his injuries. King was unarmed.
• Jonny Gammage died as the result of injuries sustained from a beating by police officers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 12, 1995. Gammage was unarmed.
• Amadou Diallo was shot to death in front of his apartment building by police officers in New York City on February 4, 1999. He was shot forty-one times. Diallo was unarmed.
• Sean Bell was shot to death by police officers in New York City on November 26, 2006. Bell was unarmed. ’
• Abner Louima sustained major injuries from being sodomized with a broken off broom handle by a police officer in New York City on August 7, 1999. 7Louima was unarmed.
• Sara Lesende was brutally beaten by a Newark new Jersey police officer in Newark, NJ in October 2004. Sara was unarmed.
• Oscar Grant was shot to death by a police officer in Oakland, California on January 1, 2009. Grant was unarmed.
• Michael Brown was shot to death in broad daylight by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. Brown was unarmed.
• Alexander Landau was severely beaten by police officers in Denver, Colorado in January 2009
• Quadriplegic Brian Sterner was dumped out of his wheelchair by a law enforcement official in Hillsborough County, Florida on January 29, 2008. Stemer was unarmed.
• Jordan Miles was beaten to a pulp by police in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 12, 2010. Miles was unarmed.
• Eric Garner died as the result of police officers in Stanton Island, NY placing Garner in a choke hold on July 17, 2014. Garner was unarmed.
• Jianqing “Jessica” Klyzek. While handcuffedthe victim was hit by one police officer and verbally abused by another. At the time of the assault the victim was kneeling. The incident occurred in Chicago, Illinois and was caught on video tape. Klyzek was unarmed.
• Michael McCloskey was riding his motorcycle when he was pulled over by police and shot without provocation. The entire incident was captured on tape by a police dash camera. The incident took place in Ohio. Mcclosky was unarmed.

If police brutality is to stop, level-headed people who are passionate about justice must coalesce and work with captains of local police precincts to end violence by police. The following measureable goals may prove useful to those committed to achieving the stated objective of ending police brutality.

• Equip every police officer with a body camera that must be worn at all times while the officer is on duty.
• Equip each police vehicle with a dash camera.
• Require each municipality to establish a civilian review board that includes clergy. (Clergy members should rotate biannually to insure every faith tradition in the community is represented on the review board.)
• Insist law enforcement create a safe space for police officers to report police brutality without fear of retribution. The fear of retribution, loss of life, liberty, and income, makes it very difficult for decent law-abiding law enforcement officials to blow the whistle on fellow officers.