Effects of police brutalities on African Americans
Introduction
Racial profiling is rampant in the United States. However, it may give the impression of nothing serious to those who have not experienced it or do not know somebody who has, but the truth is, it is an annoying act, psychological torture, an emotional disturbance to the victims. Other of the effects of racial profiling include; financial losses, some victims may be physically injured and could lead to death (Ontario Human Rights Commission, n.d.). This paper will focus on the stress the blacks (African Americans) face in the US and the fear they live in due to the police brutality in the area. The writings of this essay will also focus on the traumatic experiences for the victims and the diagnosis for the targets. Lastly, the paper will also emphasize ways to minimize and police brutality in the US on African Americans.
History of U.S police brutality against blacks.
Time after time, unarmed black men have died over police brutalities. According to (Laughland, 2020), the most recent death was that of George Floyd. There are so many recorded demises of blacks and reports say, they were killed by white officers. In New York City, before Eric Garner died, said to the white officer that he could not breathe due to the chokehold he was placed in. He repeated the phrase he could not breathe 11 times before his demise. In another ordeal in Ferguson, Missouri, a witness described Mike browns that he held his hands up I surrender before he was killed. Another Black Death experience was seen in Cleveland, Ohio where a white officer shot a 12- year old boy that was playing on snowy winter. The cycle of police brutality against black women and death has continued to repeat itself over the years.
Stress levels by African-American
Situations that are too problematic to handle or have abilities and poses threats and fears to our mental health or physical well-being are termed as stressful. Too much stress has hostile effects on a victim’s brain function and behavior. Consequently, it can lead to disorders such a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and antisocial behavior. Torture by the police officers has left the people of color in fear, anxiety and is frightened not knowing what to expect. According to —– torture is described as any act by which severe pain and suffering whether physical or mental, is deliberately imposed on a person for such purposes punishment or obtaining third party information such as confessions to a crime. White police officers use physical methods of torturing the African-American while in their duties. Their methods of obtaining suspected criminal information include beatings, use of electrical shocks, gun shootings, and even psychological techniques. Some of the Black people have been left dead by the police brutalities, the most recent instance was that of George Floyd. These brutal events have left African Americans in traumatic experiences. Some of the traumatic experiences that lead to Stress include, anxiety, physical injuries murder, stranger physical assault, and witnessing a homicide
Violent actions by the white police officer against the African- Americans include stabbings, shootings, and attempted suffocations and may lead to deaths. These factors leave the victims with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder effects. The black neighborhood communities are always surrounded by a white officer patrolling their surroundings —— There is an illusion that there is always crime happening in the black communities. All these patrols have always left the people live with fear and anxiety wondering who could be the next dead black man. Evidence shows that racial discrimination and mental health are rapidly growing and that racial discrimination is one of the ways that affect health negatively.
Trauma and Diagnosis
The amounts of and types of posttraumatic stress victims experience are dependent on variable specifics to the victim, characteristics of the stressor, and how those around the victims respond to him or her( Briere & Scott, 2014). Victim variables refer to the aspects of the victim that were in place before the relevant trauma and there is a likelihood of sustained posttraumatic difficulties. Some of the factors that are attributed to these variables include racial discrimination, poverty, and gender. Race, especially African American are at a higher risk as compared to whites. Families and populations with a low social-economic status. Young and the old people might have been a greater risk in managing the trauma. According to (Williams, 2018), people of color are prone to trauma effects. In the United States, women and black people are prone to traumatic stress because they are frequently exposed to events that produce post-traumatic disturbance. The higher rate of PTSD for these racial groups is attributed to broad social racial discrimination. The characteristics of the stressor attributed to trauma include intentional acts of violence, beatings, and gunshots especially from the white police officers against African Americans. Physical injuries, wars, witnessing a death (s), life-threatening illness, unpredictable events, and traumas of a longer period. Research shows that the white police officers handle suspects from the African American citizen leaving them badly injured or in the worst-case scenarios, they kill them. These experiences have left the black generation in worry, stressful situations, and anxiety not knowing what to expect from the police force.
PTSD is best referred to as trauma-specific diagnosis in DSM-5. Some of the posttraumatic responses to victims include; depression-related disturbance, anxiety, and stress disorders. Exposure to traumatic experiences can cause depressive symptoms (Briere & Scott, 2014). Often, victims show themes of grief and loss, abandonment, and isolation. One of the depressive symptoms is traumatic grief. It shows soon after the occurrence of a loss and dissolves over time. However, traumatic grief may lead to major depression. Some of the characteristics in PTSD of major depression include but not limited to Extreme sadness, hopelessness regarding future events, feelings of worthlessness, excessive guilt, or thoughts about deserving the traumatic events. Moreover, psychotic depression is associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Extreme trauma can cause symptoms of depression and psychosis. Additionally, traumatic experiences may lead to generalized anxiety, panic attacks, and posttraumatic phobias. Also, DSM-5 has been associated with stress disorders. According to (Marty1 &Segal, 2015), clinical disorders include, bipolar, generalized anxiety and may lead to major depression to victims. As well as Marty1 & Segal states that personality disorders are inflexible and have maladaptive patterns of behavior reflecting variations of normal personality characteristics. Therefore, traumatic experiences in the black neighborhoods in the United States is mostly found amongst African-American populations.
Ways of minimizing Police Brutality
The call for police reforms in the United States is getting louder and louder every day. Worrying and horrifying videos of white police officers shooting and throttling black Americans have generated outrage all around the world (Mugga &Abt,2020). The very first order should be to curb the use of excessive force by the police officers. The International Association of Chiefs of Police describes the use of force as the effort required by the police officer to compel compliance by an unwilling subject. As well the force used should be proportional to the degree of resistance.
Proposals to ban chokeholds, neck restraints, and strangleholds like the one that killed George Floyd are one of the good steps taken. Moreover, the introduction of new bills by the lawmakers of the United States meant to reduce excessive use of force, monitoring police officers’ misconduct, and improving civilian oversight by introducing body cameras. In a political scene, these measures should be assimilated and amalgamated into new policies for national standards alongside the commitments of an ongoing evaluation.
Another way to minimize police brutality is to create and develop better data on the police lethal force. There is no clear recorded data regarding the homicides associated with the police. Without the correct data, both the police and the civilians are flying blind.
The police departments should also include more stringent accountability mechanisms in employee contracts. More often, the police are legally shielded from the consequences of their actions. Additionally, the police departments should monitor, complaints about the use of excessive force on civilians. More importantly, the police need more training in situations about mental health, substance usage, and homelessness.
The recruitment of women into the police system can help minimize police brutality on civilians. In a recent study, male officers were seen to use firearms more than female police officers. In another study of 2002, civilians accused male officers of using their police powers excessively on civilians. Increasing and diversifying the police by employing the minority gender.
References
Briere, J. N., & Scott, C. (2014). Principles of trauma therapy: A guide to symptoms, evaluation, and treatment ( DSM-5 update). SAGE Publications.
Laughland, O. (2020, June 4). US police have a history of violence against Black people. Will it ever stop? the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/04/american-police-violence-against-black-people
Marty, M. A., & Segal, D. L. (2015). DSM-5 basics. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, 5. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.027309
Muggah, R., & Abt, T. (2020, June 22). Calls for police reform are getting louder—Here is how to do it. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/22/calls-for-police-reform-are-getting-louder-here-is-how-to-do-it/
Ontario Human Rights Commission. (n.d.). The effects of racial profiling. https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/paying-price-human-cost-racial-profiling/effects-racial-profiling
Williams, D. R. (2018). Stress and the mental health of populations of color: Advancing our understanding of race-related stressors. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 59(4), 466-485. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146518814251