Police Brutality Goes Beyond Just Murder Cases

Growing up I remember all of my friends wanting to become police officers because they prevented crime and had a reputation for keeping everyone safe. They are always dressed in neat uniforms, on average make a decent salary of about $56,260 a year and are allowed to carry a Glock 22. I’m sure none of my friends were aware of how dangerous cops can be as they abuse sometimes abuse their authority. A common result of this is police brutality which is the deliberate use of excessive force that is physical, by law enforcement. In most known cases of this brutal behavior, victims normally ends up dead. However, the very few who survive the beatings end up with psychological disorders that can be treated but not cured.

The effects of brutality aren’t always immediate and obvious. It takes plenty of doctor visits before victims can be diagnosed with a psychological trauma that was a result of brutal behavior enacted by a cop. However, when victims are identified with a specific illness it is primarily Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a serious psychiatric disorder that normally occurs from life threatening situations which makes sense as to why most victims of police brutality develop it. It is not an immediate illness which means it can take years before it unfolds for some people or it can begin right after a frightening event. Also, the symptoms of PTSD is hallucinations, flashbacks, lost of interest, outburst of anger, irritability and insomnia which can sometimes be confused with other illnesses such as Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Schizophrenia that have the same effects. Unfortunately, PTSD cannot be cured but it can be treated by a variety of medications like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, etc that control the feelings of anxiety. In most cases therapy is highly recommended to help victims cope with their issues but most do not take advantage of it as a result of lost of interest.

The real impact is on the emotional lives of the victims of abuse and trauma, like this commenter on Copblock who states: “…please stop victimizing people especially when they are rendered as defenseless it is not necessary. Bullying is NOT allowed in our schools and it most CERTAINLY should not be tolerated on the streets especially by authority that we are supposed to be able to depend on.” This commenter suffers from PTSD, frequent anxiety attacks and is borderline agoraphobic all because of an attack by cops. Before encountering this, she made it clear that she instilled all her trust into the law enforcement as she believed that they had a job of protecting people not hurting them. Now this victim is left with living in fear sun up to sun down which impacts her emotionally and mentally as she is unable to live a normal life because she is afraid of what others are capable of doing to her. After all the police who are supposed to protect her didn’t hesitate to beat her down. What makes her think a stranger off the street won’t attempt to do the same?

Overall police brutality is wrong and should never occur as often as it does. It leaves both innocent and guilty people dead or scarred mentally and physically from trauma if they were the slightest bit of lucky to survive it. It has a significant effect on our society as it impacts the way a person lives on a daily basis and leaves our most sensible officers with a poor reputation.

Works Cited

“Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).” WebMD. WebMD. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

“The Long Term Effects of Police Brutality | Cop Block.” Cop Block. 15 Feb. 2012. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Easy-to-Read).” NIMH RSS. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

Ryan, Tom. “Police Brutality: The Impact on the Victims.” EHow. Demand Media. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.