1.  Segan, Sascha. “What Is Excessive Force?” ABC News. ABC News Network. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Background: This article discusses and defines the term excessive force and how it holds different meanings in various jurisdictions. It also focuses on how often cops use excessive force by providing shocking statistics and how most officers don’t have reasonable excuses for using it.

How I Used It: My paper revolves around the term excessive force and this particular article was capable of providing me a detailed description of the term. I used it to provide my audience with a clear meaning and provided statistics to show how frequently it is used in cases where it isn’t needed.

2. “Excessive Force Law and Legal Definition.“Excessive Force Law & Legal Definition. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Background: This article from US Legal, a website that provides legal information in the form of questions and answers, articles, and definitions was able to provide me with a legal definition of the term excessive force.

How I Used It: I used the definition of excessive force from US Legal and my first citation and compared the two to see if legal representatives explained the term differently than Sascha Segan (publisher of my first citation). However, I found that although the two terms came from very different sources they were very similar. I used both definitions in my argument to express that excessive force has one nationwide meaning.

3. “Police Brutality: 5 Things You Didn’t Know.” NoBullyingBullying CyberBullying Resources. 30 Jan. 2015. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.

Background: No Bullying , an online forum aimed for educating and advising to stop bullying provided me with 5 shocking facts about police brutality that I was never aware of. This source expresses the impact police brutality has on society as it dehumanizes suspects, lacks accountability on the officers behalf, arises racial considerations, blames the victims and brings higher causes.

How I Used It: I used this particular source to show the negative impact police brutality has on society. I was able to prove my argument by explaining how officers dehumanize their victims as it helps them avoid the feeling of guilt while they abuse suspects and how it is a constant issue since cops aren’t accountable of their actions.

4. “25 Shocking Facts About the Epidemic of Police Brutality in America.” Mic. Web. 24 Nov. 2015

Background: This website provided information from 25 other sources that was useful to my research. It had a variety of statistics that have been reported in the last two years on police brutality and the amount of killings that have taken place so far. I found this website a lot of more useful than others because it provided very accurate statistics. It talked about what month police brutality occurs the most, what gender and race it is directed to and cities that are at higher risk of police brutality which I found useful to support my claims.

How I Used It: I used about three facts from this website that were all recent statistics. The statistics I used focused on the amount of people killed, the gender of those people and how often it occurs.

5. “Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).“WebMD. WebMD. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.

Background: WebMD is medical based website that has a variety of illnesses, treatments, medicines and symptoms. This website discusses how people can develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, how long it takes to be diagnosed, symptoms that come with PTSD, medicines and treatments.

How I Used It: I used the information I gathered from this website to discuss the point I made on how PTSD is a long-term effects on survivors of police brutality. I went into further explanation of the illness and how the symptoms that come from PTSD effect the way a person can live on a daily basis.

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

Background: Copblock is a decentralized organization made from a group of diverse individuals who share their belief on “Badges Don’t Grant Extra Authority”. This website provided me with personal stories of victims who have been dehumanized by officers.

How I Used It: I took a personal story of a commenter who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and included it in my Causal argument. This story that I read on Copblock provided me with a personal point of view from someone who now lives with PTSD and is afraid of law enforcement from a bad encounter. The situation got out of hand and left the victim with the long-term effects of PTSD.

7. Baker, Al, J. Goodman, and Benjamin Mueller.”Beyond the Chokehold: The Path to Eric Garner’s Death.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 June 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

Background: This is a website that has been dedicated to Eric Garner, a victim of police violence. This source has the full story of the event that took place with Eric Garner and two other officers and how it led to his death.

How I Used It: This story was used in my Rebuttal argument to prove my point that officers use excessive force in situations where it isn’t necessary. I used the Eric Garner death as a perfect example of law enforcement abusing their authority by bringing harm upon victims who do not deserve it. This story played a big role in my research paper as it provided very detailed and factual information that helped me prove that you don’t have to resist arrest for cops to use excessive force.

8. “Resisting Arrest When Police Use Excessive Force.” Nolo.com. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

Background: Nolo is a Law for All encyclopedia that provides definitions and examples on legal terms.  This website provided me with multiple examples of resisting arrest that would allow an officer to result to using excessive force.

How I Used It: I used the examples of resisting arrest that would be acceptable for an officer to use excessive force as a way of controlling suspects. I also used those same examples to conclude a definition of the term resisting arrest.

9. “What Procedures Must the Police Follow When Making an Arrest?” Findlaw. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Background: This article on the website FindLaw focuses on the procedures officers must make when arresting suspects. It breaks each procedure down, providing more detailed information on what officers must ask, look for and how to approach a suspect when making an arrest.

How I Used It: The order of procedures was used in my research paper to demonstrate how officers are to go about arresting suspects the legal way. It was very useful in explaining what officers are to do and what they aren’t to do. This article was also used to explain if excessive force is needed in certain scenarios when suspects aren’t cooperative with the procedures law enforcement are to follow when making arrests.

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

Background: This article is written by Tom Ryan who provides his insight on how police brutality impacts victims. He discusses how victims have long-term issues that in most cases are left unresolved because of fear. Fear of the law and the fear of having no one to help cope with their issues.

How I Used It: This article was very helpful in providing more information on victims who suffer with PTSD. Unlike other articles, it didn’t just state that victims suffer with PTSD as a result of police brutality but discusses the impact it has on their everyday life. It provided many examples on how people struggle with their social lives as well as coping with their emotions and was used as a bonus source to back up the previous information from the commenter on Copblocl.