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Police brutality is a term used to describe the excessive use of physical force, Assault , verbal attacks, and threats by Police Officer s and other law enforcement officers. The term may also be used to apply to such behavior when used by Prison Officer s. Widespread, systematic police brutality exists in many countries, even those which prosecute it.1 Brutality is one of several forms of Police Misconduct which include False Arrest , Intimidation , Racial Profiling , Political Repression , Surveillance Abuse , Sexual Abuse , and Police Corruption . HISTORY Throughout history, efforts to police societies have been marred by brutality to some degree. In the ancient world, policing entities actively cultivated an atmosphere of terror, and abusive treatment was meted out in the quest for subjugation and control. For example, the New Testament records many incidents in which Roman Guards inflicted unwarranted violence on members of the growing Christian minority. In the English-speaking world, most modern police departments were first established in the nineteenth century, and in the early days cases of police brutality were frequent. In her book ''Street Justice: A History of Police Violence in New York City'', researcher Marilynn S. Johnson describes "the routine bludgeoning of citizens by patrolmen armed with nightsticks or blackjacks.". 2 Large-scale incidents of brutality were often associated with labor unrest, such as the Great Railroad Strike Of 1877 , the Pullman Strike of 1894, the Lawrence Textile Strike of 1912, the Ludlow Massacre of 1914, the Steel Strike Of 1919 , and the Hanapepe Massacre of 1922 . ( Federal Bureau Of Investigation photograph)]] : Rodney King beaten by LAPD officers]] at protesters during the Quebec City Summit Of The Americas . The Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP later concluded the use of tear gas against demonstrators at the summit constituted "excessive and unjustified force."]] In the United States, the passage of the Volstead Act (popularly known as the National Prohibition Act) in 1919 had a long-term negative impact on policing practices. By the mid-1920's, crime was growing dramatically in response to the demand for illegal alcohol. Undermanned and with limited resources, many law enforcement agencies stepped up the use of unlawful practices. By the time of the Hoover administration ( 1929 - 1932 ), the issue had risen to national concern and a National Committee on Law Observation and Enforcement (popularly known as the Wickersham Commission ) was formed to look into the situation.3 The resulting "Report On Lawlessness In Law Enforcement" ( 1931 ) concluded that " {Link without Title} he Third Degree --that is, the use of physical brutality, or other forms of cruelty, to obtain involuntary confessions or admissions--is widespread."4 In the years following the report, landmark legal judgements such as Brown V. Mississippi helped to cement a legal obligation to respect the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment .5 In the 1960s, the African-American Civil Rights Movement had to overcome numerous incidents of police brutality in its struggle for justice and racial equality, notably during the Birmingham Campaign of 1963-64 and during the Selma To Montgomery Marches of 1965 . Media coverage of the brutality sparked national outrage, and public sympathy for the movement grew rapidly as a result. During the Vietnam War, anti-war demonstrations were sometimes quelled through the use of billy-clubs and CS Gas , commonly known as tear gas. The most notorious of these assaults took place during the August 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago . The actions of the police were later described as a " Police Riot " in the Walker Report to the US National Commission On The Causes And Prevention Of Violence . |
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