Reflection on US Police Brutality

Published in Caixin
(China) on 11 July 2016
by Lusheng Wang (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by William Torres. Edited by Shelby Stillwell.
In many countries around the world, society’s disadvantaged social groups are much more susceptible to police brutality because they lack the voice necessary to defend their legal rights. According to statistics, the primary victims of police brutality in America are young men of African and Latin descent.

On July 5 and 6, there were two consecutive incidents where young men of African descent were shot and killed by American police officers. This triggered a new round of protests in America. On the night of July 7, while trying to maintain order during a demonstration, the Dallas Police Department was the target of a shooting incident, resulting in five dead and seven injured police officers. This is the department’s highest-fatality incident since 9/11, and is an important example of the relationship between American police and citizens.

In the past few years, American police brutality has raised a tremendous clamor. In the context of Chinese media outlets, the problems between the police and American citizens have become ever more critical. What is the truth when all is said and done? How does this current period of police brutality reflect on American society?

The Origin of Police Brutality

"Police brutality" refers to the excessive use of force necessary for police to enforce the law. It is the most crucial display of abuse of police power. Police brutality is not an isolated case. From a global perspective, the problem is quite common in most countries.

As everyone knows, the modern police system originated in 18th century France. Soon after, the system was established in most countries around the world in the 19th and 20th centuries. It can be said that the establishment of the police system and police brutality go hand in hand. In the English speaking world, the etymology of "police brutality" dates back to 1833 in a London newspaper. In the United States, the words first appeared in a local news report by the Chicago Tribune (1872), when police officers beat up a suspect and the phrase "police brutality" was used.

American Police Brutality

American police brutality on a large scale began when the labor movements of the century reached their peak. During a series of strikes in America, police left a looming historical silhouette, including: the 1877 American railroad workers strike,* 1894 Pullman strike, 1912 Lawrence textile workers strike, 1914 Ludlow Massacre, 1919 steel workers strike, and 1924 Hanapepe Massacre.

The Ludlow Massacre took place on April 20, 1914, when the Colorado National Guard attacked workers striking in a nearby camp. Both sides were tangled in warfare, and the incident caused 19-26 deaths (the data of many reports vary), among them two women and 11 children. In the 10 days after, enraged miners armed themselves and attacked factories and mines. During this course of events, the Colorado National Guard had many small-scale "battles." Historians believe that this incident is the peak of U.S. labor conflicts.

The Hanapepe Massacre (also known as the Battle of Hanapepe because both sides were armed) took place on Sept. 9, 1924, and the cause was also a workers’ strike. Local police trying to maintain order opened fire, killing nine workers and seriously injuring seven people. The workers on strike killed three police officers and seriously injured one. The aforementioned event is just a microcosm of American police brutality and police conflict where both police and citizens collectively exhibited atrocities. Posterity judges the rights and wrongs of both parties.

Following increasing reports by the American media, public outrage with police began growing, with increasing amounts of newspapers and television coverage.

In March of 1991, the Los Angeles Police Department violently attacked a suspect, Rodney King. The event was filmed by a white man, who then exposed it to American media outlets. The Los Angeles County court acquitted four police officers involved in the case. Immediately after, the famous 1992 LA riots broke out. This riot directly caused 53 deaths and injured 2,883 people; thousands of shops were burned and the economic losses reached nearly $10 billion. Since then, federal courts heard the cases of four police officers involved and convicted two of them to a 32-month prison sentence. The effect of this case on the American police system was far-reaching, and for a time police brutality somewhat lessened.

Nevertheless, many human rights examiners show a sharp rise in police brutality since 9/11. In 2006, the U.N. Human Rights Council issued a special report that pointed out that the U.S. war on terror has "created a general atmosphere of impunity for American law enforcement officials and the erosion of the few mechanisms for accountability. As a result, uncontrolled police brutality and abuse of law enforcement powers have continued to erode across the U.S." The conclusion of the U.N. report held data that confirmed this. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, from 2003-2009 the United States had a total of 4,813 deaths caused by law enforcement officials.

Don't you think those numbers are alarming? Looking at the latest statistics, from 2013-2016 there have been a total of 4,101 deaths at the hands of law enforcement officials. Of those deaths, 1,152 were in 2015 alone. Although a considerable amount of these deaths have occurred because the suspect had a weapon, many were unarmed civilians. Recently, media coverage on victims of police brutality has focused on unarmed young African-American men.

Concerning American police brutality, the English newspaper The Guardian jokingly said that in one day the U.S. had more incidents of police brutality than England and Wales had in one year.

Causes of Police Brutality

Faced with the continued and intensifying case of police brutality, the U.S. develops this reflection for people of all walks of life:

As everyone knows, law enforcement has one of the highest risk factors of all occupations. In a considerable amount of poor countries, law enforcement constantly faces life-threatening situations. During high intensity situations, it becomes impossible to decrease the possibility of excessive use of force. Some analysts say that the foundation of excessive use of police force lies in the "fear" they face in their work environment.

Therefore, internal police systems are developing a progressively lenient culture on police brutality. A similar investigation from the DOJ showed that 84 percent of American police officers said they had witnessed their colleagues using an excessive amount of force on people. Also, some 64 percent of American police officers clearly stated that even if they did see another police officer using an excessive amount of force, they wouldn't report it.

In addition, there are three major causes that cannot be ignored:

First, internal responsibility is ineffective. The lack of effective responsibility worldwide is an important cause of the spread of police brutality. In the U.S., the main investigative body regarding police brutality is Internal Affairs, and for a long time they have been questioned on their accountability. For example, in New Jersey, 99 percent of police brutality cases have not been investigated. In Chicago, the data is even more surprising. From 2002-2004, the Chicago PD received more than 10,000 complaints, and ultimately only 19 police officers were disciplined (.19 percent).

Second, external control has lost its efficiency. In addition to Internal Affairs, U.S. prosecutors have a responsibility to supervise law enforcement. However, this is usually subject to police investigation, which creates many obstacles. This also puts the situation out of reach for many prosecutors. U.S. data shows that 95 percent of cases relating to police brutality are ultimately dropped.

Third, disadvantaged social groups lack a voice. In a considerable amount of countries around the world, disadvantaged social groups are more vulnerable to police brutality, but they lack the voice necessary to defend their legal rights.

According to statistics, the primary victims of police brutality in America are young men of African and Latin descent. Some media outlets have exposed that a Florida police department’s "interrogation" policies specify that African-Americans are considered to be suspicious targets. In the past four years, African-Americans have been interrogated 258 times. Disadvantaged social groups’ lack of voice makes them "safe" targets for police brutality.

The author is an associate professor at the Southeast University School of Law.

*Editor’s Note: Commonly known as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.


美国如何反思警察暴行
2016年07月11日 13:42 来源于 财新网
在世界相当多数国家,社会弱势群体更易受到警察暴行的侵害,而他们由于缺乏发声渠道而难以维权。根据统计,在美国,警察暴行最主要的受害者就是年轻的非裔或拉丁裔男性
  
【财新网】(专栏作家 王禄生)本月5日、6日,美国连续发生警察执法过程中枪杀非洲裔男子的事件。这引发了美国新一轮的抗议示威运动。
 
7日夜间达拉斯警方在维持示威活动秩序时遭到枪击,造成5名警察死亡、7名警察受伤。达拉斯袭警事件是9.11以来美国警察伤亡最多的单起事件,也是观察美国警民关系的一个重要事例。
  
近年来,美国警察的诸多执法暴行甚嚣尘上。在中国媒体的语境中,美国警民冲突有愈演愈烈之势。真相究竟如何?美国社会又是如何反思的?本期数说一下警察暴行。
警察暴行的起源
  
“警察暴行”(police brutality)是指警察在执法过程中使用超过必要限度的暴力手段,它是警察权滥用最为重要的表现之一。
  
警察暴行并非孤立的个案,从世界范围来看,它是相当多数国家共同面临的问题。
 
 众所周知,现代意义上的警察制度起源于18世纪的法国。随后,这一制度在19世纪至20世纪初期于世界多数国家建立。可以说,警察暴行与警察制度的建立如影随形。
  
在英文世界中,“警察暴行”的词源最早可以追溯到1833年英国伦敦的一份报纸。而在美国,该词汇最早出现在1872年——美国报纸《芝加哥论坛》在报道当地警察执法殴打嫌疑人的新闻时也使用了“警察暴行”的词汇。
  
美国的警察暴行
  
美国大范围的警察暴行在上世纪工人运动期间达到顶峰,在一系列罢工过程中美国警察留下了不太光鲜的历史身影,比如:1877年的美国铁路工人大罢工;1894年的普尔曼大罢工;1912年劳伦斯纺织工人大罢工;1914年的拉德洛大屠杀;1919年的钢铁工人大罢工;1924年的哈纳佩佩镇大屠杀;拉德洛大屠杀发生在1914年4月20日。
 
科罗拉多州国民警卫队冲击了罢工工人的营地,双方陷入“混战”。事件最终造成了19至26人死亡(多个版本数据不一),但其中至少有2名妇女和11名儿童。
  
在随后的10天内,被激怒的矿工武装了自己,并袭击了多处厂矿。在这个过程中,与科罗拉多国民警卫队发生了多次小规模的“战斗”。历史学家认为这一起事件处在美国劳资矛盾冲突的巅峰时期。
  
“哈纳佩佩镇大屠杀”发生在1924年9月9日,也翻译成“哈纳佩佩镇战斗”,因为双方人员均有武装。事情的起因也是工人罢工。当地警方在维持秩序时开枪打死了9名工人、重伤7人;而罢工工人也开枪打死了3名警察并重伤1人。
  
上述事件只是特定时段美国警察暴行与警民冲突的一个缩影,它呈现出(警察)集体对(公众)集体的暴行。各方功过自有后人评断。
 
 随着美国媒体报道的加强,警察对公众个人的暴行开始日益见诸报端与电视。
  
1991年3月,洛杉矶警察局警察在执行公务时粗暴地殴打了嫌疑人Rodney King。这一过程被一名白人拍摄下来并在全美媒体曝光。
  
事件第二年,洛杉矶地方法院判决涉案的4名警察无罪。当地随即爆发了著名的“1992洛杉矶大暴动”,这场暴动直接导致53人死亡、2883受伤;数千商铺被焚毁、经济损失接近10亿美金。
  
此后,联邦法院审理了这4名涉案警察,并判决其中两人有期徒刑32个月。这起案件对于美国警察制度的影响很深远,警察暴行一度有所好转。
  
然而,许多人权观察家敏锐地发现,在911事件之后美国警察暴行的数量有明显的提升。
  
联合国人权委员会2006年就发布了专题报告,指出美国反恐战争“为美国的执法人员创造了普遍的不受处罚的氛围,并且侵蚀了为数不多的追责机制。其结果是全美范围内持续恶化和不受控制的警察暴行与执法权力滥用。”
  
联合国报告的结论得到了数据的印证。根据美国司法部的统计,2003年至2009年期间,美国一共有4813人在警察执法过程中死亡。
  
觉得数据惊人吗?来看最新的统计,2013年至2016年间,有4101人在警察执法过程中死亡;仅2015年,就1152人在警察执法过程中死亡。
 
尽管,这些死亡的人员中有相当部分是持有武器的凶徒,但也有不少是赤手空拳的平民。近年来媒体密集报道的多起警察暴力事件的受害人基本都是未携带凶器的非裔美国人。
  
对于美国的警察暴行,英国的《卫报》曾略带嘲讽地说,美国警察一天杀的人比英格兰和威尔士所有警察一年还多。
  
警察暴行的成因
  
面对持续不断且愈演愈烈的警察暴行,美国各界展开反思:
  
众所周知,警察是世界范围内危险系数最高的职业之一。在相当部分治安较差的国家,警察需要随时面临生命威胁。警察工作过程中的高度紧张使得在情形复杂的情况下很可能使用过度的暴力手段。有分析曾说,警察过度暴力的根源在于对自己面临工作环境的“恐惧”。
  
由此,警察系统内部逐步发展出宽容暴行的文化。同样是一组来自美国联邦司法部的调查数据显示,84%的受访美国警察表示曾经看到过自己的同事针对民众使用超过必要限度的强制手段。有64%的受访美国警察明确表示即使遇到更为严重的警察暴力事件,他们也不会选择主动上报。
  
除此之外,还有三大成因不容忽视:
  
第一,内部追责不力。缺乏有效的追责是世界范围内警察暴行屡禁不止的重要原因。在美国,警察暴行的调查机构主要是警察局的内务部。然而,内务部的自我监督长期以来受到质疑。举例而言,在美国新泽西州,99%有关警察暴行的控诉都没有被调查。在芝加哥,数据更令人惊讶,2002年至2004年间,芝加哥警察系统共受到了超过10000份有关警察暴行的申诉控告,最终只有19名警察受到了违纪处分(0.19%)。
  
第二,外部监督失效。除了警察局的内务部之外,美国检察官也附有监督警察执法的职责。然而,这通常会受到被调查警察所在单位的各种阻碍。这也使得检察官常常心有余而力不足。从美国全国的数据来看,有超过95%的有关警察暴行的刑事起诉最终被检察官撤诉。
  
第三,弱势群体缺乏发声渠道。在世界相当多数国家,社会弱势群体更易受到警察暴行的侵害,而他们由于缺乏发声渠道而难以维权。根据统计,在美国,警察暴行最主要的受害者就是年轻的非裔或拉丁裔男性。有媒体曾曝光美国佛罗里达州的一些警察局内部“盘查”政策中就明确将所有非裔美国人视为嫌疑对象。有一位非裔美国人在4年内一共被盘查了258次。弱势群体缺乏发声渠道使得他们成为警察暴行“安全”的对象。
  
作者为东南大学法学院副教授
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