Hello everyone, police brutality is a hot button topic because it affects everyone even if it is only on a subconscious level and causes people to have a wide range of emotions and reactions to it. Police brutality matters to me because I know several people who have been affected by being brutalized by the police and I have seen the aftermath of it.
Police brutality affects individuals because being brutalized by the police when there is no reason can cause long-term emotional, physical, and physical detriment, and in some cases the result is death. For the families of the people who experience police brutality it isn’t very common that they see the officers responsible held accountable for their actions.
Police brutality affects society by causing fear and doubt that our legal system is there to help and protect us, people are less likely to call for help when needed because of the fear that they will also experience police brutality, in addition, society’s overall respect for the police decreases with every incidence of police brutality.
The psychological concepts I would use to understand police brutality would be- behavioral psychology in order to understand why the officers believe the use of force is necessary in any given situation as well as determine if there is a pattern of incidence that may help understand past use of force and if those situations required the use of force as well as determine if it was an isolated event, in addition to finding out if the officer had a history of ethically questionable decisions while at work. Cognitive psychology in order to understand what the officers state of mind was at the time and why they felt the of dealing with the suspect that was violent? Was there a personal motive? If so, what was it? Does the officer feel they did the right thing? Does the officer hold themselves accountable for the events took place? Finally, social psychology to understand if the officers were acting on their own accord or if they were following the actions of others in order to be accepted within the specific group of officers.
Police brutality is related to the programmatic themes- social justice because the individuals and families that experienced police brutality should see the officers responsible held accountable for their actions, ethics because as an officer they take an oath to protect and serve as well as uphold the law which means they should not abuse the power they are given, and emotional intelligence because the officers should be able to appropriately perceive the body language, the emotional state, and the level of danger present in a situation especially because they are trained to read people for their job.
References
Nodjimbadem, K. (2020, May 29). The Long, Painful History of Police Brutality in the U.S. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-painful-history-police-brutality-in-the-us-180964098/
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