Still Breathing

Police misconduct refers to inappropriate conduct and/or illegal actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties.

Internationally police brutality or police violence is legally defined as a civil rights violation where officers exercise undue or excessive force against a civilian. This includes, but is not limited to, physical or verbal harassment, physical or mental injury, property damage, and death. In some countries, "the color of law" protects officers from ambiguous situations.

The term "police brutality" was first used by American newspapers in 1872, when the “Chicago Tribune” reported the beating of a civilian under arrest at the Harrison Street Police Station.

The origin of modern policing (based on the authority of the nation-state) can be traced back to 18th century France, with modern police departments being established in many nations by the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In the United States for the sake of example, it is common for marginalized groups to perceive the police as oppressors, rather than protectors or enforcers of the law, due to the statistically disproportionate number of minority incarcerations.

Data released by the “Bureau of Justice Statistics” (2011) showed that from 2003 to 2009 at least 4,813 people died while being arrested by local police. Of the deaths classified as law enforcement homicides, there were 2,876 deaths; of those, 1,643 or 57.1% of the deaths were "people of color".

The “Officer Down Memorial Page” reports 164 police deaths in the line of duty. The “National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund” counted 124 federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officers killed. 42 officers were shot and killed and 52 officers were killed in traffic-related incidents.

Police stress is directly related to the burnout syndrome, one of the long-term effects of stress felt in police departments is professional exhaustion, commonly referred to as burnout.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for police officers, data shows. Suicide has now become the number one killer of police officers in the U.S. That's according to Blue H.E.L.P., a group that is helping police departments with the problem.

Police officers worldwide often share what is known in the United States as a "blue code of silence", which means that they do not turn each other in for misconduct. While some officers have called this code a myth, a 2005 survey found evidence that it exists.

A 2019 study in the journal “Nature” found that misconduct by one police officer substantially increased the likelihood that peer officers would also engage in misconduct. In addition to the blue code of silence, police misconduct also can lead to a miscarriage of justice and sometimes the obstruction of justice.

In an effort to control police misconduct, there is an accelerating trend for civilian agencies to engage directly in investigations and to have greater inputs into disciplinary decisions...

Food for thought!