Today, society as a whole has a tendency to outline most actions taken or completed by police officers as forms of brutality. To fully understand the implication of the word, one should look at the beginnings, of said word. The word brutality comes from the Latin word Brutus, which translates to brute. Brutality would be the act of all of the above. When breaking down the word as such, it begins to take on a far more significant tone, possibly even scary, when applied to a few of the simple conditions that happen today. Could it be just what we hear in the news and in the paper or is their a real issue here that needs to be taken critically? Do the police have a choice or are there some certain times when a more forceful action must be taken against a few of these criminals.  

Some critics see most of police actions as being vicious, bordering on brutal. How can they use such terminology to judge the countless men and ladies that risk their lives every day for the security of everybody, regardless of race, sex, or orientation? These men and ladies have undergone extensive training, physical and mental, as well as psychological. A number of what they’ve needed to endure, to fulfill a position doing a thankless task with little pay and only a few benefits, might well have toughened them up, however they are nonetheless human. They make errors in judgment calls the same as anybody else. Some calls are solely based on survival and how do we as citizen’s judge something like this once we have never been faced with such raw evil. 

Frequently, some of the verbal, and too often bodily, abuse they must persevere all through the course of the normal day would border on the definition of brutal; nevertheless, society forgets these instances. They find it easier rather to judge them by particular standards, however disregard what is carried out incorrect against them. Perhaps it’s the absence of support for police officers and the jobs they do, that we, as a society, are forcing them to sever any emotional ties they once had for his or her jobs, and making it nearly necessary for them to react as strongly to any situation because they are able. With little or no support, they’re virtually left on their own to survive in a world that most people do not even realize exists.

Rather of applauding their achievements, we openly criticize their actions and decisions, only assisting to further the dislike, distrust, and disrespect of police officers all over the place. They and their households often feel ostracized from normal society, and sometimes turn to forming their own ‘societies or families’. Maybe it is time we take a step back and look at the terms us so freely use in opposition to them, and in all certainty knows what is being implied at any given time.  Labeling them as brutal is hinting they are no better than animals — would you call on your animals to deal with car accidents, homicide calls, or domestic scenarios? Of course they are not. Laugh at the idea, but that’s in fact what’s being stated.

We might just possess the definition of ‘police brutality’ down to an exact science, but are we pointing our fingers at the correct perpetrators? Police officers suffer daily, through all kinds of abuse, and they are expected to maintain an expert attitude at all occasions, while wiping spit from their faces, or enduring a string of obscenities from a simple traffic stop. What then is this called? I say it falls under the label of ‘police brutality’ only it’s being done to them, not by them.  If we want a change, it’s to start with us. Show support of the police officers, follow the laws and take a stand in opposition to those that do wrong. They guard us with their lives — the least we can do is support them during ours.