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Police Brutality "There Is No Question That Essay

¶ … Police Brutality "There is no question that police brutality, when it occurs, is one of the most egregious violations of public trust that a public servant can commit."

This statement is an example of circular reasoning. It posits a premise in which the truth of the conclusions is assumed. Police brutality may not be one of the most egregious violations of public trust that a public servant can commit, or it might be, just as I have claimed, but nothing in the paper supports that statement. Providing evidence that people consider police brutality is this type of serious violation of public trust, such as a poll supporting that statement would bolster the argument, as would reasons that these violations are so damaging. As it stands, this statement is simply an unsupported statement.

"There are many arrest and non-arrest scenarios where officers need to use force to protect self or others; and the degree of force required may be greater than what a disinterested observer would assume."

To support this argument, I cited reasons that officers would need to use force in order to effectuate a rest, including the willingness of criminals to use violence, danger to third parties or property, or the

Therefore, that line of the argument appears to be well-supported. However, I did not provide adequate support for the idea that the degree of force required may be greater than a disinterested observer would assume. I could have used evidence of the pain-tolerance and strength-enhancing aspects of many controlled substances and mental illnesses to support the idea that observers are not necessarily witnessing how much force a suspect is actually using. Even using this, the argument is subject to criticism as an appeal to fear as the implied undercurrent is that if police fail to use such force, society is in danger (Nizkor Project, 2011). However, because that is actually a premise underlying the entire paper, if well-substantiated by facts, that potential fallacy disappears.
"When one considers that minorities are disproportionately likely to be arrested and convicted of crimes, one would expect to…

Sources used in this document:
Referenced

Johnson, K. (2007, December 18). Police brutality cases on rise since 9/11. Retrieved

February 22, 2012 from USA Today website:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-17-Copmisconduct_N.htm

Keteyian, A. (2011, August 10). Feds crack down on police brutality nationwide. Retrieved February 22, 2012 from CBSNews.com website: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/10/eveningnews/main20090883.shtml
Lendman, S. (2010, July 13). Police brutality in America. Retrieved February 22, 2012 from Baltimore Chronicle website: http://baltimorechronicle.com/2010/071310Lendman.shtml
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/
Shauk, Z. (2012, January 31). HPD still quiet on alleged police brutality incident. Retrieved February 22, 2012 from Chron.com website: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/HPD-still-quiet-on-alleged-police-brutality-2851492.php
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