up." Rodney King, March 3, 1991. Police brutality has been a long lasting

problem in the United States since at least 1903 when police Captain Williams

of the New York Police Departmen coined the phrase, "There is more law at

the end of a policeman's nightstick than in a decision of the Supreme Court."

In the 1920's the Wichersham Commission had a number of instances of police

brutality. Many of these included the use of the "third degree" (beating to

obtain a confession). This is a very effective way to get a confession out of

somebody. However, beating the accused could easily elicit a confession from

a scared and innocent person. Also, this puts the accused person's life in

danger. Police officers must make snap life and death decisions daily. Officers'

work in an environment where death (theirs, their partners, and an innocent or

guilty person) is one decision away. How does that constant fear effect an

officer's perception? Unfortunately, many that are attracted to law

enforcement are aggressive and prone towards violence as a solution. Police

officers have a lot of power. With this power comes r

problems, so it "reasons" that an overburdened police officer finds people or a

National Institute of Justice reports that five different profiles were identified

monitoring mechanisms. National, state, and local police authorities should

Some topics in this essay:
Institute Justice, Unfortunately Robbins, Wayne Kerstetter, Mentally Ill, Wichersham Commission, Department Justice, Lani Soto, Robbins Robbins, Research Report, Tom Bradley, police officers, police brutality, excessive force, desantis 1994, police officer, brutality rise, police brutality rise, force •, kerstetter 1985, march 19 1991, review boards, shawn robbins, 19 1991 a20, department justice 1994, times march 19,