Police brutality is unfortunately, but inevitably, becoming a common trend in America. Tensions are growing among public opinion and in particular in the African-American community due to the latest cases of police brutality. Many believe that overall we have come a long way, but in reality racism is still extremely popular. The use of brutal and lethal force by some police officers leading to needless deaths puts people on the edge of going about their daily lives. The police, the people to whom we entrust our lives, are unfortunately the ones who take it out on us. Some people may want to argue that these cases, such as the shooting of Michael Brown and the choking of Eric Garner, are isolated incidents. Many also argue that a police officer's job is too difficult and that sometimes an officer needs to use such force to enforce the law and protect himself while on duty. However, with everyone's efforts, we can stop these heinous individuals and create a safer environment for civilians. One organization that works tirelessly to achieve this goal is the ACLU. The ACLU “aims to preserve and extend constitutionally guaranteed rights to people who have historically been denied their rights on the basis of race.” Raising awareness, as well as having organizations trying to help these people, makes the world a safer and more comfortable place to live. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay One of the major commonalities that become clear from these incidents is that many of the people killed by police are unarmed to begin with. A perfect example of this situation occurred between Oscar Grant and officer James Mehserle. Grant had been "detained by BART transit officers on the train platform in Oakland, California following an altercation" (Bach). He was unarmed and was asked to lie down on the train station platform, which he complied with. Then he was shot by “Mehserle, who claimed he mistook his gun for his taser” (Bach). The officer released his statement claiming the event was a complete accident and he received no consequences. However, this is not an isolated incident. Another act of police brutality occurred in July between Eric Garner and an NYPD officer. Garner “was suspected by the New York police of selling untaxed cigarettes. When he refused arrest, an officer placed the asthmatic man in a chokehold. Garner repeatedly screamed, “'I can't breathe!'” and died shortly thereafter” (Bach). It is unacceptable for an individual to die at the hands of a police officer when they have no weapon on them and pose no immediate threat to the officer. After the public hearing on these cases, many suggest “a new law that would require law enforcement to wear body cameras to prevent police misconduct and maintain a higher level of accountability” (Bach). In hopes that this new law would be put into effect, studies were conducted “in which officers were asked to wear body cameras” and “one California study found that police brutality plummeted when officers were recorded” (Bach) . This shows that when the police are observed, they are less likely to violate an individual's constitutional rights. It is disappointing that adult individuals must be supervised like children to ensure that they do not hurt others who they deem inferior to them. The main reason police mistreat some individuals comes down to one factor, the color of their skin. Redditt Hudson, aindividual who became a police officer to use the power of being an officer to help his community, states that “a couple of officers ran a website called St. Louis Coptalk, where officers could post their experience and opinions” . The site became so full of racist comments that the administrator shut down the site. In the chat, “cops routinely called anyone of color a 'thug,' regardless of whether they were a victim or simply a bystander” (Hudson). This brings to light how racist police officers truly are. Hudson recalls that the police often abused their power and “responded with force to even minor crimes” (Hudson). The reason the police do this is often because they feel they are superior to these minorities and also because of their hatred towards those individuals. The one thing that seems to be consistent with all of these cases is that “cops are rarely held accountable for their actions,” so they don't “think too much about the consequences” (Hudson). If more officers were punished for these crimes, there would be fewer accidents and therefore fewer people killed or injured due to excessive use of police force. Those who are supposed to protect the public should be the last people individuals need to fear. Statistically speaking, the number of police brutality cases in America is significantly higher for minorities than for Caucasians. According to the ACLU, “seven in ten blacks say they are treated less fairly than whites in dealings with the police.” This is mainly due to the large amount of racism present in the police force. This proved true considering that “the majority of unarmed people killed [in 2017] were people of color (48 were black, 34 were Hispanic, 2 were Native American, and 2 were Pacific Islanders – 50 were white and 11 were unknown). (D'Onofrio). These numbers make it insanely clear that minorities are the only ones being targeted. Furthermore, “27% of people killed by police were black. Of all the murders only 1% of the officers involved were charged with a crime” (D'Onofrio). It is for this reason that so many people are upset that there is no punishment for officers who abuse their roles of power. Without adequate punishment, things will not change. The ACLU is one of many organizations dedicated to raising public awareness about the huge number of cases of police brutality. They argue that “the authors of the Declaration of Independence outlined a bold vision for America: a nation in which there would be equal justice for all. More than two hundred years later, this goal has yet to be achieved” (ACLU). This is because people are naive to what happens behind closed doors or simply turn a blind eye to these events. While many may not know it, “despite the fact that whites commit drug crimes at a higher rate than blacks, blacks are incarcerated for drug crimes at a rate that is 10 times greater than that of whites” (ACLU ). The average individual would not have known this information before reading it, which is why the ACLU provides public numbers to give people something more plausible. The ACLU also insists on one of the most well-known movements today, the “Black Lives Matter Movement”. This movement's "relentless work on the issue of police corruption helped spur the release of four unprecedented U.S. Department of Justice reports confirming the widespread presence of police corruption in Baltimore, Chicago, Ferguson and Cleveland." (ACLU). This is a perfect example of how to raise public awareness of social issues such as.