Police Brutality - A violation of Human Rights

Crime after crime, criminals let loose and innocent people being punished. What has the world come to? When there is so much that can be done with power and authority, the ones who hold that superiority fail to use it to benefit the world that's eclipsing into darkness.

From political theft and fraud to false accusations and police brutality. Law enforcement that is meant to protect citizens is used like a UNO reverse card to turn things around when and where they please. Innocent people fall into traps bigger than they had ever imagined and end up not being able to get themselves untangled from the mess, they are penalized to an extent where they seek suicide as the only way out; It's either that or people in power taking their lives away without consent or concern.

Police brutality has been prevalent since the beginning of times. Mayhem, thrashing and torture were very well instigated from the time the British ruled over India; Multiple documentaries and movies try to portray the happenings as realistically as possible.

Aggressive behaviour from people who are meant to protect the welfare of people had soon been mistaken for a natural trait. Despite having good officers who give their all to help, they are overshadowed by the large cloud that is evil, political and loathe driven.

How many people dare to speak up as witnesses to a crime they saw? How many people lodge complaints without trembling with fear and uncertainty?

I know I would feel my bones quiver if I were put in that position.

The world did not know the definition of police brutality until the news of the brutal killing of George Floyd broke the internet. What was otherwise considered normal behaviour from the cops was then realized to be wrong and dangerous on so many levels. It was beyond people how a man was murdered in broad daylight and public (with multiple people watching) without giving him time to explain his side of the story, the man was not given a chance before he was killed because of the colour of his skin. (Currently, Asian lives are being threatened by extreme racists. Everything that happens is somehow catching up to racism which is sick on so many levels.)

After this news was painted across news channels and media, multiple other cases were brought to light which ignited the BLM movement, not only in the United States but all around the world and on digital platforms.

Tamil Nadu recorded the worst case of police brutality when a father and son were thrashed and mistreated inside the walls of a Police station for allegedly having their shop open past the lockdown curfew. CCTV footages show that was not the case. Three acquaintances of the father-son duo stated that they heard cries of the two men for hours as they were tortured. They were taken to a government hospital due to the bad injuries and they were bleeding profusely. They died a day apart from one another which brought about lots of outrage from people, which again died down soon enough.

This very topic of Police brutality is a great violation of basic human rights. So many victims are forced to keep their experiences under the wraps as they fear consequences and threats.

Statistics around the world are shockingly high in every period. Be it in the '20s, '30s, '90s or now.

Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, Daunte Wright and Sagar Chalavadi are only a few people whose cases were brought to light. Despite having CCTV cameras and police body cams, it has been difficult to prove them guilty because of the power and privilege they hold over the victims.

Privilege is a good thing when it's used in the right direction and notion. Some days I feel like I made the wrong choice becoming an engineer, instead, I could have been a part of the law enforcement and made a couple of changes in my meagre power. Some days I think about how the victims could have still been alive if it weren't for ego and racist slurs that pushed their killers over the edge. Some days I think about how the world would be better off without the law trying to hold together what's already fallen apart in shambles.

No amount of good politics seems to lessen brutality, no amount of protest seems enough for people to realise, no amount of articles read seem to burn that to people's brains.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

- Martin Luther King jr.

In loving memory of all the innocent lives lost throughout the years...

- Samyuktha Prasanan, 4th year CSE

#PoliceBrutality #HumanRightsViolation