Sarah Causey

Mrs. Hensel
English IV
13 February 2015
Annotated Bibliography: Police Brutality

"2010 Annual Report." PoliceMisconductnet. CATO Institute, 23 Apr. 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
This article gives statistics on police brutality reports in the United States. It offers information
based on police misconducts that were reported from 2009 to 2010. The source shows exactly
what the details of the report were; excessive force, sexual misconduct, theft/fraud, false arrest,
etc. It provides how many fatalities were among the reports filed. The article also shows statistics
based on how many police officers were charged in comparison with how many were convicted
and how long the average sentence was. All of these statistics are compared to those of the
general public.
This source is reliable because it uses factual, current and correct information. It will not only be
useful in my paper, but also in my infographic. This article was written by researchers who
search through media news databases all around America to collect information on police
misconduct that is reported. This information is built up throughout the year for their annual
report.
This article is an excellent source for my research project because it provides statistics on police
brutality in America. It shows that there is a real problem and the judicial system favors law
enforcement officers by comparing the general publics average conviction and sentence rate to
those of police officers. Recognizing this problem is the first step in my project. Although the
report shows various statistics on different types of police brutality I will focus mainly on the
excessive force problem. I will, however, touch on the fact that police officers are not usually
convicted, and rarely are their sentences long. This proves that judicial systems are biased
towards law enforcement officers.
Murgado, Amaury. "Less-Lethal Weapon Options." Police the Law Enforcement Magazine.
Police Magazine, 6 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.

This article provides information on different types of non-lethal weapons. The author gives a
hands-on explanation of how each weapon is operated and what effect it has on the suspect. He
talks about his training on how to use intense beams of lights and flashing strobes. The article
gives information on chemical agents, conducted electrical weapons, projectile weapons, launch
able pepper projectiles, and the risks to non-lethal weapons. The author explains that all nonlethal weapons have the ability to be deadly.
This source is reliable because the author, Amaury Murgado is a special operations lieutenant
with Osceola County (Fla.) Sherriffs Office, a retired Master Sergeant from the Army Reserve,
has over twenty-five years of Law Enforcement experience, and is a lifelong student of martial
arts. He has had personal experiences with each of these weapons. He has seen the suspects after
they have had each of these weapons used on them. He is not biased towards or against the use of
non-lethal weapons. However, he does make a point that they can be deadly if they are misused
or overused.
The information on each type of non-lethal weapon will be excellent for my research project. It
gives me an overview on each one and offers experienced testimony for their effectiveness. He
has also done research and quoted certain organizations and people, such as Ken Good, a former
Navy seal, and Amnesty International, a human rights group. He goes into detail about a time
that he used intense beams of light and flashing strobes where he says, The suspect could see
the flashing light approaching, but could never determine its origin or where the officer was. I
will use more of his testimony in my paper when I describe the tactic.
Meyer, Greg. "Nonlethal Weapons: Early Use Means Fewer Deaths and Injuries." PoliceOne.
Policeone.com, 19 May 2006. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
This article gives me examples of when it is appropriate to use non-lethal force. The author
includes examples of situations where non-lethal force was not appropriate; for example, when a
person on PCP is freaking out and trying to cause harm to officers. He makes a point that the
weapon must be used quickly because postponing it may cause the situation to escalate into
dangerous circumstances where it is no longer applicable. Also included is the fact that on April
30, 1981 the LAPD first adopted the use of the TASER and chemical irritant spray which will be
important to show the rapid growth of non-lethal weapons throughout the years.
This source is reliable because the author, Greg Meyer, is a retired Captain from the Los Angeles
Police Academy. He has served for thirty years, including eight as a commanding officer. He is a
member of the National Advisory Board of the Force Science Research Center, a member of the
Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), and the International Association of Chiefs of Police
(IACP). He also holds the Certified Litigation Specialist credential of the Americans for
Effective Law Enforcement (AELE), and is a member of the AELE seminar faculty for lethal and
nonlethal weapons issued. As you can see he is very involved in law enforcement policies. He
has the experience to know how these weapons are used and accurately determine when it is

appropriate to use them. He is not biased in this article because he accepts and speaks on both
points; that non-lethal weapons can be abused but used correctly they can be very proactive.
The fact that Meyer goes into detail on when non-lethal weapons should be used will be very
effective in my research paper. It also provides quotes that will be useful. For example, when the
Chief of Police of the LAPD state the purpose of adopting these devices, Consistent with the
Department's philosophy of using the minimum amount of force necessary to control violent
suspects, the Department has tested and approved the use of certain nonlethal control devices. It
is anticipated that the use of these devices will result in fewer altercation-related injuries to
officers and suspects. He also goes into detail on what it means to be in a standoff situation in
which non-lethal weapons would be most useful. This article will be very informative for my
research project.