SER Charts

Sophia Petrillo

SER #1
Summary: My first source was an interview with my criminal justice professor who is an ex
cop. Since he has been in the police field before, he has very strong opinions on the topic when it
came to police brutality. He believes that the media has a huge influence on everyones views of
police and how negative it makes them look. He admitted that there is some slight excessive use
of force, but nothing major like everyone thinks. He also explained to me that the media only co-
vers stories that will catch a readers eye, such as police using excessive force on innocent citi-
zens vs. police doing community service or helping a citizen with something they need. Overall,
he was very one sided about the topic and he did a good job at convincing me to also think the
way that he does.

Evaluation: This source is very useful and convincing considering he was a cop for 27 years. I
plan on using my professors claims in my paper to argue the fact that police arent all that bad.
He is a credible source since he has submerged himself in the police culture and seen it first
hand. I have quotes from him that I will weave into my paper as well.

Reflection: After I interviewed my professor, it solidified my thoughts that police arent that bad
and the media influences how people see them, along with everything else in this world. It was
nice being able to talk to someone who actually knows what they are talking about and have that
experience in the police force.

Citation: (C. Johnston, personal communication, September 28, 2017)

SER #2
Summary: My second source is an article on President Trumps standing on police brutality. He
states that there should be more brutal actions towards prisoners since they are too nice and
law enforcement agencies disagree heavily. He said things like police dont need to put their
hand over peoples heads when putting them into the police car which didnt sit right with the
officers, so they lashed back. Trumps comment was meant to be humorous but the police dont
want any more bad press than they already have so they made sure to let all of the viewers know
that they take their jobs very seriously and dont take brutality instances lightly.

Evaluation: This seems to be a reliable source to use for my project because the writer seemed
to be very knowledgable about the topic, and he even used evidence such as screenshots of
tweets and a video clip from President Trumps speech where he tells the police they are too
nice. Like my first source, there are lots of quotes in here that I can weave into my paper very
easily.

Reflection: After reading this, I thought that it was a different way of viewing my topic which I
liked. It shows the other side of the spectrum that some people believe that the police arent even
brutal at all, but instead too nice. Although it was intended to be a joke by the president, the po-
lice dont want people to see them negatively so they needed to clear that up, which shows they
care about their people that they are protecting.

Citation: Rosenthan, B. (2017, July 29). Police Criticize Trump for Urging Officers Not to Be
Too Nice With Suspects from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/29/nyregion/trump-police-
too-nice.html

SER #3
Summary: My third source is myself. I have been doing undergraduate research through Ari-
zona State for the Tucson Police Department in which I contact people who have had recent con-
tact with the police and give them a survey on how the felt about the interaction. Through doing
this, I have learned that many people that have had contact with the police dont think see them
in a negative way. This study could be biased in way because the survey is optional, so whoever
doesnt want to take doesnt have to. But on the other hand, if anyone had a strong opinion about
the police, they would probably be pretty vocal about it and I havent gotten anyone like that yet.

Evaluation: This is a reliable source for my project because I am talking to people about their
first hand experiences with the police, so they know better than reporters what actually happens
in these encounters. I feel like I am a good source because I have a specific set of questions to
ask everyone to see how the feel about all aspects of the encounter.

Reflection: By doing my undergraduate research, I have learned a lot more about how people
see police, not only in Tucson but in general. I learned that they dont see the police as bad as the
media makes them out to be. I have yet to talk to anyone that has done anything super serious,
but I have talked to over 50 individuals and most of them have had positive experiences when it
has come to talking to police officers.

Citation: (S. Petrillo, Undergraduate researcher, October 2, 2017)

SER #4
Summary: My 4th source was an article recently posted about something that happened years
ago. A black man was arrested and put in the back of a cop car without a seatbelt and ended up
dying in the car due to a spinal cord injury. This article pins the death on the cops that arrested
him, and the driver was given second degree murder charges. The article doesnt go into details
about the arrest or anything that happened on the ride, other than the fact that they were driving
through a neighborhood. We also know that the cops (other than the driver) didnt get charged
for anything and they are able to keep their jobs with no penalties.

Evaluation: By reading this, the author seemed biased towards the victim because there was
nothing in the article about how Gray acted towards the police. There were good points, such as
the fact that the victim was a black male and the cops that arrested him were all white, but that
doesnt automatically make them go after him. The media has a way of having the reader per-
ceive things differently than they actually happened, so we may never know the actual details of
this incident. We also may not know what made this come up 2 years after it happened.

Reflection: By reading this, it made me feel bad for the victim. I think the police are in the
wrong when it comes to not putting the seatbelt on him, because that is in violation of keeping
the suspect safe in their custody. Also with that, though, we arent sure if he resisted them put-
ting it on, considering all we know is that he saw the police and ran. This is on the other side of
my argument because it shows the bad side of some officers, but at the same time it helps my ar-
gument because it shows that the media blows things extremely out of proportion to get readers.

Citation: Bidgood, J. (2017, October 10). 2 Baltimore Officers Face Internal Discipline in Fred-
die Grays Death from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/us/baltimore-police-officers-
freddie-gray.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FPolice%20Brutality%20and%20Mis-
conduct&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&mod-
ule=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection

SER #5
Summary: I chose this photo as my 5th
source because I think it shows what I am ar-
guing perfectly. The photo shows that when
someone is yelling at an officer, it isnt a big
deal. If this was the other way around, it
would be a huge deal and everyone would
know about it within seconds.

Evaluation: I think that this is a credible

source because it is a good photo that relates
to my topic. Plus, it was on a website that re-
lates to my topic and it was used in articles
that argue my point. Photos also grab readers
attention, so this is a good way to do that for
my project.

Reflection: I think this is an important picture because it is relevant in todays society now that
technology is so prevalent. No one wants to stand up for the cops when citizens are in the wrong,
but as soon as the cops stands up for themselves, it is wrong and that shouldnt be allowed. It is a
huge double standard and all of the pressure is on the officers to make sure they keep their image
good in public, or else things can get out of hand on social media very quickly.

Citation: Unknown Artist, (one year ago) http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1035970-police-

brutality-controversies
 SER #6
Summary: As my last source, I am using an article that I found which is supposed to be telling
the reader that police brutality is very prevalent, but it argues both sides within that. The writer
explains a few reasons why cops are brutal, such as they target minorities and that the police
themselves have said they are corrupt. Although he seems very one sided, he also says that its the
fact that they arent trained properly and they are becoming militarized due to what is available
to them, which isnt their choice. The photo at the top of the article is very biased too, because it
is officers dressed in gear for events such as riots. This was put before the article started to start
the reader off with a negative image of police.

Evaluation: I think this is a credible source for my project because it is on The American Con-
servative website, which is a good source for articles like this. They used many sources and sta-
tistics throughout the article to argue their point which makes me believe what the author is say-
ing, even if some of it are points that I disagree with since it is very biased.

Reflection: After reading this, it made me think about all of the bad publicity that police get
without doing anything wrong half the time. Everyone makes mistakes, but no one knows the
circumstances in each situation so it isnt fair to make articles bashing them. I chose this because
it shows the bad side of the police department on social media, which is expected. This can be
something I can refute by explaining how the writer makes points against his intended argument
and how that shows that it isnt the officers fault on how they are taught. This was also an older
article, so I can put this against my other articles that are more recent and compare.

Citation: Kristian, B. (2014, July 2). Seven Reasons Police Brutality is Systemic, Not Anecdotal
from http://www.theamericanconservative.com/2014/07/02/seven-reasons-police-brutality-
is-systematic-not-anecdotal/