Police Brutality As a State Violence against Black Women

The subject of Women and Law Enforcement is specifically timely based on the perception that the United States has been through hard experiences, following the death of George Floyd. This incident shows that police brutalities have extended to new levels of public visibility. In this regard, not everyone assents to whether state violence against Black women is unsuitable, but discussions about it are happening everywhere. Women and law enforcement would be incomplete in the absence of putting them at the forefront. In particular, American law enforcement exhibits state-sponsored violence against Black women, as shown by some digital advocacy, such as #SayHerName through Miriam Carey’s case. Regretfully, African American women do not get the same level of care when they suffer from police brutality that black men do. This reason led to the establishment of #SayHerName, despite black women being the largest supporters of black lives matter movement, which is mostly for their men counterparts as a result of structural discrimination.

First, the primary factor that has made African American women not to receive the same care as their male counterparts is structural discrimination. Many American organizations and other relevant officers are guided by this factor when investigating police brutality against black women, limiting them from obtaining the same amount of care as their male counterparts. In this case, most policies about justice, especially those aimed at reducing police brutality, intersect with existing inequality structures to develop a compounded encumber, specifically African American women than men (Nuti, 2019). As a result, black women may encounter specific types of gender discrimination in parts where they pose to be vulnerable. Generally, in the United States, marginalized black women are unable to experience effective care when faced with police brutality due to their gendered position within the community. Such a situation is the central aspect that has made investigative departments reluctant to focus on getting the required information that can be presented in courts to ensure the victims are given the necessary care, such as compensation. This practice is a form of discrimination since, in similar events, involving Black men, investigations are carried out at a faster rate to ensure such victims have been given optimum and positive care.

Secondly, structural adjustments have led to the ineffective establishment of adjustment programs on black women who have survived state violence. According to Kashdan et al., (2017), when everyone experiences harmful events, they are negatively affected, either physically, emotionally, psychologically, or both, thus the need for effective programs to minimize detrimental effects in their future lives. Similarly, African American women subjected to police brutality are left with prolonged scars that negatively affect their lives. This situation calls for the necessity of creating effective adjustment programs in communities to help them heal fully. However, such practice has been restricted by structural discrimination policies that tend to favor black men than women.

In light of Black women and police brutality, Jean (2020) relates to Breonna Shaquille Taylor’s murder, who was shot by Louisville, Kentucky, cops on a “no-knock” warrant. Taylor was a 26-year-old, born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was presently an African-American emergency medical technician (EMT). Also, Taylor’s birthday was being held on 5th June, this year, she was to celebrate her 27th one; however, many individuals aim to make use of that day to remember her. Most importantly, she attended the University of Kentucky that enabled her to fulfill one of her greatest accomplishments about working on the front lines during the onset of coronavirus pandemic for the city of Louisville since she was licensed and award-winning EMT.

However, the three cops linked to Taylor’s case are under administrative reassignment to enable her family to heal. As a result, most people are demanding answers as they stir up the government to do justice not only for Taylor but also for others who have suffered in the same hands of police. Joshua Jaynes, Louisville Metro Police Department Detective, contributed to Taylor’s death since he filed a no-knock search warrant at the victim’s home after a thorough investigation of Jamarcus Glover’s (Taylor’s ex-boyfriend) activities that showed he was a drug trafficker.

On that fateful day, Breonna and Kenneth Walker, her boyfriend, were asleep at their home in St. Anthony Gardens after they heard knocks on the door. After a while, there was constant forcing of the door to open using a battering ram. Since they thought they were thieves, Walker shot at one police officer at the thigh, where the three cops responded with more than twenty-five bullets that ended up killing Taylor. Generally, Taylor’s killing was wrong since the police had just suspected that Glover was making use of her address to send drugs through the post office. This claim implies that there would be a constant investigation to be sure on the allegations that the drugs were being kept at Taylor’s home before continuing with a no search warrant since after gunning down, none was found.