ANNOTATED BIBLYOGRAPHY

Annotated Bibliography
Source One
Authors: John Wihbey and Walter Kille
Excessive or reasonable force by police? Research on law enforcement and racial conflict

This article, written by John Wihbey and Leighton Walter Kille, is an over view of the
excessive racial force used by police. The authors begin this article by reminding us about the
many cases that have happened throughout the past two years. Kille and Wihbey, explain the
controversy that went along with each of the incidents and how the incidents have a pattern of
racial disparities and discriminatory intent. They recognize that we as people are now noticing
it! We are now understanding that there is lack of training for officers and there are too many
violent confrontations. John and Walter move to two different sides that are entirely different.
According to surveys recently done, within minority groups there is lack of confidence in our
law enforcement. The driving factor of such is the likely hood of the use of excessive force on
suspects. Not only in recent event, but historically speaking. Social scientist studies reveal that
there has been a deep sense of mistrust embedded in many communities, not even some here and
there but globally. There are things that higher officials are trying to make in order to regain
trust and confidence in the system, although, with deep seeded mistrust it takes time, patience,
and change. Especially since these excessive force stories and events are posted everywhere, a
constant reminder. John and Walter turn the article over to a statement made by a FBI Director
explaining an "indisputable reality... we do not fully know The Director spoke about Ferguson,
and his own personal investigation on finding some sort of pattern or trend. He stated that
reporting is voluntary. With that being said, when he was trying to find information it wasnt

accessible due to the lack of reporting. The data was incomplete and unreliable. (Personal note:
that is a problem). The director said that the first step is to gather more and better information,
of not only arrest but of those who confront us. Without the data we are hopeless in finding
change. We will not be able to address any problems without fully recognizing the problem at
hand. The director wraps it up by saying we cant fully understand the force that is used by
police without the information. Training for the police is most standardize and professionalized
than what it was before, including full and useful background checks, despite this inadequate
data and reporting is a huge problem. John and Walter say it challenges the defining excessive
force versus justified force, making understanding the circumstances difficult. A report from the
justice department found that officers do not receive regular check ups on the departments deadly
force policy. The early training a cop might of had could very well be inadequate and they are
running amongst the streets without proper training. Even if they did have the proper training,
check ups need to be mandatory. John and Walt move the article over to a statistic point of view.
Lack of recoding and reporting alter the actual statistics but the available data raises questions
and interest. Racially speaking, the rate black people are killed triples the amount white people
are killed by law enforcement. The characteristics of the suspects that mainly have excessive
force on them, unfortunately, is already guessed. Minorities. From a report by ProPublica, it
states exactly, The 1,217 deadly police shootings from 2010 to 2012 captured in the federal data
show that blacks, age 15 to 19, were killed at a rate of 31.17 per million, while just 1.47 per
million white males in that age range died at the hands of police. Research has specifically
established that recall profiling by law enforcement definitely exists. An officer instinctively
feels one way towards a race than an other due to the fact of how many arrest they have made
towards that race. So, the more black arrests they have made, the more they go for the black

community. After years of this, it becomes embedded in their work. Despite that this has been
recognized, there are still mixed results and feelings towards the actuality of the matter. Tasers
should be used more often, rather than reaching for the gun. It can reduce the statistical rate of
injury and fatality. The only fatalities from tasers involved many uses of the taser. The use of
body cameras have increased drastically as well as dash mounted cameras in police cars. The use
of body cameras was to increase the transparency in interactions between law enforcement and
civilians. The force of officers fell by 60% when body cameras became mandatory. The police
department that requited all officers to wear said cameras complaints dropped by nearly 90%!
Despite the high success rate of using them, there are concerns to go along with them, somehow
health and safety effects come into play as long as privacy concerns for both citizens and the
police.
This is a fantastic source! Very creditable! The main factor was an emotional drive,
pathos. It was seen in many parts of this article. The beginning had the most impact where the
authors reminded us of all the incidents that have happened from excessive force used by police.
There were many parts from this article where I was angry, from the statistics where for every
one white person killed by the hands of cops, three black people were killed. The lack of data
and reporting from cops! The undesirable want of using a body camera, from lack of privacy!
Not like retail workers, bank tellers, even retail workers are constantly monitored. Logos also
appeared in this writing from the huge part of statistics featured here. This source is fantastic.
Every author, source they used, people they got quotes from were linked in their article! This
source provides me with many forms of statistics. A wide variety of sub divisions to branch off
of. The authors covered a wide range of subjects dealing with this problem and has the original,
credited source they used! The source itself is pretty objective, it is very this is what is wrong,

this is why it is wrong, this is what we are doing, this is what can be done, type of work. Very
informative. The strengths include the wide variety this article has to offer, the use of many
sources, and the content of the paper. The weaknesses would be too much variety and not
enough clean focus on one topic. Someone who is trying to get a good overview of what
excessive force is would use this.
I plan on using this paper for the statistics offered. The branches off of the article will
help me with my body paragraphs, such as the use of lethal weapons and the use of body
cameras had on the attitudes. Also, the discriminatory drive underlying in cops. This source will
support my argument as to yes police are using excessive force. This is a great source and it
different from my others by having the outlook of police being excessive rather than they may be
they or not, or even the definition of excessive.
Cite:
Wihbey, John, and Walter Kille. "Excessive or Reasonable Force by Police? Research On law
Enforcement and Racial Conflict - Journalist's Resource." Journalists Resource.
28 Oct.
2015. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.

annotated Bibliography second source

What is excessive force
Author: Sascha Segan
This article was an explanation of what excessive force truly means with two examples.
We are may see something that we may agree one we are quick to jump to the conclusion that it
is the cops fault and that they are in the wrong more so than the civilian. Although, that may be
the case, Sagan describes the two cases where excessive force is portrayed and rebut the
argument of its not the cops fault. The first case that was introduced was in Philadelphia with a

description of the scene. The suspect was beaten and kicked once caught from running away.
The second case given was in Georgia, the description of the incident was a drunken civilian
getting beaten when being unresponsive. Unfortunately, Segan states there is no direct concert
definition of excessive force. Also, the Segan explains how excessive force is a slippery
metaphor. We may see it as force that is unreasonable and unnecessary but we are not in there
shoes, we are not in that position to judge. Although, police are trained to use the amount of
force determined necessary to subdue the suspect. There are levels described that are reviewed
by police and then police review boards, and rarely civil lawsuits that guess what force should be
taken. Segan grabbed hold of Mark Henriquez, a project manager of the national Police Use of
Force Database Project at the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and his quote
explained that the exact meaning of excessive will be different depending on the jurisdiction and
event. Segan then gives us statistics from Henriquez on the charges of excessive force. Segan,
not agreeing with the information Henriquez gives her rebuts that with information she gains
from Alison Collins, a reported who got a story on police brutality. We move to the point of
view of the police. Segan describes that it is up to the cops to figure out is they are being
threatened, or even the people around them, then they determine the force that is necessary for
the attempted arrest. Then once that is rejected, what force is necessary for the resisting arrest.
Segan got a quote from James Powers, saying that once a suspect is arrested and the compliance
is gained, anything besides the arresting is excessive. Force continuum is explained and seems
to be the driving cause of police actions. Powers explains the gradual levels the cops force goes
through. The first is verbal, from polite request to loud demands. Moving from that to chemical
sprays, and if that doesnt do, then police advance to physical force, lastly, lethal force. Powers
says the force the police is using should match the suspects. Segan explains that we forget that

officers can lose their heads in the heat of the situation, stress and adrenaline with a mix of anger
and fear can alter who you are and your actions. Despite this, powers explains that the extensive
training cops are made to go through to prepare them for this situations shouldnt match up to the
amounts of complaints. Once excessive force is used the departments training program and
the officer supervisor may be held responsible. Segan refers back to the two cases in the
beginning of the article using a quote from Collins, explain that yes, police are humans but they
cannot be acting like the ones that they are meant to arrest.
When analyzing this source I noticed it was using an emotional appeal, pathos, in the
beginning, the middle was filled with facts and statistics, logos, and towards the end, it had some
underlying hints of ethical appeal, ethos. The start of the article evokes anger in use by
describing two scenes showing police brutality. Making us feel how these people felt and
throwing us into that situation. Continuing to read the article a part of logos comes into play by
using facts and stats of the amount of cases that have reported excessive force. Towards the end,
the article is wrapped up by giving the reader something to think about by having us think that,
yes these cops are people, but they have not only been through the required training for these
situations, but also they need to be morally above us. I believe the author did pretty well on
explaining their point of view. This article was more of a defining read more so as an argument
piece. I appreciate the fact that she had two contradictory sources in her writing so it wasnt to
biased since she was defining. This source gives me a twist on the definition of excessive force.
It gives me a different point of view from what I have been personally willing to see, so it takes
me off of my own personal view point. The strengths presented in the article is the unbiased
nature of the article and the use of two different sources other than herself. The use of quotes
from both parties will be helpful and credible. The weakness of the source would be the format

of the article, and the website it was on. Those who are wanting to know about the meaning of
excessive force would want to use this source.
This source will be used in my article when I am explaining the definition of excessive
force. Also, if and when I describe some of the scenes where excessive force has been used I
plan on using this source. The two other sources found in this article will be used since their
input was very valuable and creditable. This article will be used to help shape by argument by
simply shinning a light on the meaning of excessive force from a civilians point of view. This
source is different because it is defining rather than trying to form an argument, but it gives my
paper the starting definition that I need.
Cite:
Segan, Sascha. "What Is Excessive Force?" ABC News. ABC News Network, 14 July 2015.
Web. 25 Nov. 2015. <http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96509>.
Annoted bib source 3
The use of body cameras
Author: Mark Meredith
This article is about an incident a body camera caught that lead to suspension of an
officer. Mark describes the scene, an officer using excessive force. The officer pressing down a
suspect with him knee without any restraint from the suspect. The officer was later suspended
once the videos were reviewed. The video placed on the website of the excessive forced used,
you can hear the man on the ground saying he is trying to breathe. The cameras are only being
used less than 30% of the time. This incident is a constant reminder of why and how important
body cameras are and how they can keep an eye on officers. This department is planning on
expanding their use of body cameras.

This article and video had a very pathos appeal to it. The video itself wakes people up to
the actuality of some cops actions and the reality of what happens behind close doors. The
specific evidence used in this source is the video. It shows on film, live action, of what happens.
The source is useful for showing the reality in why we need body cameras and that excessive
force actually exist. I dont believe the source lies in an objective or biased manner, more of a
sense of showing what is possible. The strength of the source is the video of the act happening.
The weakness would be lack of depth put into the article. Dont get me wrong, it covers what
needed to be covered, I just wanted it to go farther. Those who are wanting to find evidence of
excessive force needs to check this out.
This will fit into my paper by supporting my argument on why body cameras are
important and should be mandatory. It also goes along with one of my other sources by
supporting the cause of body cameras and the positive outcome that will come from them. This
source is a direct use of cause and effect that I need for one of my body paragraphs and it
supports one of the sub divisions from a previous source to make it stronger.
Cite:
Meredith, Mark. "Body Camera Video Shows Denver Police Officer Using Excessive Force."
FOX31 Denver. 13 Mar. 2015. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.
<http://kdvr.com/2015/03/12/video -surfaces-showing-officer-using-excessive-force/>.
Annotated Bib source 4
Vice documentary: fixing the system

This documentary is an overview on Americas way of punishment when it comes to

dealing with criminals. The documentary begins by bringing in families of those that are
incarcerated by the police, one man says that it doesnt take 20=30 years to rehabilitate someone.

Not even 5 years when it is done correctly and efficiently. America incarcerates more people
than any other country on earth. There has been a 700% increase since the 70s, we spend about
80 billion a year to help the over crowded nature of the prisons and the upkeep. Eric Holder, the
former U.S. attorney general, came to speak and shine light on the matter. Eric explained that our
American incarceration system is unfair, in many way. Especially in minority based
communities. He explains that those living in minority based communities see the justice system
and police treat their peers to harshly, and spend to much time in jail or being held in jail. It
builds up resentment. The spark is ignited in those whenever they hear of excessive force being
used, or see it happening in this own community. Eric uses Ferguson as an example, and tells
what he learned from over seeing it. He learned that Fergusons justice system was fatally flawed,
it was designed to arrest people to fund the government. They put quotas on cops to keep the
fines and tickets building up. The people of Ferguson we saying it wasnt even just about
Ferguson its all over the country. Then the documentary moves to other parts of the country.
Specifically Baltimore, where Freddie gray was killed from the excessive force from the hands
of the police. The interviewer of Eric asked him what is going on with police, Eric replies that
we are at a cross road, a divide exists between people of colors and the justice system. Too many
assumptions are made just due to the color of their skin. Police officers are beginning to speak
up. Sergeant Michael Wood explains what happened when he was in the force; he explained that
when he was apart of the department, he had the best squad. Why? Due to the fact that they had
the most arrest! The stats of most of the arrest was from black males from the ages of 18 to
around 26 years old. Michael admits that they arent even the ones solely committing the crime,
those are the ones that they are superficially designed to target. White and blacks carry the same
amount of narcotics, and if Michael and his team ransacked a white neighborhood, he confesses

that he is sure they would find the same things, but if he were to go around and lock up the said
people in high income neighborhoods (and primarily white) he would most likely have high
powered lawyers coming after the department getting the issues sweeper under the rug. (Side
note for me: Correlate this with the missing data) The show moves to the affects video cameras
and smart phones have on the awareness of the excessive force displayed by police. Despite the
reality of people in the black community have been dealing with this for as long as they can
remember. Obama even states that the criminal justice system isnt as it should be, he says its
not as fair, as smart, as equal.
The mass appeal of this documentary is an equal display between pathos and ethos. The
ethos point makes this source extraordinarily creditable. The people brought into the
documentary are very prestigious and respected officials. When asked questions they do not
firmly say yes or no, they provide background and different point of views in their answer.
Pathos is a high influenced factor in here, probably not the main goal, but a huge underlying
theme. Getting the families of those who were affected was heartbreaking and gave the viewers a
different point of view to look through. Showing real life clips and events throughout the
documentary awakes the forgotten anger. This source had many speakers, facts, and primary
sources. They grabbed people who were highly respected, people who were apart of the
problem, and those who were advocating the cause. This source is useful by giving me a very
great friend to hang out with in my paper. The creditability and realness of this source will give
my paper a sense of reality and anger I need. This source can be taken in a biased sense, due to
the fact that this is what they are supporting, although this source isnt mainly about excessive
force, more about the system. The strengths provided in the source is the copious amounts of

reliable information and respected speakers with accurate information. The weakness of this
source would be the fact that the documentary wasnt primarily about my topic, just some tidbits.
This source will fit into my paper by giving me reliable information, points of view from police
that I need. Also, many other respected sources that will make my paper strong. I plan on using
this source whenever I am describing what excessive force is, and the drive behind it. I plan on
using Michael Woods input since he was a sergeant. This source goes along with my others by
providing me quotes and information to support my other sources.
Cite:
Mahre, Bill. "Fixing The System." Vice. 27 Sept. 2015. Television.

Annotated Bib source 5

Hey Ferguson protesters: Police Brutality is not the problem
Author: Sunil Dutta
Sunil Dutta begins the article by describing the scene of the Ferguson riots; but instead of
showing the protestors side, Dutta shines a light on the fatalities the police have faced since then.
Dutta explains that the protestors heated rhetoric about the brutality is harmful, since the facts
can be distorted, saying it makes police brutality seem a lot worse than what it actually is. Police
using force during arrest is very small and rare from the studies and data concluded between
2003-2009. Although the data is incomplete, dutta states it is probably still an under count.
Regardless, the data suggest that homicides by police are rare. Those homicides committed by
police are also justifiable since the extensive training they endure makes them more professional.
The use of force apparently wont be solved by protesting, but instead we need to just stop

committing crimes and needing police! Protestors need to stop asking for criminal justice but
instead work for change and a political movement that included civic participation.
This article is heavily flooded with pathos. Sunil is trying to persuade us into believe that
no cops are not the problem. The protestors and neighborhoods are. This article is made us to
turn our backs on the protestors and view it from the police point of view. Sunil provided
statistics to back up the facts stated in the writing, and also offered other sources and articles to
back him up. This source is useful to me because it gives me a different point of view than what
I have been focusing on. The article is extremely biased. The strength isnt necessarily in the
article, but more how I will use is. The weaknesses of the writing are the poor vocabulary. I
believe it could have been more eloquent, also, the data doesnt really add up to me.
I choose this article because I needed an opposite view point of where I stood. I was
becoming too focused the excessive force and brutality modeled by police; I needed something
to even it out. This will fit in perfectly whenever I use to it argue where I stand on the matter. It
helps me shape my argument by refuting the evidence provided in this article. This differs from
all my other sources because I am able to see a different side of the matter and gives me
something to argue with.
Cite:
Dutta, Sunil. "Hey Ferguson Protesters: Police Brutality Is Not the Problem." Washington Post.
The Washington Post, 30 Dec. 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.
Annotated Biblyography source six
How Police training contributes to avoidable deaths
Author Seth Stoughton

This read provides insight to the training that is programing police to act the way they do.
Seth explains that yes, there have been to many lives lost from the hands of police, mainly young
black men. He explains that this isnt due to the fact that police are racially motivated or they
dont believe black lives dont matter but more about thats the way they were trained to
behave. Seth was an officer at a large police department and also researches policing. His
conclusion from his extensive research was: America officers are the best trained, but what they
are being trained is a problem. It all begins in the academy. The officers safety is always put
first, almost a religious significance, Seth states. The ultimate goal at the end of the night is for
the officer to go home. The job they are in is violent and hostile. Knowing this, during training
these upcoming officers are shown dash cam footage of officers being beaten, assaulted,
disarmed due to inattention or hesitation. Then after being shown that mind altering and
traumatizing footage, they are told that the reason why that just happened was the officers fault.
Lack of vigilance was how it was put. Seth is trying to get across that the point of the training is
for those kids to leave the room thinking I wont ever let that happen to me. The training then
moves to more of a hands on approach. The main focus of these hands-on exercises is to teach
the trainees that hesitation is fatal. Therefor, officers are trained to shoot even before the threat is
fully recognized. If you wait for the last moment, then that might be your last. But this doesnt
excuse mistakes. Occasionally training scenarios cover the possibility of the object in the
suspects hand could be anything but a gun. Despite this, the risks of mistakes are far less than
the risk of hesitation. In police shootings, very few of them are from anger or frustrating or even
hatred. The main drive is fear. Why is this? They are in charge, they are the law. Its due to the
fact that they are programed to have fear be their main motivation for attack. They are taught to
expect the worst. Seth gives the read a specific incident where a police shot a person casually

swinging a BB gun back and forth. He shot because he saw the suspect had a gun. The officer
saw what he was trained to see, defends Seth, they did what they had been taught to do. That is
the problem. Police training needs to stretch farther than fear. Despite the statistics of police
causalities, policing now is safer than ever. Seth then breaks down the numbers and states that
the likely hood of a police officer actually dying, in the whole grand scheme of things, is highly
unlikely. Instead of having the constant though of I might die today (which is still important to
think about, still take you job seriously) officers should have in their mind that there are low
chances of anything fatally happening to me. Training needs to cover racial biasedness that is
present in police. Seth wraps up the article by saying change will happen once fingers are
stopped pointed and all together, identifying factors that contribute to the use of force, then
solving them will evoke change.
This article screams logos and ethos. The statistics and facts drive me towards logos but
the emotional theme driving this article is all ethos. The fear inflicted on these rookie officers
was scary for me to think about. The fear driven into them from the start is worrisome, then Seth
backs it up by providing statistics of the likely hood of something fatal happening to them. Seth
uses his personal experience and his research to back up his information. The fact that he went
through all of this himself makes it a useful source. It is biased because he is fighting against the
training and stating that it does need to change. The strengths would be that he is a primary
source, and it is every emotionally driven. The weaknesses would have to be that he didnt
include other sources. Those who are wanting to know the flaws of the training police go
through need to read this.

This source fits perfectly in my paper by showing us a driving factor of excessive force.
Yes, racism comes into play but so does the training. This will support my argument by giving
me another spin to work of off.

Cite:
Stoughton, Seth. "How Police Training Contributes to Avoidable Deaths." The Atlantic. Atlantic
Media Company, 12 Dec. 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.

Annotated bibliography source seven

Police use of force the impact of less-lethal weapons and tactics
Author Philip Bulman
A new study has been released that using less lethal weapons will decrease the rate of
officer induced injuries. Back in the 19th century that is all cops had, like wooden clubs but as
time progresses the weapons got more intense. Makes sense really though. Because these
weapons are not only being used by the police, but criminals have a hold of them as well. Using
force with police is nothing new, and with force injury is likely. From a different study, between
15 to 20% of arrest deal with force. As stated before, as time progresses weapons do as well. So,
the advances in less deadly weapons may be more effective and , of course, better for resistive
suspects. Two of the most popular ones include pepper spray, conducted energy devices, and the
taser. Although those are great alternatives, with everything, moderation is key. Philip then
provides statistics and the affect of what happened when police departments use less lethal
weapons. The combined analysis was exactly what the goal was. The use of pepper spray and

CED decreased the suspect injury by nearly 70%! Although, some officers got hurt from the
backfire of the pepper spray. Unfortunately some more problems occurred with that, taser didnt
work, or they did not have the desired effect. Philip then provides us with the suspects
perception of less lethal weapons. Some of the suspects stated that excessive force was still
used. Others claimed that the use of the less lethal weapons were premature or unnecessary. Of
course training will be required for these weapons, as it is for other weapons. CED is the most
controversial one since they can easily be used inappropriately. With proper training and
monitoring that shouldnt be a problem though. Although, you would think that would be the
case for guns, as well.
This article had a strong logos appeal to it. I felt no emotion driving the reader into the
direction they wanted us to go, rather than stating facts and using logic to get their point across.
This source used statistics, interviews, events, and the affect less lethal weapons had. I see this
source as being objective. The strengths are how in depth the author goes. That was really
appreciated. The weakness of this source would be the very broad statistics in some parts of the
read. Those who are wondering what other alternatives cops can use besides guns need to look
this up.
This will fit right into my paper by providing me with the information I need when
explaining the alternative methods cops can use to decrease the excessive force allegations
against them. This source is going to help my argument because it shows the positive effect the
less lethal weapons had on the departments. This source compares with other sources by
supporting the fact that cops are excessive and things need to change. Despite that, police
training still needs to be changed. Missions need to be focuses on keeping communities safe and
free from fear rather than getting rid of what causes you to have fear. The deep racial tensions

between law enforcement and minorities will only be fixed through positive community
involvement.
Cite:
Bulman, Philip. "Police Use of Force: The Impact of Less-Lethal Weapons and Tactics."
National Institute of Justice. 3 Mar. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.
Source eight
Three cases
Authors: Catherine Shoichet and Alina Machado
This article is describing multiple cases where police were too excessive. Mauled by a
police dog, mentally ill man shot to death after family asks for help, police fatally shooting a
man because of suspicion of drunk driving. Does race come into play when it comes to the
amount of force they use? These three cases are the center of attention when that question is
asked. Not only do these cases involve an unnecessary, and fatal amount of force, the victims
were all African- American men. The authors go into great detail of each incident and the
amount of force that was used.
This article has a high emotional appeal. This article provides us with 3 different cases
that strikes anger and sympathy inside of us. They use 3 incidents that they have on record and
or on tape. This source is useful to support my argument by giving me 3 cases showing that
excessive force is apparent. It is pretty biased. The strengths include 3 cases that I havent heard
of, so the new information makes me pretty mad. The weaknesses would include not having
enough information on each case.
This source fits into my paper in one of my body paragraphs because it gives me
examples of when police are excessive. Its shapes my argument by supporting my statement of

police actually being excessive with 3 cases that were necessarily blown up like Ferguson or
Freddie Gray. This source will support my other sources by giving it evidence.

Cite:
Machado, Alina, and Catherine Shoichet. "Did Police Use Excessive Force? A Look at 3 Cases CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 10 Apr. 2015. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.