@doejack202:

I agree with you that militarization is the cause of brutality in the modern policing system. While community oversight, transparency, education and training can aid in preventing the use of excessive force and brutality, ultimately these will not fix the underlying issue of our police forces becoming more and more militarized.

Militarization takes form in the equipment and training that police are given. They have become armed with high-powered rifles, body armor and a wide array of non-lethal weapons. This allows them to crush any criminal opposition they may encounter. However this places the police on a pedestal that removes them from the community around them. It creates the image that the police are enforcers, rather than partners of the community. While this view is often perpetrated by the community it can also get into the heads of the officers themselves.

With this image of power and righteous force the police are more likely to participate in acts of brutality. Their military capabilities means that they will not suffer physical harm, although they may get punished within the department. It leaves them with a false sense of superiority and they can often create justifications for their acts of brutality.

The problem lies not within the things that we need to add to police culture but rather the things we need to remove from police culture. It is important to understand that if we take away the “war” mentality the police will no longer view citizens as enemy combatants. With this out of the way we can work towards creating a functioning relationship between the police and the community.