Timetable: Police Deviance and Serious Misconduct in the United States

Abstract

Over the last six decades, a number of sensational incidents involving police corruption, brutality, and serious misconduct have brought these isolated events to the forefront of the national media and created public outcry demanding appropriate judicial attention, enhanced professionalism, and policy reform. Extreme incidents such as the Los Angeles Police Department confrontation with Rodney King and the brutal attack of criminal suspect Abner Louima at the hands of New York City Police Department officers in a police station have resulted in the excessive scrutiny of police leadership, organizational accountability, and professional standards. Many of the more notorious allegations of police deviance involving the New York City Police Department, the Los Angeles Police Department, and other American law enforcement agencies will be described and analyzed in detail. Understanding trends in police deviance since the 1960s and lapses in organizational ethical and professional standards over that time frame will potentially provide insight into criminological and sociological explanations and prospective policy reform measures.