Conclusions

There is much to be proud of in the American system of criminal justice.For it is administered largely without regard to the race, creed, or colorof the persons involved. Most officials at all levels attempt to performtheir duties within the bounds of constitutionality and fairness. Mostpolicemen never resort to brutality, thus providing constant proof thateffective law enforcement is possible without brutality. And the greatmajority of American policemen have an excellent record of successfullydiscouraging mob violence against minority group members. Thisrecord shows that policemen who make it clear that they will not toleratevigilante violence can prevent that violence.

Unfortunately, this is not the whole story. The Commission is concerned about the number of unconstitutional and criminal acts committedby agents of American justice who are sworn to uphold the law and toapply it impartially. Perhaps the most flagrant of these acts is the illegaluse of violence. Indeed, a comprehensive review of available evidenceindicates that police brutality is still a serious and continuing problem.

When policemen take the law into their own hands, assuming the rolesof judge, jury, and, sometimes, executioner, they do so for a variety ofreasons. Some officers take it upon themselves to enforce segregation orthe Negro's subordinate status. Brutality of this nature occurs most oftenin those places where racial segregation has the force of tradition behindit. Other types of unlawful official violence are unrelated to race orregion. In Florida's Raiford Prison, recently, guards took the occasionof minor rules infractions to subject prisoners of both races to inhumantreatment. Perhaps the most frequent setting for brutality is found inthe initial contact between an officer and a suspect. The fact that anofficer approaches a private citizen and seeks to question him, to searchhim, or to arrest him, creates a tense situation in which violence mayerupt at any moment. The use of brutality to coerce confessions appearsto be diminishing but has not disappeared.

Complete statistics on the subject of police brutality are not available,but the Commission's comprehensive survey of records at the Department of Justice suggests that although whites are not immune, Negroesfeel the brunt of official brutality, proportionately, more than any othergroup in American society.

The Commission has been concerned with another serious (althoughfar less widespread) dereliction of duty by American police officers2014condonation of or connivance in private violence. Although this practice appears to be on the wane, it has not been totally abandoned. Themost recent victims were the "Freedom Riders" in Alabama. There areAmerican citizens in the Deep South today who live in fear, partly because they do not know if local policemen will help them or the mobwhen violence strikes.

On the other hand, it is encouraging for the Commission to reportthat lynching, another form of mob violence which frequently involvedpolice assistance, may be extinct. Yet, the threat lives on in the memoryof many Negroes.

While the discriminatory exclusion of Negroes and other minoritygroups from juries has diminished during the past century, this badge ofinequality persists in the judicial systems of many southern counties.

By and large, frustration and defeat face the victim of these unconstitutional practices who seeks redress2014for he rarely is able to obtainimmediate or effective relief. A victim of these unconstitutional practices may bring action in a State court to recover money damages fromthe brutal policeman. The record indicates that the prospects for averdict for the complainant in such suits are greater than in other formsof court action either at the Federal or State level. However, mostvictims do not commence legal action against brutal policemen, and oneof the severe drawbacks of such litigation is that even if a plaintiff overcomes the difficulties of trial and is awarded a money judgment, mostmunicipalities are not liable for their officers' misconduct, and the policemen themselves rarely have funds to satisfy a substantial money judgment.

The victim of brutality may also request a local prosecutor to bringcriminal action in a State court against the policemen. For policemen,like ordinary citizens, are subject to criminal penalties ranging fromjail or fines for simple assault and battery up to the death penalty forfirst degree murder. Such prosecutions may have a deterrent effect onpolice misbehavior, but they are rare.

In addition to these State and local avenues of redress there are theFederal Civil Rights Acts, providing both civil and criminal remedies.But suits in Federal courts under these Acts are few...