Originally Posted by
Argumemnon
So they're either strongly biased against these minorities or, I suppose, the minorities are so dangerous and difficult to handle that the cops have no choice but to be more violent towards them.
Gee, I wonder which of these two options you're going for.
Both, with a strong lean toward the second one.
I think they're reacting to the reality of how these groups are and then eventually the cops who are exposed to that reality long enough take on the strong bias you're referring to.
It's a strong bias rooted firmly in reality, and therefore nothing I'd worry about eliminating (other than by trying to reach a situation where white police only have to police white citizens)
But, sadly, sometimes that bias does end up negatively impacting blacks and Mestizos who aren't deserving of that sort of treatment. Generally, the bias is going to shut off pretty fast if the cop encounters a black or Mestizo who is polite, well dressed, obeying the law in all but the most minor ways... etc. Very rarely though, and I mean VERY rarely - there will be a white cop who has let the bias get so out of hand that he would even be a huge jerk to a black or Mestizo person who is fully non-deserving of it. Honestly though, cops like that are probably the power-trip types who treat white citizens that way too (assuming they're in a position to encounter any) and it's just sort of the bias flavoring and amplifying that pre-existing trait.