Police Brutality and Corruption: NWA "Fuck Da Police"

"Fuck Tha Police" is a protest song by the influential rap group NWA. The song was released in 1988 and although it wasn't a single, off the album Straight Outta Compton, it ranked #417 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song proved to be highly controversial as well as gaining tremendous recognition for its vulgar and obscene lyrics. Such lines as: 
Ice Cube will swarm
On any muthafucka in a blue uniform
Just cuz I'm from the CPT, punk police are afraid of me
A young n**** on a warpath
And when I'm finished, it's gonna be a bloodbath
Of cops, dyin in LA

The song highlighted problems between black urban youths and police officers. The song became more powerful, four years after its release, with 1992 LA Riots and Rodney King incident. 

"Fuck Tha Police" wasn't just a regular protest song. It didn't just highlight the problem of police and corruption, it implicitly encourage listeners to fight back. The promotion of violence against police swayed a listener to be with NWA or on the police side. 

"I'm a sniper with a hell of a scope/Taking out a cop or two, they can't cope/with me" and "A sucka in a uniform waitin' to get shot/by me, or anotha n****" 

The song has been covered by several artist and bands from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Dope, and Soulfly. The lyrics have proven, at concerts, to be arousing and effective at rowdy-ing concert goers. On 10th April 2011, New Zealand dub musician Tiki Taane was arrested on charges of "disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence to start or continue" after performing the song at a gig in a club in Tauranga during an inspection of the club by the police.

Michael Jackson - Police Brutality

"They Don't Really Care About Us," is Michael Jackson's fourth single from his album titled: HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1 released on April 1, 1996. Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us" was meant to target racism and police brutality, but its use of anti-semitic words backfired on the King of Pop. The offending words, Jackson claimed, were taken out of context by the media. Nevertheless, the controversy surrounding the song resulted in its little to no airplay in the US. Director Spike Lee directed two videos for the single, one filmed in a Rio de Janeiro favela and the other in a U.S. prison. The song's hand-clap beats and Jackson's embattled voice are a stirring reminder of the social ills which continue to plague Brazilian society, American prisons and the rest of the world. The media's focus on Jackson's misinterpreted anti-semitic lyrics, took away from the protest song in its entirety. Most didn't see it as a protest song, let alone, a song about police brutality. Michael, as well, targeted general injustices of our society. Michael uses clear lines such as 
Tell me what has become of my rights
Am I invisible because you ignore me?
Your proclamation promised me free liberty, now
I'm tired of bein' the victim of shame
They're throwing me in a class with a bad name
I can't believe this is the land from which I came
You know I do really hate to say it
The government don't wanna see
But if Roosevelt was livin'
He wouldn't let this be, no, no


Michael was targeting the government and bringing forth attention to various acts of injustice of the government 

Video shot in Rio

Second version 

Police Brutality and Corruption

It seems almost every week there is a news report on police misconduct. Whether it be police brutality or corruption within local police departments. I read an article that spoke to the brutality the peaceful protesters of the "Occupy" movement across the nation (and now the world) have been facing. I decided to research the statistics of police brutalities and misconducts . I discovered that between April 2009 to June 2010: 5,986 reports of misconducts have been reported. Of those reports 382 were fatalities, and $347,455,000 has been spent in related settlements and judgements. I found it interesting that those who are meant to serve and protect cause a good amount of crime and discontent within communities. Yes, police do a great deal and provide a type of order and structure that if society went without there would be anarchy.

After 9/11 police agencies scrambled to fill spots and vacancies of officers. This probably led to an abundant amount of untrained officers, although this is not an excuse nor explains the reasoning behind corruption or the police beatings. It is also important to note that lack of prosecutions within these cases. 

The Sean Bell case is probably the last decades biggest police brutality case, similar to the Rodney King beating of 1991. This case consisted of three cops firing fifty shots at three unarmed men killing one of them. The three cops were acquitted of all chargers.