Quotes / Police Brutality

Comic Books

Inspector McNab: Right you, off your arse. Where is he?
John Constantine: He's folded up in the sofabed with your missus, constable.
[McNab sucker-punches him in the guts]
Inspector McNab: That's inspector to you, tosser. Detective-Inspector McNab, Knock-Your-Fucking-Teeth-Out Division.

— Hellblazer: Son of Man

"It's a show of power. How dare anybody ignore the authority of Civic Center? How dare a bunch of freaks try to think for themselves? So let's go out and stomp on children, lunatics, and incompetents, because by damn it makes our balls feel big."

— Spider Jerusalem, Transmetropolitan

Films — Animation

Chief McBrusque: Ah, they wouldn't stand a chance against my boys.
Scuttlebutt: And what makes you so sure?
Chief McBrusque: Well, for one thing, WE DON'T FIGHT FAIR! [chokes Scuttlebutt with his billy club]
Scuttlebutt: Oh. That does make a difference.

— An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island

Mr. Toplofty: Uh, Chief McBrusque, have you [and Scuttlebutt] met?
Chief McBrusque: Well, I don't see any broken bones, so probably not!

— An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island

"What are you doing firing at civilians? That is for the police to do!"

— ParaNorman

Films — Live-Action

Man on the streets: Harassment! I see harassment!
Detective Flass: [points gun at the man] Well, maybe you'd like to see some excessive force!

— Batman Begins

"The use of unnecessary force in the apprehension of the Blues Brothers... has been approved."

— Police Dispatch, The Blues Brothers

"We're the police, sweetheart. Your civil liberties are about to be violated."

— He Died With a Felafel in His Hand

Literature

Mook: This is police brutality!
Detritus: No, dis is just police shouting! If you wanna try brutality it okay by me!

— Feet of Clay

The police captain turned to him. He said to the two burly patrolmen, "Hold him." Michael felt his arms pinned to his sides. He saw the captain's massive fist arching toward his face. He tried to weave away but the fist caught him on the cheekbone. A grenade exploded in his skull. His mouth filled with blood and small hard bones that he realized were his teeth. He could feel the side of his head puff up as if it were filling with air. His legs were weightless and he would fallen if the two policemen had not held him up. But he was still conscious.
The plainclothes detective had stepped in front of him to keep the captain from hitting him again and was saying, "Jesus Christ, Captain, you really hurt him."
The captain said loudly, "I didn't touch him. He attacked me and he fell. Do you understand that? He resisted arrest."

— The Godfather

Those that escape the clawed snatchers are stopped by the roving officers of perdition in their stark black uniforms, who will rummage roughly through your soul for any sign of guilt. They rarely fail to perceive some evidence of culpability, and regularly drag screaming souls off to their noisome dungeons where a peculiar kind of gravity causes their prisoners to fall endlessly down stairs and walk into doors.

— The Log, by Craig Charles

Inside, it's not space that's the biggest problem; it's privacy. The hacks — that's what we called them in New York, back when I was locked up; they call them "cops" in Jersey, "screws" in Massachusetts — who knows what they called them where the cancer-ridden man had done his time — could turn your house upside down just for the fun of it. They liked doing things like that, but they were always careful who they did it to.
If you were someone they hated — and it never took a lot to get on that list — they didn't just search, they destroyed. Tore up precious photographs, letters you would never see again, an art project you'd been working on. Just because they could. Those "soldiers" who played torture-power games with Iraqi prisoners, you think they were from one of the elite fighting forces, like the Rangers, or the Green Berets? Forget that: former prison guards is what they were. They'd had their own off-the-books training, spent their days in a subculture the World never sees. They're not allowed to bullwhip prisoners anymore, so they learned new tricks.
All the power-boys do it. They don't change their attitudes, they just adapt them to fit the times. Ever notice how the cops always scream "Stop resisting!" while they're gang-beating some poor bastard into permanent paralysis, just in case there's some good citizen with a videocam lurking nearby?

— Terminal, by Andrew Vachss

Beating people up in little rooms... [Sam Vimes] knew where that led. And if you did it for a good reason, you'd do it for a bad one. You couldn't say "we're the good guys" and do bad-guy things.

— Thud!

Live-Action TV

Sejanus: I have no need of a trial to prove your guilt.
Gallus: A song sung by every small-town corrupt policeman, which is what you are and what you should have stayed.

— I, Claudius

"What ya gonna do about it, phone the police? Mate, we are the police."

— Limmy's Show

Music

Put on a black hoodie, its hood up on my head.
I didn't have a gun, so why am I dead?
You didn't have to shoot me and that's a known fact
And now I'm laying face down with bullets in my back

— Body Count, "Black Hoodie"

Pull down your dress, here's a kick in the ass
Let's beat you blue until you shit in your pants
Don't move, child, got a big black stick
There's six of us, babe, so suck on my dick

— Dead Kennedys, "Police Truck"

And here's to the cops of Mississippi
They're chewing their tobacco as they lock the prison door
Their bellies bounce inside them when they knock you to the floor
No, they don't like taking prisoners in their private little war
Behind their broken badges there are murderers and more

— Phil Ochs, "Here's to the State of Mississippi"

They call it a sickness
PTSD, depression
Safe in the hands of love
That's where I feel the pressure of
911, 911, 911
Can't trust 'em

— Yves Tumor, "Noid"

Stand-Up Comedy

"Help, it's the police!"

— The Firesign Theatre, "Forward into the Past"

Theatre

Officer Lockstock: Well, there are those who think our methods vicious—
Officer Barrel: Overly malicious—
Lockstock: A bunch of brutes, but it's we who gather for the people—
Barrel: Tavern to the steeple—
Lockstock: Lawful fruits! Our task: Bring a little order—
Barrel: Swindle out a hoarder—
Lockstock: From what he loots, as the book says, "certainly a season"—
Barrel: Trample out a treason—
All: With hobnail boots!

— Urinetown, "Cop Song"

Video Games

"I see... I need your hand to sign this, but... [stomps] I don't care if you end up losing a leg."

— Police Interrogator, Persona 5, should the player initially refuse to sign a False Confession

"Thinking back to the interrogation though... I can't believe what they did to [protagonist]-kun. The callous use of violence and even drugs is utterly abnormal. If he had lost consciousness and hadn't been able to tell Sis about the phone, he would've died..."

— Makoto Nijima, Persona 5

Web Originals

This is also the part where I say "now I know that most cops are good," but I don't. I only know two cops in real life, and they're both badass, but so is anyone I choose to call my friend. Most cops I see abuse their power every day by parking illegally, talking on their cellphones while driving, drifting in and out of lanes without turn signals, flashing their lights to get out of intersections and power tripping like crazy. If you're a cop who's reading this, rather than being butt-hurt by people's perceptions of you, do something to change it. Write a fellow officer a ticket. Stick your neck out for us, rather than your colleague for a change. Do the right thing. We notice.

— Maddox, The Best Page in the Universe, "A message to cops."

We stare racism right in the face as the camera swings up from Jimmy who has bled to death by gunshot wounds and experience Benny getting a vicious beating at the hands of the police (the authority figures!). It's shockingly graphic and Brooks never shies away from the violence... Very cleverly he films some of this scene from our POV so it is literally the audience that is getting beaten up.

— Joe Ford, Doc Oho Reviews, on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "Far Beyond the Stars"

Their manner of speech and the act itself felt incredibly adolescent, as if a scene out of high school. They wanted to show us their gun, show us they were in charge and revel in our submission. The worst part? There was nothing I could do. I asked Ty if it was a good idea for me to go after them and get their badge numbers. He said sure, if I wanted to spend a night in jail.

— Wes Siler, Gizmodo, "A Cop Tried to Kill My Dog Last Night"

Web Videos

"What country gives its police guided missiles!? That's literally more firepower than RoboCop!"

— Gordon Freeman, Freeman's Mind 2

Western Animation

"Sorry, dude. What with the badge, the uniform, and an unchecked sense of authority, I got a little carried away."

— Darwin, The Amazing World of Gumball, "The Sale"

Real Life

Chicago Examined: Anatomy of a 'Police Riot'

— Time magazine, Friday December 6, 1968

"You really don't know what police brutality is until you've seen a lathi charge going in."

— George MacDonald Fraser, on Indian police shortly after WWII

The whole point of having police officers is to maintain law and order, which means they become useless when they decide to arm themselves like a bunch of space soldiers in Halo, roam the streets, aim their rifles at everyone they see, and choke out asthmatic black men. This is bad police work! This is not how you police. We'd be better off arming our cops with lollipops.

— Drew Magary, "The 30 Least Influential People of 2014"

I stood there dumbly wondering what to do. Right in front of me, two men were being knocked about by four men who were, quite simply, enjoying their work. I was also witness to the fact that the victims had not resisted arrest, which of course would be the police explanation for what happened. Cravenly, I got back into the cab. I asked my driver if he would be a witness with me. He shook his head sadly. "I don't want no trouble. This is a mighty dirty town."

— Gore Vidal, "Police Brutality"

...the above named defendant did then and there unlawfully commit the offense of 'property damage' to wit did transfer blood to the uniform.

— Ferguson Police Department (MI), charge sheet for suspect Henry Davis, 1.20.29

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