In society, some people decide to work what we deem as ‘normal jobs’ these are jobs that work steady hours in a reasonably safe work environment. Some people through out the course of history as well as today, continue to go above and beyond what is required of them and in many cases place their jobs, freedom and even their own lives on the line. People who take justice into their own hands and may break the law in doing so for the common good are known as vigilantes. Although it is the job of the police to hold people accountable for their actions if they break the law, when vigilantes feel as if the police are not doing their job they take justice into their own hands. Vigilantes perform their work extrajudicially. This gives them a bad reputation due to the fact that in our nation we have a constitution that calls for all people to be given a fair and speedy trial.. In the film Dirty Harry it is made clear that many times shortcuts must be taken to achieve justice. In the 2017 NYPD use of force report the creators use ethos, pathos and logos and other rhetorical devices to get their point across. In the report the department stresses that extrajudicial violence is not authorized.
The NYPD’s use of force report is meant to give the public and inside look and a review of incidents that happened in 2017 in regards to use of force. One of the main objective of the report is to show the public that the NYPD has every thing under control and is a fair and just organization. One thing that is meant to grab the attention of the reader was the front cover and the back cover of the report. On the front cover you see the image of the Statue of Liberty and also in the picture you see the Freedom Tower. The Freedom Tower is something that was also rebuilt in a great way after such a horrible tragedy. The department may have used the Freedom Tower to metaphorically show how after the tragedy of Eric Garner and other mis-uses of force, that the department has rebuilt and re-invented itself. On the back cover we are shown the Freedom Tower from the opposite angle as well as the Statue of Liberty this is meant to show that we have seen all angles of the report and everything should be transparent. This is a classic example of pathos being used to target the readers emotions. The images that are shown are symbolic images of America and when people see them it reminds us all of what we have in common with one another. We are all Americans but we are all New Yorkers as well.
Inside the report details are released about the levels of force an officer may use and when that use of force is acceptable. The report almost seems as if it is aimed at a police cadet that is attending the academy with all the information that is being thrown at the reader . On page 6 of the report. The three levels of force are shown and in big numbers on the right hand side it is purposely made clear that most of the cases that the department has responded to are level one uses of force. Level one is classified as less lethal strikes such as physical strikes. Level one cases made up 89 percent of the total uses of force compared to level three which is deadly force, deadly force made up only 3 percent of cases. This is an example of the creators of the text using logos to emphasize their point. They used factual data and numerical data in order to get their point across. This allows readers to take a look at the undisputed statistics or concrete evidence. This helps further the point of the creators that the NYPD is a reformed department that tries to take every step possible before having to use deadly or near deadly force.
The report establishes clear guidelines and the levels of force to be used. If an officer doesn’t follow the proper protocol the report establishes the steps necessary that hold an officer accountable. These include the different investigation units that have been designed to investigate officer over usage of force. These include units such as Internal affairs, Force Investigation Division and the Risk Management Bureau. The report also explains clearly the duties of each member and level of the department. For example on page 9, there is a list of the ranks such as immediate supervisor and duty captain. The responsibilities are listed for these positions for them to make sure a proper investigation is not corrupted or tainted.
The NYPD put hours of work into making this report seem perfect. After many instances of police brutality or mis-uses of force the NYPD wants to show that it a department that is back to conducting normal business and that it is a department that treats all people equally. This can be seen by the letter by the commissioner on one of the first pages. Not only is there a letter that explains the report but it also includes a picture of the commissioner. This letter from the commissioner is another form of ethos. The commissioner is the top dog at the NYPD. The commissioner is someone the public should be able to confide in because he is an appointee of the mayor (someone that the public elected) They include this letter from the commissioner to familiarize the public with the police commissioner to include a face behind the department. It allows the creators to express the idea that the commissioner is in charge and he is overseeing everything that the report is talking about.
In the film Dirty Harry, Harry is an inspector in the San Fransisco Police Department who must not only act as the towns hero against crime and villains but he must also take on the corrupt and lazy forces within his own department. Many of these corrupted and lazy officials hold brass level positions at the top of the department and even extend all the way through to the mayors office. The film establishes that the main villain/criminal is based upon the zodiac killer. In the film, the creators try to portray this man as such a vile person. In the film (1971) the zodiac killer towards the end of the movie right before the final showdown the killer hi-jacks a school bus full of children torments and abuses the middle aged woman school bus driver and even hits a young child who is crying for his mother.This makes the viewer feel sorry for the victims. The creators do this to incorporate pathos and try to target the viewers emotions. Most viewers would automatically not support a person who attacks a woman just trying to do their job and a child.
Dirty Harry is seen as the hero in the film. The only man in the department thats fit to do the job for example he is a middle aged man who can still jump over fences that are way taller than him. Also, when Harry is partnered with a new officer he makes it clear that he believes that his partner isn’t fit. He cites that his college degree will definitely help him become a better cop. Many times Dirty Harry is seen risking his own life such as jumping on a moving school bus on the highway and coming face to face with the killer who has a loaded gun.
In the film, it is made clear that in order to achieve justice, shortcuts must be made. When the killer has a girl in his possession and her whereabouts are unknown to law enforcement Dirty Harry is on pursuit of the killer. When he finally takes a hold of the killer and the killer is wounded, Harry persistently asks the killer where the girl is because her life was in danger. The killer refused to give up the location of the girl and Harry seemed to wound the killer a little bit more causing him more pain. It is shown as Dirty Harry going against the constitution because when the killer asked for his lawyer Dirty Harry kept interrogating.
Both the NYPD Use of Force Report and the movie Dirty Harry (1971) show different angles of the way law enforcement conduct themselves. In the Use of Force Report it is made clear that officers are to follow the correct procedure or they will be investigated and possibly terminated from employment. In the case of Dirty Harry, it is shown that even though his supervisors are telling him to follow the rules it is made clear that the brass of the department are lazy officers and that Dirty Harry must do what it takes to preserve justice in the city. Even if it means taking shortcuts during emergencies or even putting his own body on the line. The creators of these publications have incorporated multiple rhetorical devices to try and get their own points across. The main question between these two publications is what makes a good cop? Is it someone who follows the rules and guidelines set forth for them? Or is a good cop someone who achieves justice no matter the cost?
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