Pepper Spray: The Fourth Level Of Force

The purpose is to explain the necessity and the alternatives to deadly force. Necessity of deadly force will include laws that have been passed by the United States Supreme Court, training methods and policies of Federal, State and Local agencies Alternatives to deadly force are less-lethal weapons that are used by law enforcement today, TASERS, pepper spray, bean bag guns and batons. Does deadly force need to be used against violent suspects?

This use of force matrix utilizes a graded approach whereas an officer will use only the force necessary to exercise and arrest. Law enforcement officers may use that amount of force necessary to effect the lawful purpose intended, provided that no reasonably effective alternative to the use of force appears to exist at the time the force is used. The privilege to use force is not limited to the amount of force necessary to protect themselves or others, but extends to that amount reasonably necessary to enable officers to effect the arrest or otherwise neutralize the resistance of a subject. If a suspect refuses to be arrested the officer will have to utilize a higher level of force dependent upon the suspects actions. For example, if a suspect is resisting arrest, the officer may use a taser or other force methods to arrest the individual. An officer cannot simple resort to higher levels of force without proper justification. Officers must utilize only the force which is necessary and justified. There are times when an armed suspect may prompt an officer to use the highest level of force, deadly force, if he feels him or another person’s life is in jeopardy. The result of not going utilizing his weapon on this use of force scenario could mean death to the officer or the public.

Use of excessive force by police Name Institutional affiliation Introduction This paper will discuss issues related to the use of excessive force by the police. In doing this the paper will look at the concepts such as the need for police officers to use force, the definition of excessive force and causes that contribute

Thinking back to what happened to Amadou Diallo or even Rodney King, how easily could the situation have been handled differently if a Taser gun or pepper spray was used in both incidents? To begin with, If Rodney King was acting unruly, the police could have used the Taser gun instead of four different officers beating him with four different batons then place Rodney in handcuffs since handcuffs are good with “subduing uncooperative and dangerous criminals” (). Along with Rodney King, if Amadou was the suspect the police were looking for and the wallet that they assumed was a weapon, how could they of handled this episode differently? Of course the police could have revealed their weapon to exhibit authority, but if the verbal commands were not being followed by Amadou then action by the police could have taken place.

Use of force continuums Officers have specific training regarding use of force, for this purpose officer’s continuums were developed in the year 1960s. These continuums are based upon the resistance faced by the police officer and the amount of force that can be justified at that particular time. It can be said that he use of force should behave in a linear manner that means the rise should occur from the negligible resistance to increased aggression (Hess, 2009). Law enforcement agencies almost, at all places give policies according to which a police officer can utilize force by

Force by an officer can range from a factor as simple as the tone of their voice to something as controversial as lethal measures. Verbal commands, which are widely considered to be “non-lethal force,” consist of conversational orders and/or verbal threats. The National Institute of Justice states that officers claim to have used a controversial tone with over half of suspects arrested. However, if the nature of verbal contact includes shouting, threats, or cursing, it can very well be considered an element of force. More controversial aspects of force include tasers as well as

the use of excessive force. Many people have witnessed or have become victims of police brutality. In their line of duty, police officers are sometimes faced with threatening circumstances that enable them to make haste decisions when expecting the worst at the same time hope for the best outcome. A police officer is given the power to maintain law and order as well as to take away any right of a citizen when a situation permits (Heydon, 2005). Thus, they have the responsibility to apply the forces in a recommended way. Therefore, police are trained to use the least amount of force necessary to make an arrest by using escalations of force. However, sometimes police exceed the minimum amount required to diffuse an incident or protect them, which leads to misconduct or undue violence when not warranted.

Policing is a dangerous profession. As police officers, we have been entrusted the great responsibility to protect life and property and arrest criminal offenders. “The apprehension of criminal offenders and protection of property must at all times be subservient to the protection of life.” It is our policy to value and preserve human life, to include our own. Efficient and effective use of force can reduce injuries to both suspects and officers. The ultimate goal when applying use of force, is to make an arrest and bring a potentially unsafe situation to a smooth and peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. Many officers preferred that the subject allow himself to be arrested peacefully, but when that is not the case, officers must make

I know Frank from high school, he is a good guy, and it was hard to watch that video. Nonetheless, here is my point of view: Franklin seemed as though he wasn't complying at first, and there was fair warning before the taser was used. However, the officer pulled his

Would you risk your life every day for a paycheck? Maybe you’d be willing to sacrifice your own life to save someone else’s who you don’t even know. That’s what police officers do every time they report for duty. Police officer’s encounter some of the worst people in the world therefore; they require a resourceful method when suspects prove to be uncooperative or rebellious. Traditionally, police have used firearms, batons, oleoresin capsicum spray (O.C. spray), or physical force. Firearms are risky for everyone involved and most frequently lead to death. Batons are often seen as an excessive use of force and can lead to severe injuries. O.C. spray and physical force can compromise the officer’s safety and are not always effective. All of these issues have caused law enforcement agencies to look into the use of Tasers. Lt. James Clarke of the Smithfield police department states, “Using Tasers would be safer for both officers and suspects” (as cited by Chufo, 2008).

The use of force policy is that law enforcement officers should use only the amount of force necessary to mitigate an incident, make an arrest, or protect themselves or others from harm. The levels, or continuum, of force police use include basic verbal and physical restraint, less-lethal force, and lethal force. In the city of Bustout, Mississippi the population is ⅓ white, ⅓ black, ⅙ hispanic, and ⅙ asian in Bustout city, and in the police department there are one thousand police officers. My policy for the use of force in my city is that law enforcement officers should use the force depending on the situation at hand, and to never over step the necessary force in situations. There are three types of force the first is verbal and physical restraint, less-lethal force, and lethal force in the law enforcement. The use of force by law enforcement officers becomes necessary when the situation calls for it, and is self-defense for the officer or the officer was defending another individual or a group of people. When new officers or older officers receive training from the police academy or guidance from another agency, they have no idea the rules for when the officers should use force or how much force is needed. However, in situations it would not be the same every time, nor in officers because in potentially threatening or dangerous situations, an officer will react quickly to the response and use force if it requires it. Having situational awareness is very important, and

While patrolling down a street, the officer is sees an individual who keeps looking back at him so the officer decides to stop and talk to the individual. At this point the officer asks the individual if they have identification on them. The individual says no but tells the officer that he will give his name and that he is currently out on bond for armed robbery. At this point the officer has went through two steps of use-of-force continuum—first officer uses his presence by talking to the individual ad using verbalization in a nonthreatening way. In response, the officer tells the individual that he wants to pat the suspect down since the person is out on bond. The suspect decides to run off which causes the officer to run in pursuit. The officer loses the suspect but notices a house that standing on cinderblocks. The officer notices someone under the house and tells the individuals to come out from under the house. The cop places the individual under arrest using empty-hand-control. The officer calls in for backup to get a drug dog to search under the house where there were drugs

The use of force model continuum has 5 layers. Although it may vary amongst different agencies and jurisdictions, they are all very similar when considering the highest form of force to use as an alternative, deadly force. Officers are encouraged to determine appropriate level of force to use when surveying the scene/dilemma, taking into consideration important factors: victims, witnesses, scene, suspect, their partner’s life, but mostly importantly self-defense. Before discussing the layers of the continuum, lets first examine the reason(s) why an officer would use force. Air Force Instruction 31-207 states there are three elements that “must be analyzed to establish the basis of reasonableness in use of force… The officer/sentry must remember that no element of reasonableness can stand-alone or be the

There have been seven levels of use of force that have been identified in policing. The first level is mere presence, which is believed that just the presence of an officer can deter criminal behavior. The second level of force is verbalization, officers are taught to speak in a persuasive manner and if that does not work officers are then forced to move to a more forcible option. Level three is command voice; this voice is more stern then their regular speaking voice and tends to be more demanding. If verbal forced does not work then the use of force becomes more of a physical matter. Level four is the firm grips, which is a physical grip on the body that is not intended to cause pain, specifically in order to direct the suspect where to go.

Often times while attempting to make an arrest, a law enforcement officer will have to use the appropriate use of force to make the arrest. In some instances the appropriate use of force for some officers will be as simple as the