Pepper Spray: The Fourth Level Of Force

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.

All reported cases of the use of the TASER by department personnel in a large metropolitan department for a 3-year period (2002 to 2004; N = 243) (p.177).

The use of conducted energy weapons in the police force has become increasingly popular since they were introduced only a short while ago. The TASER is claimed to be the safest and most productive type of less lethal force in use today, with a very quick recovery rate and no-long term side effects. The TASER has quickly taken over the harsh use of pepper spray, the brutal force of the baton and in some cases the firearm. However, the TASER has faced massive amounts of bad press and negative views among members of the public. Electro-muscular disruption has become a very controversial issue among society, some describing it as extremely

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?

According to Use of Tasers by Law Enforcement agencies, the intention of the Taser program is to encourage deviation from killing a violent offender to simply immobilizing a violent offender until all parties are safe and that specific area has been secured. The decision to use such force is left to the discretion of the officer to dictate the intent of the individual in question and to determine what the meaning of safety is at that particular time. This cultural change can be achieved through education of all of the previously mentioned: the weapon itself, the effects the weapon can have on a human body and discretion.

A '''use of force continuum''' is a standard that affords law enforcement officials & security officers (police, probation, or corrections) with guidelines as to how much use of force may be used against a repelling subject in a given situation. In certain ways it is similar to the military’s escalation of force. The reason of these models is to clarify, both for officers and citizens, the complex subject of use of force by law officers. They are often vital parts of law enforcement agencies' use of force policies. Although various agencies have developed different models of the continuum, there is no universal standard model (Stetser, 2001, p. 36)

The use of force continuum is basically a stair step of levels of force an officer can use to defend themselves and/or effect an arrest. The use of force continuum starts with the level of force known as officer presence. An example of this is when an officer arrives on scene, and his or her mere presence causes the subject or subjects to comply. If an officer arrives at a bar fight and the subjects are actively fighting until they observe the officer then the use of force level was successful. The next level in the use of force continuum is verbal commands. Police officers will generally combine

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

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.

It can cause pain, muscle spasms, and even temporary immobility but no penetration of the skin. There can only be one way of truly fixing this. Cops should go through more serious training in trying to find other ways of constructing a person who is not listening. Also cops should only use their guns for when a person is truly posing a real threat. Another way that might help is to put a cop in jail if they actually killed a innocent

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.

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

Other examples could be the head forced down toilet bowls or into water containers; assault, including being punched with fists (at times with bullets held between the interrogator’s fingers); beaten with rifle-butts or batons wrapped in newspaper or other material (“mauling”) focused in the stomach area, which tends not to leave any visible bruising; burning the skin (including the lips, nipples and ears) with cigarettes; forcing the suspect to drink urine, stagnant water, etc.; placing chili peppers on the suspect’s eyes or genitals, or inserting the detainee’s penis into bottles containing gasoline mixed with chili; denial of sleep/rest; shame infliction such

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