Use Of Force And Law Enforcement

There were boycotts of the malls in Baton Rouge, people were marching even holding up traffic. This didn’t only occur in Baton Rouge, but across the U.S. people were standing up for this injustice. Alton Sterling was selling cd in front of a convenience store when two officers approached him, the situation escalated Mr. Sterling was shot several times resulting in his death. Baton Rouge police did not provide much information about what escalated the incident between the officers and Sterling or what prompted an officer to fire his weapon. A witness, however, described police as “aggressive” and said Sterling was armed but was not holding his gun or touching his pockets during the incident. The level of force an officer uses varies based on the situation. Because of this variation, guidelines for the use of force are based on many factors, including the officer’s level of training or experience.

Law enforcement officers are given much power and authority over one’s civil liberties. Not only do they have a duty but also a responsibility to enforce laws and ordinances in their jurisdiction, maintain order and protect its people. In some cases, the only way to accomplish this is through legitimized use of force. Use of force can best be described as "the amount of effort required by a law enforcement officer to induce compliance of an unwilling subject" (nij.gov, 2012). With that said, law enforcement officers have been given the right to apply only enough force necessary to control a situation, while defending others, preventing escape, during self-defense and while a subject is resisting arrest (Pollock, pp. 234). It is not until that force becomes excessive that it becomes say an issue.

The use of force is inevitable in police work. In many situations the lives of officers or civilians can be taken by not using force when necessary or using it improperly. Many factors come into play when an officer decides to use force. This includes is the use of force justified, has the officer been properly trained to use force, and will the department be held liable if the force is used improperly?

Whenever a law enforcement officer places an individual under arrest or is involved in a deadly force scenario the officer has used some degree of force. The incidents where an office has to make a split second decision and use physical force to control a situation is known as “Use of Force.” The use of force varies as situations present themselves to the officer and they must decide what level of force is necessary to control the situation. Often the use of force is subject to much debate and not a year goes by without some media coverage of some law enforcement officer accused of using excessive force. In dozens of studies of police use of force there is no single,

Over the recent years, police have been one of the organizations to be associated with the largest cases of misconduct. Police brutality can be termed as the process of misuse and abuse of authority by the police. The rising cases of police brutality are causing more harm to the public, compared to the actions perpetrated by real criminals. Although police claim that it’s sometimes necessary to curb crime, the process is illegal and police officers should be charged just like any other criminal offender. It should be the responsibility of the justice system to establish effective strategies to deal with the rising illegal activities in order to restore public trust in the law

The use of force, with regards to law enforcements use of it, is a complex topic that should be looked at in all perspectives. There is tension between the police and the community they work for, on whether this is a power that the officers should have or not. There are ambiguous laws that do not give law enforcement offices much guidelines on what is exactly permissible when it comes to force, and all the different situations it could occur. The line that the use of force leis on is often a fine one. It is teetering between excessive force and never being able to enforce the laws. The use of forces is a conversation that is worth having with all the pros and cons that it brings to the discussion board.

Police officers are given a significant amount of discretion simply due to the nature of the job. Officers are faced with many threatening situations forcing them to react quickly, yet appropriately. They have the power to infringe upon any citizen’s rights to freedom and therefore they must use this power effectively. One major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is their power to decide when to use force or when to use lethal force. Manning (1997) argues that it is generally accepted that police should be allowed to use force. He also explains that there are an uncertain amount people who agree on as to what constitutes excessive force. The line

The politicization of police brutality is creating an increasingly cynical atmosphere in criminology, particularly with regards to statistics. The sensitive nature of the topic combined with media sensationalism of police brutality in recent years also perpetuates this phenomenon. The politicization of this issue causes media outlets to respond by reporting on police brutality research studies in such a way that the studies reflect their outlets’ views. As a result, police brutality statistics are being eyed with suspicion now more than ever. Furthermore, it is imperative that researchers take additional steps to ensure their research is based on concrete facts and presents data as objectively as possible. This means that researchers must

What we do know, from experts and police officers alike, is that the media portrayal of police brutality is often significantly different from reality (The Extent of Police Brutality Is Exaggerated).” When you are working in the police world, things happen very quickly. The police academies around the nation teach their officers how to properly handle things when officers need to your force. There have been many times officers disobey the department’s rules and handle things incorrectly. When things don’t go properly that’s when you have a big chance of police brutality occurring.

Police brutality is an issue fraught with statistical misconceptions. The debate is often over whether police brutality incidents are either underreported or accurate. Despite the fact that numbers are used in both arguments, this does not serve as true empirical evidence since the numbers lack the proper context necessary to make assumptions from the statistics. For example, a statistic was produced by The Free Thought Project stating that “police in the United States kill 70 times the rate of other first world nations (Agorist 2015).” Additionally, the language surrounding the term “police brutality” is vague, making it difficult to identify what police brutality actually is. Ultimately, this causes police brutality to be underreported as

Force that police tend to use on subjects that pose a threat has become an escalating issue in society today as we know it. Sometimes the public gets the notion that the police abuse their authority and use dangerous

The use of excessive force by police officers is a topic that continues to make headlines and a study that needs to be done. Although much research has gone into this topic there still is no consensus on why the use of excessive force occurs. Some studies suggest lack of training and/or problems with organization policy/procedures. Law enforcement officers are authorized to use force when necessary, but when the level of force is excessive, however, the actions of the police come under scrutiny. The resulting effects can include; public outrage, scandal, negative reputation for not only the officer but the law enforcement community, and criminal considerations. Although there’s is no concrete definition of excessive force, police

Although I should know by now, I cannot help but think that there has been an overwhelming amount of police brutality in recent years. Police brutality can be defined as, when a police officer uses more force than necessary. This issue has spread throughout the United States of America, and is putting the lives of our citizens in great danger. Police brutality is not only physical, but it can also be verbal attacks; and, in most cases, it is caused by false arrest and racial profiling due to police corruption. Police brutality has been and continues to be a major concern in society and it is used very loosely to any and all forms of police misconduct. Whereas, in reality, excessive force of police misconduct is what defines police brutality. The jobs of a police officer are too calmly resolve public disturbance and disputes. Police officers are supposed to protect citizens; instead they are hurting and using excessive force. It is not right and it is unjust for a police officer to hurt a citizen due to an assumption without any actual proof of criminal activity.

When a law enforcement officer uses force on a subject it will be classified into one of three main categories which are, justifiable, excessive, and deadly force. The authority for law enforcement officers to use force comes from the United States Constitution (case law), state statutes, and department policy. Law enforcement use of force is very important because it involves the patrolman on the street, the corrections officer in jails and prisons, and the courts where excessive use of force cases are held.

Police officers are faced with a wide variety of threatening situations on the job every day, they go through an intensive training at the academy to prepare them for the safety keeping job they have. The use of force may or may not be a significant predicament but it should be viewed by the community as well as the police. Often police officers find