Use Of Force In Law Enforcement

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

There is no question that police brutality, when it occurs, is one of the most egregious violations of public trust that a public servant can commit. Police officers, those individuals taxed with protecting the public from danger, should never be in a situation where they pose a threat to the public. Furthermore, there is no question that police brutality occurs. Moreover, generally when there are allegations of police brutality, there has been some type of underlying violent incident. In addition, while issues of brutality may seem clear-cut to a disinterested observer, it is critical to keep in mind that law enforcement officers are not presented with textbook examples of the appropriate or inappropriate use of force, but real-life scenarios involving quick decisions. There are many arrest and non-arrest scenarios where officers need to use force to protect self or others; and the degree of force required may be greater than what a disinterested observer would assume. Another recurrent issue in debates about police brutality is that racial bias appears to be a motive behind police brutality. When one considers that minorities are disproportionately likely to be arrested and convicted of crimes, one would expect to find a disproportionate number of minorities among those alleging police brutality. Therefore, while acknowledging that police brutality, when it occurs, is a serious problem, the reality is that most

There are several different types of force. These types of force include verbal commands or persuasion, physical force (unarmed), force using weapons that are non lethal, force that involves using weapons such as the bean bag gun or taser, and lastly, deadly force. All officers have to give way to each force option before last resorting to the use of deadly force, unless of course if the officer is in a life or death situation. This may be the only way to use deadly force in the first and last resort. They have a couple of weapons that they carry in case the need to use them arises. They carry a baton, tasers, handcuffs, guns and they also have police dogs. Some police do follow the guidelines for using force. Others may abuse their authority and not use force properly. It is really only up to the officers to do the right thing. Some cops are great and live to protect our communities while others abuse their authority.

Police have the uncontested right to use force when necessary to apprehend a suspect. If the force exceeds that which is necessary it is defined as excessive force and is illegal. An officer’s discretion on use of force is a based on judgment. They do not know if a judge will later rule an instance of use of force as excessive or not. There is a fine line between what is considered acceptable force and what is considered excessive force. All an

From the disturbing beating of Rodney King to the horrific death of Malice Green to the shooting of Michael Brown shows there is a consistent problem with police brutality and the exertion of force used. Police brutality seems to be a rising issue again with the occurrence of the Michael Brown shooting and the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement making sure that any form of police brutality should not be swept under the rug. Action has been taken in some cities around the country for dealing with police brutality, such as police reform, which requires the retraining of hundreds of officers. There has also been talk and use of police body cameras that would record interactions between officers and the public to clear up any discrepancies in police/witness reports. To look at the effects and causation of police brutality we will be analyzing the media’s role, the sociological and psychological aspects of officers who administer the beating, and the timing of when these beatings/killings occurred.

Beginning in late summer, this country became bombarded with stories in the news about police officers involved in some types of controversy. The controversy that started it all was an incident that happened in Ferguson, Missouri. Since August, there has been much discussion and public debate over whether a police officer’s use of deadly force against an unarmed teenager was justified. On August 9, 2014 a young man named Michael Brown was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson after he was stopped for walking in the middle of the street. Was the shooting of an unarmed teenager in Missouri an example of police using excessive force? Who decides what force is recommended or when it becomes excessive? To determine both these questions, we first must define what constitutes specific circumstances as excessive force. Officer Darren Wilson was not guilty of using excessive or lethal force if he felt his safety or the safety of others were in danger or if Michael Brown had surrendered peacefully and without resisting arrest.

Like other law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, New Jersey has a policy that addresses police use of force. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Use of Force Policy was first put into operation in April 1985. The purpose of the policy is to serve as a guide for police officers who are confronted with use of force situations during their duty to preserve the law and protect others. This essay will provide a summary of the policies and practices of New Jersey’s Use of Force Policy. An evaluation of these components will be presented with emphasis on the legal sufficiency of the policies and procedures. Policy strengths and weaknesses will be identified in addition to suggestions for improvement. This essay will conclude

Excessive force and police brutality have become common terms for anyone keeping up with today’s current events. In 2014, the media covered numerous cases of excessive force that resulted in the deaths of several people of color (Nelson & Staff, 2014). The most widely covered cases by the media in 2014 were of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black male shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri; and Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black male in Staten Island, New York who was put into a choke by police officer Daniel Pantaleo until he lost consciousness and stopped breathing (Nelson & Staff, 2014). These cases brought attention to the seriousness of police brutality and the curiosity of how often it occurs (Brown, 2015).

Over the past three years there has been a conflict with the use of force not just by police but with citizens as well. Recent events such as the shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in 2012 and the killing of Mike Brown by a Ferguson police officer just recently in August of 2014 has raised eyebrows about the use of force. Clearly there is a misunderstanding of the concept of when and when not to use force especially when it is the use of deadly force. The training that is given as well as the understanding of use of force is outdated. The federal government should implement excessive use of force training for all law enforcement agencies in the U.S.

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,

Under certain situations police officers are allowed to use force; for instance controlling a disruptive or disturbed person when undergoing arrest. Officers are trained to properly use force from the academy and any further training the department the officer’s work for. However lately there has been a debate amongst the public, law enforcement agencies, televisions, newspapers, and civil as well as criminal courts. The topic of the debate was if the police officers use excessive force against suspects (U.S department of Justice, 1999). Force is defined as, a non-negotiable use of police authority to influence the behavior of citizens (Ederheimer, Fridell, 2005). The National Institute of Justice defines use of force as the amount of effort

Police use of force. The use of force by law enforcement becomes necessary and is permitted by law under specific circumstances. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has described the use of force as the “amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject.” No two situations are the same, nor are any two officers.

The use of police force has been a controversial topic in the media recently. This topic is controversial because of the issues surround why force has been used, the type of force used, and if using force was necessary at all. At times there is reason to use force. For instance, in the cases of Edward and Eric Garner the use of police force was deemed at least by society as unnecessary. In the case of Edward Garner, the Supreme court addressed his death by determining that it is unconstutional to shoot at an unarmed suspect as a means of stopping them from fleeing. They even passed a law supporting this ruling. (Marcus, 2016). As for Edward Garner's death it was deemed unworthy of prosecution by the justice system. The grand jury refused to

It is a part of the job for the police to use force. Once the an arrest ensues, then it is the job of the police to use the force necessary to carry out the arrest. One thing that the public often say in criticism of the polices use of force is “well, he only stole some [something worth a small amount of money]” or “[the arrested individuals] didn't do anything that bad to deserve that much force”. However, it does not matter what the crime is; the only thing that matters is that the officer makes the arrest. We in East Valley would urge their citizens to always comply with our officers, if our citizens always comply with our officers then there will be no more use of force complaints. This is because the officer will only use the force necessary

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.