Force is sometimes required to seize a criminal or deescalate a situation. The question is not whether force is required, but whether it is regarded appropriate vs excessive. Many police departments have regulations in place that govern the use of force. The procedures in place outline a set of steps that a police officer should take in order to deescalate a situation or detain a suspect. These policies/guidelines are referred to as the use-of-force continuum by the National Institute of Justice. The force continuum comprises several levels that law enforcement must follow in order to respond with the appropriate amount of force (National Institute of Justice, 2009). The National Institute of Justice has developed a continuum of officer presence, …show more content…
For whatever reason, police agencies around the country fail to sanction officers for misbehavior. This year, the NYPD failed to sanction 25% of its officers who were found guilty of wrongdoing by its Civilian Review Board" (Ramsey, 2015). Statistics recently disclosed by the Chicago Police Department, America's second biggest, reveal that last year "there was no discipline in more than 99 percent of the thousands of misconduct accusations against Chicago police personnel" (Williams, 2015). Jerome Finnigan, a Chicago police officer, worked 18 years without being reprimanded despite receiving more than 65 citizen complaints, including allegations of using excessive force and conducting unlawful searches on a daily basis (Williams, …show more content…
Officer training and supervision are highlighted in a report created by a working group of mayors and police chiefs from the United States Conference of Mayors under improving police department procedures. This paper includes a set of ideas for bettering community policing. According to the paper, "training should encompass more than policing methods" (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2015). The paper emphasizes the significance of police personnel knowing their position in society and emphasizing community participation. "Training must focus on reducing unjustified use of force, and officers should be given alternatives to the use of deadly firearms" (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2015). Instead of military bootcamp-style training emphasizing the use of fists and weapons, officers must be taught how to remain cool and de-escalate
How do police decide how much force should be used in a situation and how has that changed throughout the year? Has Tennessee v. Garner been effective in protecting individuals against excessive force? Before the case Tennessee v Garner in 1985, how to police decided if they should use deadly force determined by one of four groups; these four groups were The Any-felon Rule; The defense-of-life Rule; The Forcible Felony Rule, and The Model Penal Code. The extreme one was the Any-Felony Rule which was “English common law authorized officers to use any means necessary to arrest felony suspects or prevent them from fleeing. In the United States, courts interpreted this rule as legal permission to shoot an unarmed felony suspect in flight” (Tennenbaum)
When talking about the ongoing controversy and public debate on the outlook of police and community relationship a message or headline or even a video that is posted online involving an officer and an individual is going to be overflowed with every opinionated, negativity there is to say about how unprofessional the officer
Utilization of Force Continuum are to a great extent in light of the basic law elucidation that cops need not withdraw when stood up to with resistance and the Tennessee v. Earn (1985) and the Graham v. Connor (1989) choices by the United States Supreme Court, which held that there must be a target sensibility while assessing the sort of power
Officer and PerpetratorFactors Another important consideration is the officer himself as compared to the subject in question. An officer who is 5'1" and 105 pounds may be justified in using greater force against a subject who is 6'3" 240 pounds than would a taller, heavier and stronger officer in similar situations. Uses of Force More Complicated Than First Looks Suggest All of this goes to demonstrate that uses of force by corrections and police officers are most often far more complicated than a single news report makes them appear.
One common opinion is that officers should not use more force than is necessary or reasonable, and even then, that force should be used only as a last resort. “Police use force to affect civilians’ conduct. On a day-to-day basis, they do so most often by employing the least degree of force available to them, their mere presence. Cops wear uniforms and drive distinctly marked cars so that, without saying a word, they may have an effect on citizens’ behavior” (Fyfe, 38). When an officer’s presence fails to fulfill the desired conduct, the next course of action for said officer would be verbalization.
In addition to these notes, Hryniewicz has produced policy recommendations in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Violence & Victims, Society & Mental Health, Health Sociology Review, Contemporary Justice Review, and many more (“Danielle Hryniewicz” 1). On the other side of the debate, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, David A. Klinger, supports reform through the police force in his article, "Police Training As An Instrument Of Accountability," issued by the St. Louis University Public Law Review in 2012. Along with his specialization in policing, terrorism, and the use of deadly force, Klinger possesses the experience of a patrol officer for the Los Angeles and Redmond Police Departments ("David A. Klinger, Professor" 1). With Hyrniewicz’s perspective of police brutality as a social issue which can be prevented through civilian oversight, and Klinger’s belief that it is a psychological issue resolved by refining police training, the two authors also disagree on who should be responsible for the reform that reclaims police accountability and
Consequently, officers try to counteract behavior patterns they display. Case in point, an officer may use extreme force on suspects who make efforts to resist or contest police authority. When police overreact to these situations they feel that they are justified due the resistance by the suspect. If law enforcement agents justify their actions in every situation police brutality is going to intensify.
They need to use force because there are certain situations that the only option the police have is to use force. If they do not use force, citizens and other officers will be hurt, citizens will not feel safe, and others will stop listening to the police and will stop following the law. To support this the source, “The United States Department of Justice” says, “It is the policy of the Department of Justice to value and preserve human life. Officers may use only the force that is objectively reasonable to effectively gain control of an incident, while protecting the safety of the officer and others”(Winn, 1). This explains that the police department's first priorities are to protect citizens, protect themselves and other officers, and to also take control of the situation by any means necessary.
Excessive Use of Force by Law Enforcement The use of excessive force by law enforcement has been a topic of heated debate and controversy in the United States for decades. It is a complex issue with various factors contributing to it, including systemic racism, police training, accountability, and the lack of adequate laws and policies. The use of excessive force by law enforcement has disproportionately affected people of color, particularly Black Americans, and has led to countless deaths and injuries. Systemic racism is one of the primary factors contributing to disputes surrounding excessive use of force by law enforcement.
Policing in the US has been a controversial issue in the nation for as long as it has existed. Across the country, countless protests have recently occurred on behalf of the citizens, broadcasting their worries about law enforcement. There have been numerous attempts at reforms throughout the years. Some of these made a reasonable impact, but in most cases they didn't. Despite these well-meaning endeavors, the United States’ police force still has yet to change for the sake of its citizens, both minorities and majorities.
Over the past couple of years, police use of deadly force has become a highlight in mainstream media. This topic has gathered so much attention, that it is now a highly controversial issue. The guidelines for the use of deadly force are very strict, yet are vague and entirely based on the situation in which police officers are dealing with. These guidelines place different restrictions on police officers depending on what type of suspect they are pursuing or attempting to arrest. There is also the moral and ethical viewpoints and standards to take into account with the use of deadly force.
To begin with, excessive is the uncontested right of a police officer. The use of force to a police officer is necessary to apprehend or subdue a suspect of a committed crime. When a police officer use of force exceeds the necessary use of force of a particular situation to complete their lawful purpose. In particular, use force for self-defense, for example, a suspect tried to assault one of the police officers in a crime scene, so the other police officer teasers the suspect to protect his or her fellow officer. However, if the police officer uses his or her right to force for unlawful or self-defense purpose, it is then deemed unethical and illegal.
The work that police officers do is very complex. There are different rules and codes that they are supposed to follow in order to accomplish their job at their organization. Police officers present different behaviors while patrolling and in other areas of policing that creates many confrontations with the society as well inside their departments with co-workers and other people above them. In police departments exits different codes that police officers follow that many times create that police misconduct and police brutality stay under the rug, without been penalized. In the movie Fort Apache the Bronx it portrayed how police corruption, misconduct and unethical behavior were part of their daily work just because they followed certain codes
In some cases, police officers exert excessive force on individuals. The amount of force should be necessary for the situation. For example, a police officer should not use a weapon because a civilian will not obey an initial command. In the article, When Does Force Become Excessive?,
Law enforcement agents are should behave to a standard that is greater than the average civilian. Police brutality comes from an abuse of power granted to the police. Police brutality is often drawn on by overreaction in certain situations drawn on by panic. Police using excessive force in the United States is a crucial dilemma and must be stopped.