Police Use Of Force Case Study

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.

In certain situations, the police may have to act quickly on their instincts. Sometimes, a situation is unpredictable and a decision needs to be made in a split second. The quick decision may to be to take a person down physically with the officer’s own hands, or to use deadly force, unfortunately. Anything can happen and the officer needs to be ready for every scenario. The different levels of force can be anywhere from just a police officer being present, to having to kill someone to prevent him or her from hurting anyone else. It’s a harsh reality, but sometimes the officer needs to make the decision to die or to protect him and do what he needs to do.

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

The use of force is without a doubt an important aspect in policing. The decision to utilize any type of force comes from a multitude of recourses; department policies, training, situational variables and ethical systems. There are three major categories in which an officers use of force is categorized under; justifiable, excessive and deadly; with a thin line between justifiable and excessive. Cases where excessive force has been used, has lead to injuries, deaths, civil damages, officers convicted and sentenced to jail and police chiefs and elected officials being removed from office (Fyfe, 1988). It is an officer`s discretion in determining when the use of force is justifiable.

Police have many roles to take on an everyday basis. The main goal for an officer is to keep criminals off the streets and to try and maintain a safe environment for people to live. Many people disagree with some of the decisions officers make to enforce these rules and causes a lot of controversy. Today many people don't respect our police officers because of actions made by others. A major issue today is police use of force, stop and frisk.

Police Officers use of force has been an big issue for many decades, But has now made its way to mainstream. From news to social media there 's always a recent relevant story/ case on police officers use of force. In 2016 Baton Rouge man, Alton Sterling was killed do to Police officers use of excessive force. This sparked an outrage in the nation after Mr. Sterlings murder went viral through social media. The shooting led to protests in Baton Rouge and a request for a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Supreme Court has stated that the calculus of the propriety of an officer’s use of force must include the fact that officers are often forced to make split-second decisions in circumstances that are tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving. Officers who use force in the street are judged under the Objective Reasonableness

The shooting of 19 year-old Zachary Hammond took place on July 26, 2015 in Seneca, South Carolina. At around 8:20 p.m. on that day Hammond and his date Tori Morton drove in a 2001 Honda civic to Hardee’s restaurant parking lot, after an undercover officer arranged to buy drugs from her. Lieutenant Mark Tiller was sent as backup for the undercover officer. As Tiller arrived to the parking lot he parked his vehicle behind Hammond’s car in order to block Hammond’s escape. Tiller then approached the vehicle by demanding him to put his hands up, which Hammond ignored and began to drive away from the scene. After, Tiller attempted to stop the driver by stepping towards the path of the fleeing vehicle exclaiming “stop, I will blow your f**cking head off”, yet Hammond still accelerated and remained clear of the officer. Tiller then reacted by firing two rounds from his .45 caliber handgun through the open

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,

Assume a officer faces the subsequent deadly force situation: He responds, together with 2 different officers, to a residence as a results of a 911 call from the house owner. Dispatch reports the homeowner’s son vulnerable her with a table knife, however she was able to shake off the residence.

Training is the only option to teach and gives lectures of how any criminal enforcement officer should have because here in this training they will find the way how to handle dangerous situations and if they would need to use the force if they are the situation requires it. As J.C. Hall expressed in his book, “Police Use of Nondeadly Force to Arrest”, he describes that the training should describe the twofold of the offenses. One of this factors should describe how an officer should assess any threat that they encounter while conducting their duty. While on the other hand, the training as well should also describe how to encounter a threat. At first, this two factors might sound the same thing but its truth is that they are completely different from each other because one is mainly focusing how the criminal enforcement officer should think before they act.

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

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.

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.

careers when use of force is appropriate—for example, in making some arrests, restraining unruly combatants, or controlling a disruptive demonstration. When the level of force exceeds the level considered justifiable under the circumstances, however, the activities of the police come under public scrutiny (Adams, 1999).