...Business Law Term Paper Police Brutality in US – Abuse of Power 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Police are always said to be a law enforcement officer. They are legally allowed to use legitimate force when necessary to make an arrest, keep the peace and maintain order. However, when the force is used excessively or beyond which is necessary, police brutality occurs. Brutality can be in a number of ways, mostly likely will be physical; pain holds, batons, pepper spray, tasters and guns. In US, police brutality has always been a serious problem which those police officers usually rationalize their behavior by claiming that they maintaining the social order. Let me refer to one of the cases in US. In January 1997, Kurt DeSilva, 34, was shot and killed by a Pawtucket, Rhode Island police officer after a low-speed car chase. DeSilva, who was unarmed, was suspected of driving a stolen car.() In this case, shooting is obviously an excessive force used to stop a low-speed driving suspect. In fact, there are lots of such cases in US. From January 2010 to December 2010, there were 4,861 unique reports of police misconduct recorded which involved 6,613 sworn law enforcement officers and 6,826 alleged victims. () In those 6,613 officers involved, 23,8% of them were involved in excessive force reports, which is the most prominent type among the misconducts.() This paper aims to discuss the inadequacy of the current law in US to prohibit police brutality and give suggestions...
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...Use of Force “Police rarely face charges after a deadly encounter with a civilian. When they do, the case rarely ends with a conviction.” The use of force has been questioned a lot lately because of the recent police shooting. The amount of force is necessary is unique to each situation, may change as a situation evolves, and often depends on the experience level of the officer. Use of force is an accepted part of police work. Just making an arrest is a use of force. The use of force is allowed by law until the force becomes excessive, at which point the action becomes criminal. Excessive force refers to a situation where government officials legally entitled to use force exceed the minimum amount necessary to diffuse an incident or to...
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...Policing in the Future: Use of Force CJA333 May 11, 2009 Policing in the Future: Use of Force The role of being a police officer is one of the most stressful and challenging tasks one can be charged with. An officer is expected to assess any given situation and is always supposed to make the right decision when dealing with that situation. This can be very difficult to deal with when a situation is becoming very intense and almost out of hand. An officer must gain control of the situation, restore order, and ensure safety for themselves and for civilians. However, ensuring the safety for an individual is difficult when an officer has to use force on the individual. The use of force is a very sensitive topic because officers are authorized to use force if they deem it necessary and that can go to lethal force. The majority of the public does not always agree with the use of force and excessive force is always looked at if any force is used. An officer is supposed to use force, but not too much force. Policing is a thankless job and one that brings a great deal of responsibility and risk. The officers must deal with having to use force and the management and superiors within a department are supposed to ensure proper training and review of any use of force. Ultimately the police must respect individual rights, and protect the community, even if that means using force. The use of force has and will always draw critical reviews from society...
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...Use of Force Brenda Love Mississippi Valley State University Mrs. Rochelle Cobbs Law Enforcement Systems/Practices CJ 384-Spring 2015 March 22, 2015 Use of Force Abstract This paper addresses the reasons why police use force and how police use force to apprehend suspects. There are several elements that should be considered before police use force. These elements include: if the police officer has reasonable cause to use force to arrest the person, if use of force will help protect the officer and others, and if the police offer should result to using deadly force. These elements are things that all officers are trained on, but officers have to use their own instincts on the way that they will use force based on various specified situations. This paper will observe the reasons why police use force and focuses on how police may use force to control situations. Introduction Force can be defined as restraining someone or something by use of strength, by command, or by use of weapons and/or animals. Police officers may use force when making an arrest. Samaha (2014, p. 155) states “Whether the manner of an arrest was reasonable is affected by whether the amount of force, if any, was reasonably necessary.” Due to each patrol, crime scene, and situation being different, police officers have to go with their instincts and use their knowledge and skills to take control of the situation. After several reports of police brutality, the Supreme Court began to observe...
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...Principles in Modern Day Law Enforcement In 1829, a man by the name of Sir Robert Peel of London, England created the world’s first police force. Before Peel, Constables served the government but didn’t exercise authority like the police force we know now. After drafting the Metropolitan Police Bill of 1829, Sir Robert Peel approved a force of 895 constables, 88 sergeants, 20 inspectors and 8 superintendents. It changed the dynamics of law enforcement around the world. Peel also believed there are nine basic principles to law enforcement. Of these nine, there are three that I believe are vital to the role of a police force: “The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder”; “Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient: and “Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence” (Nazemi, n.a.) Sir Robert Peel’s 1st principle states, "The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder." In modern law enforcement, the prevention of crime is becoming a major focus for all law enforcement...
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...Excessive Force by Police Use of Excessive Force by Police 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 between what is necessary and what is extreme is very thin and hard to see. Use of force is no doubt one of the most important aspects in policing; however, force should also be used with great discretion. The community policing style is defined by David Allender (2004) as a philosophy of full-service, personalized policing where the same officer patrols and works in the same are on a permanent basis, from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems. The most important factors to community policing include personalization, partnership and problem solving (Allender, 2004). The idea is to create a relationship with citizens that are both trustworthy and honest. When officers begin to use force to control...
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...authorized to use force in specified circumstances, are trained in the use of force, and typically face numerous circumstances during their 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. This article deals with police and the use of excessive force. This article discus the police use of excessive force. This is a research agenda on police use of force, giving special attention to problems of excessive force. A variety of questions are raised, both reflecting the complexity of use-of-force issues and the relative scarcity of our knowledge about use-of-force transgressions. Introduction Police use of force became a very hot topic during the beginning of the 1990’s. It became a very controversial issue due to the fact that police officers most of the time they justify their abuse of use force. Since there job is to secure the city streets and to protect the citizens, they usually say that they were just doing their job. This created fear in many people because they witness most of the abuse on television or heard it directly from the victim. The Rodney King case and the Amadu Diallo had a deep impact on society concerning the authority of police officers...
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...the law that’s supposed to protect you? Police brutality is the use of excessive force against a civilian. Police brutality has been going on for a while and it is a human rights violation, which many minorities in the U.S. have to fear. And that’s because police have acted in a way that make people wonder if you can you trust them to do their job of keeping the peace since they’re the ones not following the law. The most seen use of force by police officers, include shootings, beatings, and rough treatments of citizen. One prime example of this would be Eric Garner who “On July 17, New York police put into a chokehold after they confronted him for selling cigarettes. Videos show an officer pulling Garner to the ground and then Squeezing his head on the floor, And Eric yelling I can’t breathe” (According to...
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...Reasonable force or police bruait In common with all citizens, the police may use reasonable force where necessary for self-defence, defence of another, defence of property, the prevention of a crime, or during a lawful arrest. Under Section 117 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), the police are also empowered to use ‘reasonable force’ if necessary when exercising the powers conferred to them under that act (except those which require someone other than a police officer’s consent). What constitutes ‘reasonable force’? There have been several cases involving a member of the public and the police in which the question has been raised as to what constitutes ‘reasonable force’ and what amounts to police brutality. Police brutality generally means that a member of the police force has intentionally used excessive force in order to carry out a lawful police purpose. The brutality is usually physical. PACE says that the police officer using force must honestly believe that it is justified and not excessive. In cases brought against the police involving the question of police brutality, Crown Prosecution Service guidance suggests that the following considerations should be taken into account in assessing the reasonableness of the force used: •whether the force was justified in the circumstances or whether it was excessive; •the nature and degree of the force used; •the seriousness of the offence which the police were trying to prevent, or for which an arrest...
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...use of deadly force to prevent the escape of an apparently unarmed suspect. During this time the officer in question was acting under the authority of a Tennessee statue and Police Department policy. The statue stated, “[i]f, after notice of the intention to arrest the defendant, he either flee or forcibly resist, the officer may use all the necessary means to effect the arrest.” The department policy allows the use of deadly force in the case of burglary, but is more restrictive than the statue. This case never saw action after the incident until the suspect’s father brought the issue to the Federal District Court...
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...In today’s world all over the news stories about unlawful killings bombings and the use of deadly physical force are being portrayed as just while a handful of those cases are viewed as unjustified. Police and other officials need to understand the definition of deadly force and the differences between justifiable and excessive. The public needs someone they can depend on and if the police are using deadly force in harmful ways that trust is lost. However, police should be prepared to shoot to kill in any situation because the outcomes cannot always be determined. Police should use deadly physical force in only necessary situations to protect the public. A 15 year old boy named Jordan Edwards from Mesquite High School who weighed 150 pounds and was nearly six feet tall, was shot in the head by a police officer from Dallas suburbs over this past weekend. The police officer whose name still has not been released allegedly killed Jordan Edwards, and also gave false information on the way the incident happened. According to the officer who shot Jordan said, “The car was reversing down a street towards the officer in a very aggressive manner.” Police Chief Jonathan Haber told reporters at a news conference that the video showed opposite of what actually did happen. The unknown officer fired when the car was...
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...system (judges, parliament and law enforcement) has its own discretion. Police discretion is the ability granted by the legal system to police offices, in certain situations, to act in a manner that allows authorities to make responsible decisions and individual choices or judgments, within certain legal bounds. In law enforcement, discretion is left up to each individual officer to make reasonable and responsible decisions out in the field everyday (Beech, 2008). Discretion is used in many situations, such as when an officer chooses to stop a vehicle for a small traffic violation. There are also times when the officer has no choice but to use specific discretion in certain situations and make a decision on what type of force is necessary for certain situations (Elicker, 2007). Society believes that an officer can make any choice he or she chooses at anytime while on the job, which is highly incorrect as there are many situations when an officer has no choice but to follow the law. For the most part every officer has a choice when to use or not to use discretion, and enforce the law, but allowing this choice to be made by individuals, who may seem like an average member of society, can pose a real threat regarding the misuse of such power (Delattre, 2006). Police discretion though it relates to decisions about whether or not a chargeof the police officer in that situation where force may be required. Police officers are given a wide range of options when confronted by a potentially...
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...The Use of Police Force Police officers in today’s society are given a significant amount of discretion simply due to the nature of the job. These officers are often faced with many threatening situations forcing them to react quickly and properly. They have the power to infringe upon any citizen's rights to freedom and therefore they must use this power within the limits of the law. One major concern with the amount of discretion an officer has is their ability to decide when to or not to use lethal force while apprehending a subject. Manning (1997:295) argues that it is generally accepted that police should be allowed to use force when necessary. He also goes on to explain that there is an uncertainty amongst citizens as to what constitutes excessive force. The link between what is necessary and what is extreme is very marginal. The use of force is no doubt one widely debated aspect in policing; however, excessive force should also be used with great discretion. If officers do not use force on every suspect they encounter, then they may be creating a negative environment for the community. As defined by David Allender (2004:18-19), community policing is a philosophy of full-service, custom-made policing where the same officer patrols and works in the same area on a mandatory basis, from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens of that community to identify and solve problems as a team. The most important factors pertaining to community...
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...Nine Principles of Policing Sir Robert Peel & Sir Richard Mayne Barbara Cox ECPI CJ 110 Mr. Taylor July 28, 2012 Abstract The Nine Principles are a set of rules that were formed during the 1800’s for police officers so they could maintain order and enforce the law to an extent while still maintaining the respect of the public. Sir Robert Peel came up with his own set of Nine Principles and Sir Richard Mayne just added to them upon replacing Sir Robert Peel. Introduction The purpose of this paper will be to discuss the Nine Principles of Policing, and who what where and why, these principles were need. We will start by discussing Sir Robert Peel his background and ideals. We also will discuss Sir Richard Mayne and his background as well as his ideals. We will also be discussing why these two men’s’ ideals are accredited for being the foundation of modern policing. The information that was used to research this paper has come from online articles, online newspapers, others’ papers, and the hand out provided in class. Sir Robert Peel (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) Sir Robert Peel was born on 5 February 1788 at Chamber Hall just outside of Bury in Lancashire. The Peels were farmers and weavers in Lancashire, but were mostly known for making their fortune in textile manufacturing. Robert was educated...
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...Use of Force 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? There are two types of force in police work. One is non deadly force and the other is deadly force. Non deadly force is force that, when used, is not likely to result in serious bodily injury or death. Now just because it is not deadly does not mean you can run around and be using non deadly force because you feel like it. To use this type of force you need to have reasonable force. Reasonable force is limited to the amount of force necessary to accomplish lawful results. Say Officers are arresting a man that is kicking and punching, those officers can use only enough force that is necessary to control the situation. If the officers were to start throwing punches back that is excessive force because now they are adding to the fire and not just trying to control the situation. One huge problem for officers is that reasonable force is subjective. This means it all depends on the situation. One thing might be reasonable force for one cop but may even be excessive force for the other due to situations and perhaps even the size of the officer. Due to the intense job...
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