Abuse Of Force: The Power Of The Police Force

The media has scrutinized the use of force even more recently. Recordings of officers using force (weather excessive or not) become uploaded to the web and many individuals quickly jump to conclusions. Police use of “force” is up to the discretion of each individual police officer, and with each action a multitude of consequences can occur. The public often gets enraged after a court justifies the use of force, but often individuals do not have the full facts or understand how the justice system works. The outcomes of some use of force cases, many individuals are asking for transparency of agencies. Policy makers are often quick to react to satisfy the public by changing police policy.

There have been many serious incidences involving the police’s use of force bridging over a decade. Due to the advancement in technology, many of these incidents have been videoed and used as evidence in court cases involving the police’s use of force unnecessarily. For example, in July 2014 Eric Garner’s death arising from an officer using a chokehold on the victim. One month after, another officer fatally shot a teen (Wihbey & Kille, 2015). In Virginia, a college professor was walking to avoid some construction that had obstructed the walkway. She was approached by an officer and ordered that she produce some identification. The professor questioned the officer as to why she was stopped. The officer replied she was jaywalking and demanded she produces some identification or he was going to arrest her. Needless to say, the professor did not comply, and she was slammed to the ground causing her dress to expose parts of her body, she retaliated and was arrested. The community was outraged (Moi, 2014). According to the Washington Post, police officers tend to use force, especially when dealing with suspects that have mental instabilities. “Nationwide, police have shot and killed 124 people this year, who were in the midst of mental or emotional crisis” (Lowery et al., 2015). The authors further note, that in these incidences, police are likely to react using tactics, which worsen a volatile situation, by using force.

Officers have become heavily criticized for using lethal force in altercations that less lethal could have possibly been used. With officer involved shooting on the rise society wants us to re-examine other alternatives. There will be times that an officer must use their duty weapon, but many of the recent shootings could have been avoided with the use of less lethal tools. Lethal force often affects the department’s image negatively and brings un-wanted media attention; it can be hard to rebuild the trust with the community. When officers deploy less lethal tactics it is often overlooked by any media attention and any civil issues. In an effort to help department’s combat un-wanted lethal encounters, this research will

While racing down the freeway on March 3, 1991, driver Rodney King and friends were leading the Los Angeles Police Department on a high speed chase making it up to 115 miles per hour. When King was eventually caught, officers pulled him from his car and began to beat King with their batons hitting and kicking him more than 50 times and shocking him with stun guns in a period of two minutes as he struggled helplessly on the ground outside of his car. King suffered 11 skull fractures, kidney damage, and brain damage. This was one of America’s first viral video of what excessive force is, and it changed the way police interacted with communities forever. The use of police force is an obligation, but unfortunately some officers may misuse, or abuse

I do agree that using excess force is uncalled for, but if you are in the line of duty and your life may be threatened who is to say that it is excess force. The officer may have been acting on sheer human nature to protect himself and his fellow workers. With the friend stepping in to stop the office, I feel that this was very courageous and she did display the right amount of virtues. If a fellow officer is using too much force, it is the duty of the other officers to stop this from happening. By doing this it is a very courageous act as you may stop another officer from beating a person that is resisting and the man may get up and pull a gun. So there is a very thin line if the use of excessive force so they must trust themselves and the

The role of a police officer is to focus on protecting people and property. They are to patrol areas they are assigned, respond to calls, enforce laws, make arrests, issue citations and appear in court to testify. According to Above the Law: Police and the Excessive Use of Force by Jerome H. Skolnick and James J. Fyfe police officers like most professions go by unwritten rules and that every police department has written and unwritten guidelines. But the question is do they always follow them? Some officers abuse these powers and try to play God. Skolnick and Fyfe compare the brutality suffered today to that of lunching during slavery. “… Like lynching such brutality is employed to control a population thought to be undesirable, undeserving

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

This paper will describe police power and police authority. I will also talk about police discretion as for as whom gets locked up and who is allowed to go free. This paper will discuss the different use of police force. In this paper I will also talk about police attitude, police misconduct, and physical abuse among police officers.

Results from this study suggest that when people, such as police officers, are given the authority to use whatever force deemed necessary by an authority such as the police department, they feel justified using their “power” however they feel. David Lester conducted a study in which he found police officers attain an “expectation of harm” through their schooling at police academies (Lester 186). Lester found “shifts in…attitudes during both academy training and the period of working” (Lester 186) to officers being less willing to admit to the existence of police brutality. It seems that the departments do not see the occurrences as brutal, but as self-defense.

Police abuse of authority is described as any action by a police officer without regard to motive, intent, or malice that tends to injure, insult, tread on human dignity, manifest feelings of inferiority, and/or violate an inherent legal right of a member of the public (ABUSE OF AUTHORITY BY POLICE). The police is supposed to be an outlet for help in anyone's time of danger, yet at times they seem to be the cause of the danger. A lot of people get scared or nervous when they see a policeman, this is not the feeling that should come when ¨safety¨ is around. The group of people that should be greatly trusted are sadly one of the most feared. Abuse of authority by poloicemen is a concerning issue that should be stopped or at least lessened with the attempt of using simple solutions.

Much too often the public’s perception police use of force is different from those who are in law enforcement. This view is greatly influenced by a range of factors, including portrayals in the media, and intensified by the rising weight of social media. In today’s society, incidents of use of force can establish a false account for the public regarding police actions, even though it is not statistically represented or backed by data.

In a society that craves more freedom and yearns for political correctness, the visible breakdown of the judicial role is evident; absolute freedom is no better than chaos. However, in the absence of order, the individuals that we have placed in a position to protect and serve can no longer do just that. Instead, they are bound by laws that do not have their best interests in mind and restrictions have been put in place that makes it difficult for them to do their job. The job comes with obvious risks, dealing with suspects at every level of criminal offenses yet; the men and woman who sign on know what is at stake. It is a stressful role that takes its toll on police officers, more so because in these situations, an incident may arise that needs to be dealt with decisively. However, with the plethora of inaccurate and unjustified reports of police brutality, and the reciprocating media backlash, police officers are put in a haphazard situation that does not allow them to make quick decisions and act accordingly.

Police brutality has always been a major problem here, but since the widespread of social media we are able to see these distasteful acts consistently through video recording. Police brutality has undermined the public’s perception of law enforcement. It shows how America has now redefined the meanings of being a “good cop” and a “bad cop”.

During the past decade the public’s view on use of force has now been swayed to only “excessive” use of force in practically every situation, because of the result of incomplete information from the media and some recent events over the years- Michael Brown, Freddie Gray and Tamir Rice. The media distorts law enforcement’s use of force upon the public’s eyes by hiding the facts of the full stories that add up to the conclusions on the said event. The majority of the time, the media only tell a portion of the story with the topic of the event and then finally the conclusion of that situation. For example, the media could broadcast out that an african-american police officer shot and killed and unarmed white male (or vice versa) when in reality the officer was in fear for his life from a struggle with the offender while also being downsized from the defender 2:1.

“Use of force refers to the amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject. The Fourth Amendment forbids unreasonable searches and seizures, and various other legal and policy controls govern how and when officers can use force. Most agencies tightly control the use of force, and supervisors or internal affairs units routinely review serious incidents.” (). Police officers have the right to use discretion and can use force whenever they deem necessary, but consequently, some police officers abuse their power and use it excessively. Police officers do need to establish authority in their community but they need to be careful on how they do it. They could do it by excessively using any one of these types of force; by verbal restraint, physical restraint, less lethal force, or lethal force. The use of force happens all the time and could happen because of several different reasons. There are ways to prevent it if done right. And statistically, police brutality is increasing and needs to stop.