Police Brutality: The 6 Levels Of Force

Police use of force and so-called “Police brutality” have been a hot buttoned issue over the past couple years. Every police shooting and use of force case is reviewed and examined with a fine toothed comb by both the media and departments. However, what the media leaves out and the general public has no information on are the levels of force. According to an article written by George Godoy, there are 6 levels of force. These levels range from officer presence to deadly force. In this paper I will explain not only these 6 levels, but cases on use of force as well as whether or not officers do or don’t use too much force. One of the most prevalent cases we discussed in the class was Tennessee V. Garner (1985). During a burglary call a suspect,

Connor (1989). According to the Justia Supreme court website, Graham, a diabetic, was having an insulin reaction and entered a store to get some juice. The line was too long so he ran out back to the car to get driven home. An officer saw this and made a stop to investigate. During the encounter Graham was handcuffed and a bit of a struggle ensued. During the struggle he sustained some injuries and in turn he submitted a case claiming excessive force used by the officers. The outcome of the case according to our textbook written by Professor Johnston was, “an officer’s decision regarding the level of force to use must be judged from the perspective of the reasonable person and be based on the circumstances, which are often rapidly evolving and unclear.” (2) Throughout the semester we have discussed the different levels of force officers can use and when it is an appropriate time to use them. According to an article written by George Godoy, there are six levels of force in the force continuum. The levels range from Officer presence, which entail absolute zero contact. And it ends with deadly force. Each Level as you go up will introduce more and more hands on and aggressive manners police officers must use in order to protect themselves as well as the general public

In this level according to Godoy, involves no physical or verbal contact with someone. It is merely the presence of a uniformed officer or a marked car will deter or prevent crime. It is written that; this level of force is the best way to resolve any situation. The second level of force is similar to that of the first. The only difference being that in the second level officers are using verbal commands. According to Godoy, it is a combo of both the visible presence of an officer as well as verbal instructions such as stop or freeze. If you can use the right words and have a calm demeanor it can prevent any physical contact from needing to