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Aspects of the criminal justice system
Aspects of the criminal justice system
Aspects of the criminal justice system
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In USA Today, “it mentions how a Balch Springs law enforcement officer named Officer Roy Oliver was fired for violating the Balch Springs Police department’s policy. USA Today also mentions how, Dallas law enforcement officers were responding to a report of a party that had intoxicated teens when the local officers heard shots being fired. USA Today said that Officer Jonathan Haber reported that the car was backing up towards them and that is when the police officer Roy Oliver shot a 15 year old boy named Jordan Edwards who was a passenger in the car in the head with a rifle killing him. However, USA Today mentions how Haber quickly changed his story after viewing the dash cam video of the scene showing the car backing up, but then moving forward and driving away from the scene when the victim, Jordan Edwards was shot. In other words, as the car was driving away this is when Officer Roy Oliver fired his gun towards the vehicle, killing the victim Jordan Edwards. USA Today then mentions how the chief of police stated that what was shown in the dash cam of the scene was a violation of the policies and values of the Balch Springs Police Department. Lastly, …show more content…
USA Today mentions how the Dallas medical examiner listed the cause of death of Jordan Edwards as a homicide from a rifle wound to the head” (USA Today). While this teen, may have been involved with illegal activity such as drinking underage, this teen should not have been killed. This relates to Self-Defense that we were taught in this course. Self-Defense means that one can protect himself or protect others if there was a threat of bodily harm and therefore firing the weapon to protect himself or protect others would be acceptable. In this case, based upon the evidence shown in the dash cam, Officer Roy Oliver was neither threatened nor trying to protect other officer that was threatened. In other words, since the car was driving off when Officer Roy Oliver fired his gun self-defense cannot be claimed. However, if the car was backing up and trying to hit the Officer then the Officer could have fired his weapon in order to protect himself or protect others around him. In addition, this may be able to relate to the Early Warning System.
The Early Warning System was developed to identify law enforcement officers that may show behavioral issues while using a weapon or force. The Early Warning System also mentions how, the supervisors’ review the evidence and recommend potential options such as; training, counseling or disciplinary action to troubled law enforcement officers. In this case, USA Today mentioned how “the chief of police stated that the evidence shown on the dash cam of the scene was a violation of the policies and core values of the Balch Springs Police Department” (USA Today). Since, this was a violation of policies and core values of the police department, the disciplinary action was to fire Officer Roy Oliver because of the inappropriate use of a weapon and
force.
Facts: On October 3, 1974, Memphis Police Officers Hymon and Wright were dispatched to answer a “prowler inside call.” When the police arrived at the scene, a neighbor gestured to the house where she had heard glass breaking and that someone was breaking into the house. While one of the officer radioed that they were on the scene, the other officer went to the rear of the house hearing a door slam and saw someone run across the backyard. The suspect, Edward Garner stopped at a 6-feet-high fence at the edge of the yard and proceeded to climb the fence as the police officer called out “police, halt.” The police officer figured that if Garner made it over the fence he would get away and also “figured” that Garner was unarmed. Officer Hymon then shot him, hitting him in the back of the head. In using deadly force to prevent the escape of Garner, Hymon used the argument that actions were made under the authority of the Tennessee statute and pursuant to Police Department policy. Although the department’s policy was slightly more restrictive than the statute it still allowed the use of deadly force in cases of burglary. Garner’s fathers’ argument was made that his son was shot unconstitutionally because he was captured and shot possessing ten dollars that he had stolen and being unarmed showing no threat of danger to the officer. The incident was then reviewed by the Memphis Police Firearm’s Revie...
Happening in today’s society, there have been countless number of citizens being killed by law enforcement. Some situations may not cause for force and others may. This case can be a reference in regards to making sure that the force you use is appropriate for the situation. As for the justice system, it is all about being fair and listening to both sides and issuing out the right punishment if there is any. Many people in today’s time needs to get educated when it comes to the reason behind why law enforcement uses force to handle the situations they have to deal with. But in the end it all comes down to right and
On October 22, 2013, Andy Lopez, a young teenager at the age of thirteen years old, was shot and killed by a Sonoma County deputy named Erik Gelhaus. The community has taken sides either criticizing the officers actions, or supporting them. Whether the arguments are based on race or police abuse of power, we can clearly see step by step why officer Gelhaus did what he did from the first time he spotted Lopez, when he fired the shots, and by what actions he took after the fatal shootings. When looking at the circumstance as a whole, one can understand that Gelhaus's actions were justified and was done only to protect the community.
On October 20, 2014 a young male teen was fatally shot in Chicago, Illinois. The shooting occurred in the middle of the road and the suspect that was fatally shot was named Laquan McDonald. McDonald was just 17 years old and was the suspect after initial reports placed him in the scene of a possible car jacking. It was reported that Laquan McDonald had a knife and was also seen slashing tires of a police cruiser. When police had finally had him surrounded in the middle of the road, one officer opened fire and released 16 shots into his body. Another deputy on hand said the use of force was not needed because Laquan was not in any way trying to attack the officers present. The officer who fired the 16 shots into Laquan is named Jason D. Van
Chapter 10 was a good read, the role organizational structure plays within an organization of all sizes is very important. The stories and organizational charts used in this chapter was interesting and informative. I like how the author used the organizational structure for U.S. Metropolitan Police Department, Washington D.C. to show readers the importance of organizational structure when it comes to following commands within a major organization that deals with homeland security. Following, September 11, 2011 terrorist attack, homeland security and MPD was forced to make changes in the organizational structural. Because the order of communication between the national security and the police department wasn’t communicated inefficiently between
The use of force, particularly with correlation to officer morale and/or inadequate education/training, has become particularly problematic. Measures should be taken to reduce the injury to suspects, particularly physical injury resulting from poor officer tactics or malicious intentions not related to upholding the law. These are problems, which, if properly handled and rectified, will result in improved officer morale, improved relationships with the public as well as ensure a continued upstanding reputation for the oldest police force in the nation.
In 2006 at his bachelor party, just hours before his wedding, Sean Bell was gunned down outside of a strip club in Jamaica. Officers saw Bell arguing with someone outside and believed he was going to get a gun from his car. They shot and killed Bell and injured his two friends (Palmerl and Prendergast). The officers claimed they heard Bell tell his friend to get his gun. When they drove away, they hit one of the cops with their car. The cops opened fire and shot fifty times (Schoetz). I had to really think about this situation and whether or not I agreed with the police. After much thought, I do agree with the police officers’ decision to shoot because as soon as they think they heard the word “gun” they start to fear for their own lives and have to defend themselves. The cops were later acquitted of their charges
Law enforcement officers are in constant dangerous situations while out doing their responsibilities. When in these threatening situations, police officers typically have little to no time to determine the right precaution. These precautions may lead to the death of a suspect or even the officer themselves. The media has recently shed light on police brutality with use of force. Use of force could be defined as the amount of effort an officer must use in order to make an unwilling subject compel. Police officers are usually trained to enable the proper responsible to a dangerous situation they may be put in. In this paper I will go through the guidelines that a police officer must obey when considering a certain degree of use of force. Within each guideline there will be the pro and cons with that situation and also a recent case that happened. This paper will also talk about how this topic can be addressed more properly. These guidelines that officer are taught during their training are called Use of Force Continuum.
The report included testimony from Officer Darren Wilson, physical evidence, forensic evidence, and many witnesses. According to the Department of Justice report on the incident, Officer Darren Wilson was driving after finishing one of his calls and saw Michael Brown and his friend walking on the double yellow line in the middle of the street blocking traffic. According to his account, officer Wilson told them to move to the sidewalk in which they ignored. He then noticed they fit the descriptions he had earlier heard of the suspects of the robbery, he then parked his vehicle blocking traffic. He attempted to get out of his vehicle to speak to the boys but apparently Michael Brown blocked the car door and started to punch the officer. They engaged in a scuffle where Officer Wilson reached for his gun in which he claims that all he had access to. Michael Brown tried to take control of the gun, according to Wilson’s account. (Department of Justice, 2015) Officer Wilson then regained control of the gun and shot Michael Brown’s hand. Michael Brown then took off and Wilson chased him on foot. Brown started coming towards Wilson. Many witnesses even described Brown as “charging” towards Wilson. (McLaughlin, E. C. (2014, August 15) Wilson warned Brown multiple times and Brown kept moving forward towards Wilson
On August 9th, 2014, 18 year old Michael Brown was shot by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, sparking protests, riots, and widespread debate on police use of force. Numerous questions arose as to whether Michael Brown was armed or unarmed, if he had his hands in the air or was attacking Officer Wilson, and whether Officer Wilson was justified in firing his weapon that resulted in the death of Michael Brown (Itkowitz). Twenty-two years have passed since the riots in Los Angeles after the officers involved in the beating of Rodney King were acquitted on charges of excessive force, and it left many to wonder, including myself, as to why this happened again. Why were there so many questions surrounding the incident and how this could
A father purchased a toy gun as a birthday gift for his young son. His son went outside to play and and encountered a police officer who shot him seven times. This incident occurred in Sonoma County in October 2013. A similar incident occurred in November 2014 when Cleveland police killed a 12-year-old boy carrying a toy gun. Use of excessive force by police is common in impoverished "black" or "brown" communities.
Over the years, this country has witnessed many cases of police brutality. It has become a controversial topic among communities that have seen police brutality take place in front of their homes. Officers are faced with many threatening situations everyday forcing them to make split second decisions and to expect the worst and hope for the best. Police officers are given the power to take any citizens rights away and even their lives. With that kind of power comes responsibility, that’s one major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is when to use force or when to use lethal force. The use of excessive force may or not be a large predicament but should be viewed by both the police and the community.
Over the years, this country has witnessed many cases of police brutality. It has become a controversial topic among communities that have seen police brutality take place in front of their homes. Officers are faced with many threatening situations everyday, forcing them to make split second decisions and to expect the worst and hope for the best. Police officers are given the power to take any citizens rights away and even their lives. With that kind of power comes responsibility, that’s one major concern with the amount of discretion officers have when to use force or when to use lethal force.
Everyday law enforcement personal have the possibility to face dangerous events in their daily duties. In performing such duties a police officer could come by a seemingly ordinary task, and in a blink of an eye the event can turn threatening and possible deadly. When or if this happens to an officer they won’t have
Police investigations of shooting that involve officers are based on facts not opinions. Detectives with years of experience investigate the case and the information is then turned over to a prosecutor. The problem with news coverage and the media is they let emotions get a hold of them for views. Whether a video depicting the shooting was shown or not it is not their job to decide who was in the wrong. Attitudes about the prevalence of racial profiling are susceptible to the way the media construct incidents of police misconduct (Graziano, Schuck & Martin