Ethical Issues In Policing

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As a result of the recent rise of the use of excessive force cases against police and law enforcement, I have chosen to research the definition of that excessive force. When is it considered justifiable? What training do officers receive? What liability issues are there? In an ABC news article, Sascha Segan states there is no specific definition of excessive force. A part of everyday police work is to subdue criminal and suspects. Another everyday task of police officers is personal discretion - making the right decision based on the specific situation. It has been documented in multiple viral videos that law enforcement officer’s discretion is not always favorable in the public eye and is quick to be judged. Yet shouldn’t we be asking if the officer’s actions were justifiable within the court system and if …show more content…

There are several properties of moral rights such as concomitant duties, justifiable enforceability, and the fact that you do not necessarily have to assert the human right for it to become violated. As mentioned in “Ethical Issues in Policing” by Miller and Blackler, hypothetically speaking, person A’s right to life generates a duty on the part of person B not to kill person A. Under the property of justifiable enforceability, person A has a right to not be killed by person B. Justifiable enforceability is simply force used that can be vindicated. Person B also has a responsibility not to kill person A. If B ignores his obligation and attempts to kill person A, then person A has the right (or someone watching, C) to prevent person B from killing person A. This would make A’s action justifiable. Person A would have had the right due to self-defense and person C, who has seen the action, has the right to use deadly force to save person A’s life. Lastly, under moral rights, a human’s right can be violated without them asserting it. For

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