There have been many court cases that follow along the lines of when and how to use the proper amount of force and if any force is necessary. However, “there rare occasions where an officer's observations and actions get reviewed, scrutinized, and solidified”(“Understanding Graham v. Connor” 1). “By using the “Graham standard” an officer must know when to apply constitutionally appropriate levels of force”(“Understanding Graham v. Connor” 3). On the night of November 12, 1984, a NCDOT worker and diabetic had felt the onset of a diabetic reaction. He had asked one his friends to drive him to the nearest gas station so he could get an orange juice to offset the insulin(“Understanding Graham v. Connor” 4). It was a particular busy night at the gas station Graham had been stopped at, but he still entered …show more content…
the gas station to get the orange juice.
Upon entering, he noticed that the line was too busy for him to wait. He then ran out from the store and told his friend to take him somewhere else. (“Understanding Graham v. Connor”). Upon leaving this gas station, Officer Connor had taken note of the swift movements that occurred at the gas station. He had “seen Graham enter the store, then quickly run from the store, a textbook move for a thief or robber”(“Understanding Graham v. Connor” 5). He pulled out and followed the gentlemen, and soon pulled them over. When Charlotte’s Officer Connor approached the gentlemen, the driver of the vehicle told him that Graham was a diabetic but Connor “made the men wait for him to get feedback from what had happened at the gas station”(Understanding Graham v. Connor” 7). While Officer Connor returned to his patrol car to call for backup, he noticed Graham “got out of the car, ran around it twice, and finally sat down on the curb, where he passed out briefly”(Understanding Graham v. Connor” 8). As backup arrived, one officer had rolled Graham over
and placed handcuffs on his wrists. The driver of the car, Berry “pleaded the officers to get Graham some sugar”(Understanding Graham v. Connor” 9). When Graham had regained consciousness, he asked the officer to remove his wallet and look at his diabetic decal, only for the officers to tell him to “shut up” as they then shoved his face down on the hood of the patrol car. As Berry, the driver of the car, returned with some orange juice, Officer Connor received the news that Graham had not done anything wrong and upon that they drove him home and released him. “At some point during his encounter with the police, Graham sustained a broken foot, cuts on his wrists, a bruised forehead, and an injured shoulder; he also claims to have developed a loud ringing in his right ear that continues to this day”(“Understanding Graham v. Connor” 12). This case was filed as a federal lawsuit and to this day “covers the violation of someone's civil rights by a law enforcement officer—against the individual officers involved in the incident” 13).
The Bryan v McPherson case is in reference to the use of a Taser gun. Carl Bryan was stopped by Coronado Police Department Officer McPherson for not wearing his seatbelt. Bryan was irate with himself for not putting it back on after being stopped and cited by the California Highway Patrol for speeding just a short time prior to encountering Officer McPherson. Officer McPherson stated that Mr. Bryan was acting irrational, not listening to verbal commands, and exited his vehicle after being told to stay in his vehicle. “Then, without any warning, Officer McPherson shot Bryan with his ModelX26 Taser gun” (Wu, 2010, p. 365). As a result of being shot with a Taser, he fell to the asphalt face first causing severe damage to his teeth and bruising
On November 12, 1984, Graham was having an episode where he was having an insulin reaction and unable to drive. Graham then asked his friend, Berry to drive him to the nearest store so that he could get some orange juice. Upon arrival Graham entered the store and he notice the line was long, he then hurried out of the store and back to the car (what police often consider the behavior of a robber). Sitting in his patrol car Officer Connor noticed Graham’s suspicious behavior, and he then proceeded to make an investigative stop. After approaching the car, Graham’s friend Berry explained to Connor that Graham was a diabetic and was having a reaction and needed some help. Connor order them to stay inside the car. Once his back up arrived, Connor then went back to the store to see if anything had happen. After finding out that nothing had taken place,
The conviction of guilty offenders when adhering to the guidelines of the NSW criminal trial process is not difficult based on the presumption of innocence. However, due to features of the criminal trial process, established by the adversarial system of trial, cases can often involve copious amounts of time and money, particularly evident in the case of R vs Rogerson and McNamara where factors such as time and money are demonstrated to be in excess. In addition, characteristics of the adversarial system such as plea bargaining has the power to hinder convictions due to the accused having the authority to hire experienced and expensive lawyers to argue their case, hence maintaining their innocence.
Was Dred Scott a free man or a slave? The Dred Scott v. Sandford case is about a slave named Dred Scott from Missouri who sued for his freedom. His owner, John Emerson, had taken Scott along with him to Illinois which was one of the states that prohibited slavery. Scott’s owner later passed away after returning back to Missouri. After suits and counter suits the case eventually made it to the Supreme Court with a 7-2 decision. Chief Justice Taney spoke for the majority, when saying that Dred Scott could not sue because he was not a citizen, also that congress did not have the constitutional power to abolish slavery, and that the Missouri compromise was unconstitutional. The case is very important, because it had a lot
Chief Justice John Marshall was an intelligent man who served in the United States Supreme Court from 1801 until the year 1835. During this time, Marshall heard over 1,000 cases and wrote 519 decisions (Fox). One of the cases he heard took place in 1824, and it’s known as Gibbons v. Ogden. This case is a rather simple one, but an important one nonetheless. A problem arose when two men, named Thomas Gibbons and Aaron Ogden, found out that they were both operating steamboat ferries along the same route. These men had both received permission to operate their steamboats from two different places. Gibbons received permission from the Federal Government, while Ogden had received his from a state government. When the case reached the Supreme Court,
Stuart v. Nappi was class lawsuit Stuart’s mother filed against school personnel and the Danbury Board of Education because she claimed that her daughter was not receiving the rights granted in the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). Kathy Stuart was a student at Danbury High School in Connecticut with serious emotional, behavior, and academic difficulties. She was suppose to be in special education classes, but for some reason she hardly ever attended them. Kathy was involved in a school-wide disturbance. As a result of her complicity in these disturbances, she received a ten-day disciplinary suspension and was scheduled to appear at a disciplinary hearing. The Superintendent of Danbury Schools recommended to the Danbury Board of Education
Gonzales v. Oregon is a Supreme Court case that took place in 2005, with the verdict and dissenting opinions stated in January of 2006. The case is about the General Attorney’s ruling of a medical practice to be illegal. The Attorney General at the time was John Ashcroft, appointed under President George Bush Jr., who authorized that the usage of lethal doses of medicine on terminally-ill patients to be illegal under the Controlled Substance Act in 1970. The Controlled Substance Act of 1970 is a federal United States drug policy which limits the usage of certain medications in a variety of ways. (Oyez, n.d.).
Most law enforcement agencies have policies that determine the use of force needed. The policies describe the escalating series of actions an officer can take to resolve a situation, first level is officer presence which means no force is used, and just the mere presence can reduce
excessive force cases brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. BYU Journal of Public Law, 26(1),
Over the years, our nation has witnessed countless cases of police brutality. It has developed into a controversial topic between communities. For instance, deindustrialization is the removal or reduction of manufacturing capability or activity can lead to more crimes when people are laid off. Police officers are faced with many threatening situations day-to-day gripping them to make split second decisions; either to expect the worst or hope for the best. The police are given the authority to take any citizen away for their action that can ruin their lives. With that kind of power comes great responsibility, which is one main concern with the amount of discretion officers have is when to use lethal force. The use of excessive force might or
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.
Skolnick, J., Fyfe, J. (1993) Above the law: Police and the Excessive use of force. United States: The Free Press
The degree of force that officers use is heavily influenced by police discretion in real-world situations rather than espoused by a certain agenda. Discretion can be classified into four different categories where administrators, the community, and the individual police officer exercise differing degrees of influence in decision-making. What is needed to help officer discretion is a central ethos that will guide discretion when all other rules fail to help.
The first idea, people get when they hear the word law enforcement is power, security, fear, and respect. What is the appropriate amount of force, law enforcement officer should use? Society judges the actions of law enforcement, without taking into account the side of the officer. There are many types of force a police officer may use when the situation calls for it. Law enforcement officers use discretion to decide on the right force to use. Force cannot be defined by individuals or by laws, instead force is exercised by individuals that upheld our criminal’s justice system. The types of force that officer can use are soft hand, hard hand, Taser, baton, presence, and deadly force. Presence is were suspects see law enforcement and turn themselves in. Soft hands is a tactic used by calm officers. Soft hand police officers like to discuss the situation out and try to use less lethal force. Hard hands is used by more experienced police officers. The force is key for many police officers because it can determine the lives of many individuals. Society sees the force of the law enforcement officers in the media, community, and
The Web. The Web. 15 Mar. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Gul, Zakir, Hakan Hekim, and Ramazan Terkesil. “Controlling Police (Excessive) Force: The American Case.”