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Role of the police officer
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Introduction
Police officers are trained by specific rules in the academy how to handle dangerous situations and how to prevent victims. Police officers in dangerous and extreme situations have to make split-second decisions about what to do next: fire their weapon or not. In recent years, many unarmed people were killed by police officers which made US nation to raise questions about whether the police make right decisions or whether the police have too much power. Since people don’t know by what rules police officers are trained to handle certain issues, we wonder why did the police officer killed an unarmed person and why the police officer didn’t do something else to prevent a dangerous situation or a person. Cedric Alexander, veteran police chief, in the interview for CNN said that if someone is causing a danger, police officer has to shoot him in the area where the most important organs are and stop this person (Visser, 2016). Most of the time this dangerous person dies immediately. Alexander also said that a police officer has to shoot at the person’s chest because this is how most likely to take a person down and stop him (Visser, 2016). Therefore, if the police officer will shoot at the dangerous person’s shoulder for example, this person still can shoot at the police officer or people who are the closest to the dangerous person.
James Boyd
James Boyd was a 38-year-old homeless man who was camping illegally in the Sandia Mountains, New Mexico and killed by police officers Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez on March 16, 2014. Every person can watch online the whole situation since one of the police officers, who was present at this situation, had a video camera on top of his head and filmed what was happening between police o...
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...eath of Eric Garner, 2014).
Conclusion
There are many debates whether the police make right choices in certain dangerous situations or whether the police have too much power. The best solution for any person, who happened to be a suspect for a police, is to comply to the police and surrender to avoid any bad outcomes. Later, with lawyers in the police station every issue will resolve and if a suspect is innocent, police will let him or her go. All this will prevent any tragic consequences. The society has to remember that not complying to the police when they tell you so, will cause many troubles. Police officers are trained to follow certain rules but in situations where a police officer has to make a very quick decision about what to do, how to stop something/someone dangerous, there is no time for the police officer to think about right steps and consequences.
Firstly, even after government advancement, the integration of a democratic society, and a greatly improved justice system, individuals still feel threatened by police officers. When police training was created, and guidelines/ penalties were and laid out, they were expected to have a large impact on minimizing incidences of excessive police force. Yet, this is not the case. It is often said that prevention is better than cure, this statement can be applied to police brutality by preventing it befor...
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
Police officers must be trained to shoot with precision; correspondingly, they must not solely be trained to shoot to kill, but also to shoot to simply harm. Once they are taught both ways, they must learn to assess their situation to conclude whether it requires the former or the latter. This is highly important for the reason that it can spare a life, and it easier to prosecute officers who failed to use proper protocol for shooting. Furthermore, this training helps to prevent discrimination against minority groups. Many officers target male minorities; however, when officers do sensitivity training and assess their situation, the officer can keep his fear at bay and civilians will be treated
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.
By teaching police officers alternatives to shooting to kill, they experience higher risks with their lives. Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly, said, “It would be "very difficult" to train officers to shoot to wound” (Jacobo, 2016). Police officers are viewed as “predators” and “an occupying army” rather than allies (Valey, 2016). This is a perception that needs to change because it counteracts the mission of police officers
Police brutality is a very real problem that many Americans face today. The police carry an enormous burden each day. Police work is very stressful and involves many violent and dangerous situations. In many confrontations the police are put in a position in which they may have to use force to control the situation. There are different levels of force and the situation dictates the level use most of the time. The police have very strict rules about police use force and the manner in which they use it. In this paper I will try to explain the many different reason the police cross the line, and the many different people that this type of behavior effects. There are thousands of reports each year of assaults and ill treatment against officers who use excessive force and violate the human rights of their victims. In some cases the police have injured and even killed people through the use of excessive force and brutal treatment. The use of excessive force is a criminal act and I will try and explore the many different factors involved in these situations.
“But they didn't have to beat me this bad. I don't know what I did to be beat up." Rodney King, March 3, 1991. Police Brutality has been a long lasting problem in the United States since at least 1903 when police Captain Williams of the New York Police Department said the phrase, "There is more law at the end of a policeman's nightstick than in a decision of the Supreme Court." In the 1920's the Wichersham Commission had a number of instances of police brutality. Many of these included the use of the "third degree" (beating to obtain a confession). This is a very effective way to get a confession out of somebody. However, beating the accused could easily elicit a confession from a scared and innocent person. Also, this puts the accused person's life in danger. Police officers must make snap life and death decisions daily. Officers' work in an environment where death (theirs, their partners, and an innocent or guilty person) is one decision away. How does that constant fear effect an officer's perception? Unfortunately, many that are attracted to law enforcement are aggressive and prone towards violence as a solution. Police officers have a lot of power. With this power comes responsibility. Police brutality can be defined as the excessive or unreasonable use of force in dealing with citizens, suspects and offenders.
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
As a result, “Nearly all agree that when an officer is facing a deadly threat, the proper response is to use deadly force”(Lind). Yes there are many people out there that can be a deadly threat to police officers because the way they are acting but, there are many innocent people that do not affect anyone and still have to be a part of the problem for no given reason. Although a police officer’s proper response is to use deadly force upon someone, there should be other alternatives or ways they can use before going into deadly force and possibly cause someone to lose their live. I certainly do understand that there are certain situations where a cop is coming across someone that is pointing a gun or knife at them and approaching towards them. So therefore them using deadly force would possibly be the right thing to do if they have too, but before using deadly force they should at least try deploying tasers or using bean bag guns to attempt in taking them
Police officers are faced each day with a vast array of situations with which they must deal. No two situations they encounter are ever the same, even when examines a large number of situations over an extended period of time. The officers are usually in the position of having to make decisions on how to handle a specific matter alone, or with little additional advice and without immediate supervision. This is the heart of police discretion. As we shall find, the exercise of discretion by police has benefits and problems associated with such exercise. The unfettered use of discretion can lead to the denial of citizen rights. Strategies that control the use of discretion are, therefore, very important. The benefits and problems of police discretion and controlling strategies are the focus of this essay.
Recently in the United States there has been in increase in deaths that have come from police officers using deadly force. The use of force is inevitable as a police officer, many times their own lives or the life’s civilians are at risk when it comes to determine what type of force a officer should use. There are many incidents where police officer have to react in a matter of seconds and has to choose between his own life or that of the individual causing the disturbance. When a Police Officer uses deadly force has caused outraged with the public, stirring up protests and creating a scandal for the police officer and the Police Department. Many do not know when it is right for an officer to use deadly force and what constitutes it, or what happens when the officer does not use the appropriate amount of force that is required to control the situation. There has been many changes in Police Departments around the country to try to reduce the use of deadly force in response to the issues that have occurred because of it.
When hearing the phrase “police brutality,” many people imagine batons cracking skulls, tasers electrocuting bodies and bullets penetrating innocent teens. While police officers have been known to use violence, police brutality does not occur as often as many believe. In many situations, officers have to act on impulse and curiosity, despite the backlash the media may create.
Police behavior is different across all communities. In fact, how police react to combat crime is affected by the management style of the various police administrators. Also, local politics will have a strong influence on how police react to crime. When police respond to a call, they will make a determination of the “cost and benefits” of their reaction. How they decide to intervene is based on the net gain to the neighborhood, suspect and the officer himself (Wilson, 1969). There have been several efforts to understand how police use discretion in their day-today operations. One of the difficulties in understanding police discretion, is when an officer makes a determination not to invoke the law, that decision is often not seen by anyone who would oversight over that officers decision, therefore that decision is usually not subject to review from any authority (Wilson, 1969). Police records are usually to incomplete to allow evaluation of non-enforcement decisions (Goldstein, 1960) Full enforcement of the law is not possible due to various reasons, a limitation of officer time, and a limitation of investigative devices. In some instances the police may choose not to enforce the law in order to allow a confidential informant to gather information on another suspect. This is an exchange relationship where both parties have the opportunity to gain so...
This may be difficult due to corruption within the criminal justice system. When police officers and administrator successfully operate within the law, the public feels safer. This is important to police systems, administration, and practices because in order to enforce the law, you must first abide by it. The deontological ethical systems relate to legality when it comes to police corruption and upholding the law. According to the deontological ethical systems, the nature of one’s action must be morally right, adhering to the rules of their position. Referring back to the ethical dilemma in the introduction, as a police officer you have a duty and moral obligation to following police procedure and protocol. Although pulling the Chief of Police over is a good act and is for the greater good of the people, it would still have bad consequences. “When the consequences of a decision are bad, the teleological or consequentialist ethical system does not support it” (Miller,