In August 2014, four deaths made big headlines nationwide. Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Ezell Ford, and John Crawford III all tragically died at the hands of the police as a result of the use of deadly force. Perhaps more tragic is the fact that all four men were African American and therefore have drawn attention as examples of racial bias held by the law enforcement community. However, their cases have led to much speculation regarding whether or not police use of deadly force is legal, or even ethical. Based on current United States constitutional law and case law, deadly force is allowed, but is regulated to an extent based upon the circumstances which surround its use. Many people believe that regulations regarding the use of deadly …show more content…
force are much too loose; however, in reality many restrictions are already in place to limit the use of deadly force to those cases where it is a last resort, and to restrict the use of deadly force further would likely hamper the ability of police officers to do their jobs. Deadly force is commonly defined as any amount of force that is likely to result in death or serious bodily harm (“Deadly Force”).
Some people also refer to police use of deadly force as the “shoot to kill mentality.” This is related to police officers' training, which instructs them to shoot for the center of mass and eliminate the threat, because as they say, “rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6” (“Current Law Gives Police Wide Latitude to Use Deadly Force”). Deadly force is employed at the discretion of the officer on the scene. The general guideline is that the force used is proportional to that of the suspect, and therefore deadly force is a last resort, used only when a delay in arrest could result in harm to the officer or other citizens (“Deadly Force: What Does the Law Say About When Police Are Allowed to Use …show more content…
It”). The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that: The right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated … (The US Constitution) Arrest is considered to be a form of seizure, specifically the seizure of a person. Consequently, the Fourth Amendment is most often used as argument against the legality of deadly force because it guarantees that people be secure in their persons … against unreasonable searches and seizures (The US Constitution). Arrests which require the use of deadly force may be viewed as unreasonable seizures, which is why the Supreme Court has ruled that deadly force should be used as a last result. This way, should a law enforcement officer employ deadly force it is less likely to be resultant of a rash decision, but is instead a reaction to protect the lives of themselves or others and therefore falls within the bounds of the Fourth Amendment. Furthermore, US Code was written to state that: Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress … (42 U.S.C. § 1983) Thereby, if an officer uses deadly force outside of its bounds, they can be held liable. There have also been court cases, such as the landmark cases Tennessee v. Garner and Graham v. Connor, that have further defined when use of deadly force may be appropriate and warranted. In 1985, a Tennessee statute allowed that, after a police officer had given notice of their intent to arrest someone, if the suspect continued to resist or flee, the officer could use deadly force. On the night of October 3, 1974, two Memphis Police Officers were dispatched on a call regarding a prowler. Upon their arrival at the scene, Edward Garner was seen fleeing through the backyard. When Garner stopped at a chain link fence, Officer Hymon was able to see his face and hands by light of a flashlight and ascertain that the young man was approximately 17 or 18 years of age and unarmed (471 US 1, 4). Nonetheless, Officer Hymon shot to prevent the suspect from fleeing and Edward Garner later died at the hospital. He was found to have stolen a purse and ten dollars from the house (471 US 1, 4). The case of Tennessee v. Garner aimed to tighten restrictions on deadly force such that no more citizens got shot over minor offenses. The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit confirmed that Officer Hymon acted lawfully in relation to the Tennessee statute, however they questioned whether the statute itself was lawful constitutionally. Ultimately the case proceeded to the Supreme Court, which mandated a change in fleeing felon rules and set more limits on the use of deadly force (471 US 1, 4). A few years later, the Supreme Court saw the case of Graham v.
Connor. In this landmark case, petitioner Dethorne Graham was forcibly detained by police after rapidly entering and exiting a convenience store (490 US 386). Officer Connor of the Charlotte, North Carolina Police Department saw this as suspicious behavior, and roughly detained Graham although he insisted that he was diabetic and required sugar to counteract an insulin reaction. Furthermore, when Graham's friend tried to bring him orange juice, the officers stopped him and did not allow Graham to have the orange juice (490 US 386). Graham argued that these actions were excessive, especially considering that he had not committed a crime. The case ultimately ended with the Supreme Court ascertaining that cases of deadly force must be looked at on a case by case basis through the eyes of an officer on the scene. Deadly force is used when the officer on scene determines that there is an imminent threat, based on their observations on the scene. From the lens of an outsider, this may not be such a cut and dry decision (“Use of Force to Effectuate Arrest and to Prevent Crime”). In the case of Officer Connor, his actions were deemed lawful because he reasonably believed at the time that a crime was taking place, and reacted as such (“Current Law Gives Police Wide Latitude to Use Deadly
Force”). In conclusion, through constitutional and case law, the use of deadly force has been restricted to protect the citizens of the United States. Statistics show that very few officers err in judgment when it comes to deadly force cases, and as a result, few are injured (“Deadly Force: Issues, Risks, Dilemmas, and Solutions”). This speaks well to the quick decision making of the nation's police forces. Any police officer that applies deadly force must accept the scrutiny of their department, and sometimes the public, on both administrative and civil grounds (“Deadly Force: Issues, Risks, Dilemmas, and Solutions”). Too many people jump on cases of deadly force and look at one aspect of the case, such as the racial aspect brought to focus in the cases of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Ezell Ford, and John Crawford III. They then blow the one factor out of proportion, trying to find reason to prevent police officers from using deadly force. As unfortunate as those events may be, the majority of the time the officer is working within the bounds of his or her job. Many restrictions are already in place to limit the cases in which deadly force can be used, and should more restrictions be put in place, we would likely only be impairing the ability of law enforcement officers to do their jobs and protect the community.
The Tennessee v. Garner case impacted law enforcement agencies today by utilizing the Fourth Amendment right of not using deadly force to prevent a suspect from fleeing unless the officer is in imminent danger of their life. Consequently, before this was set into place, an officer had the right to use deadly force on a fleeing suspect by all means.” The first time the Court dealt with the use of force was in Tennessee v. Garner, in Garner, a police officer used deadly force despite being "reasonably sure" that the suspect was an unarmed teenager "of slight build" who was running away from him” (Gross,2016). Whereas, with Graham v. Conner case was surrounded around excessive force which also has an impact on law enforcement agencies in today’s society as well. “All claims that law enforcement officers have used excessive force deadly or not in the course of an arrest, investigatory stop, or other “seizure” of s free citizen should be analyzed under the Fourth Amendment and its “reasonableness” standard” (Doerner,2016).
In today’s society, police officers are very cautious on how much force they can use on a suspect due to the police brutality going on right now. Police brutality is defined as the use of force exceeding what is necessary, many people argue that there should be new policies to determine how much force a police officer can use and also have laws that will convict officers who have killed people by using too much force, so that there is less incidents in the future.
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
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.
There are quite a few cases involving police brutality going on today. The reason it is such a hot issue is due to the violence against minorities, but especially the African Americans. Police brutality is defined as “the unnecessary force by police officer against citizens, resulting in injury” (Peak, 1947, p. 162). That is the most worldwide view of police brutality because a lot of individuals are either injured or killed while the police are trying to apprehend them. The way this issue can be addressed if we look at, is it excessive force or acceptable force and what can be done to prevent people dying by the hands of the police.
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 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.
The three key deaths of Eric Garner, Philando Castile, and Alton Sterling have become the face of police brutality in the year 2016. People knew that there was unequal treatment of black people by police in the United States and they made it known by creating #BlackLivesMatter. A key figure in the black lives matter movement was Eric Garner and his tragic, unexpected death from police brutality. The duty of a police officer is to protect the people with the laws and enforce them, not hurt the people.
One would be Eric Garner who was seen choked to death after he repeatedly told law enforcement that he could not breathe (Marcius, Burke and Murray). How is it acceptable for officers to forcefully attack a man to his death and get away with it? It is understandable to use force, but officers should know when enough is enough. The Michael Brown incident in Ferguson was also a tragedy caused by armed officers. Michal Brown was an unarmed African American teen who was fatally shot with his hand up (Clarke and Lett). There were many factors involved in the reason why he was approached by the officer. He stopped Michael because he was walking in the middle of the street and then things quickly escalated. The officer shot him six times, according to his autopsy report (Clarke and Lett). After reading the article, there still was no reason to pull a gun out on an eighteen-year-old boy and especially not six times. These incidents just prove that officers need more training to help them handle and avoid these
Police use of force can be described as being the "amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject.”(nij.gov, p.1) The stages of force police use are simple verbal and physical restraint, less lethal force and lethal force. Police officers are encouraged to use only enough force necessary to control a situation, arrest the person, or protect themselves or others from harm (p.1). When a situation begins to spiral out of control for the police officers, the next level should be used in order to gain control.
Just it isn’t a fake scene this is real life. There are six levels of force an officer can use and may have to use doing there time as an officer. The lowest level of force is presence of an officer at the scene and the officer’s body stance. This level of force is used typically whenever an officer first appears to a scene or a call. The second level of force is verbal control or commands. The verbal use of force is when an officer demands you to do something. The third level is physical control. This level involves escort holds, pain or pressure compliance. This force is brought in when a suspect tries to resist arrest or verbal commands. The fourth level is really close to the third, this is serious physical control. This really is when you use carotid control and electronic devices. The carotid control is a kind of choke hold which makes the person want to comply. The fifth level is impact and weapons. This is when you first so your willingness to use your baton by touching it or holding it out. Then possibly cause the suspect to feint so he or she can’t resist again. The last resort is deadly force. Most officer try their hardest to not have to get to this level or even be in a position to which this force is used. But deadly force is drawing your gun, pointing your gun, and, or finally firing your gun. (Police
For example, according to Dara lind “Officer’s aren’t supposed to shoot to kill. They’re supposed to do whatever is necessary to disable the threat”(Lind). Whenever an officer gets caught up in a difficult situation where deadly force is needed for the most part officers do shoot to kill because they feel like there life is in danger themselves. Yes like they said they are supposed to do whatever is necessary so therefore if shooting to kill someone is necessary to them then for police officers it is the right thing to do. But in reality in some occasions deadly force by a cop resulting in someone’s death is not needed and there should be other alternatives to handle difficult problems like that. In addition, “Usually, the point from where the officer believes he has to use deadly force to the point where he uses deadly force -- where he pulls
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.
Officers are trained and taught different polices that require them not to be biased towards any gender or race. Such officers include Sunil Dutta, if you don’t want to get shot, tasted pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you.” (Dutta) uses policies to their advantage. Lack of African-American officers, mainly in communities with citizens of color, can lead to an inquiry that there is a bias in law enforcement agencies and their policies. With recent events in the news displaying the misconduct of officers in an African-American communities like, in July of 2014, where the death of Eric Garner because of “chokehold” by a police officer hit home for many African-Americans and made them question the legislative decisions on policies causing a distrust and lack of confidence within the police departments, shying away citizens from
Police brutality is an act that often goes unnoticed by the vast majority of white Americans. This is the intentional use of “excessive force by an authority figure, which oftentimes ends with bruises, broken bones, bloodshed, and sometimes even death” (Harmon). While law-abiding citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been revealed that they must also keep an eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve. According to the National Police Academy, in the past year, there have been over 7,000 reports of police misconduct; fatalities have been linked to more than 400 of these cases (Gul). Police brutality is often triggered by disrespect towards the police officer.