Question

Considering the topic of police-involved shootings (justified or unjustified), police misconduct and the social justice movement, compare and contrast the use of force, excessive force, and excessive use of force.

Explain the importance of the force factor and the use of force continuum.

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Answer 1

• Excessive force refers to situations where government officials legally entitled to use force exceed the minimum amount necessary to diffuse an incident or to protect themselves or others from harm. This can come up in different contexts, such as when handling prisoners or even during military operations.
• When it involves law enforcement, especially during an arrest, it's also referred to as police brutality. The constitutional right to be free from excessive force is found in the reasonable search and seizure requirement of the Fourth Amendment and the prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment in the Eighth Amendment.
• One example resulting in a Supreme Court finding of excessive force was a case in which an unarmed, non-threatening teenager was shot in the head by police while fleeing a house he had burglarized.
• At the time, a state law authorized the use of "all the necessary means to effect the arrest" of fleeing suspects, regardless of the situation.
• In finding excessive force in that case, the Court also overturned the state law because it allowed for unreasonable uses of force.
• With that case, the court reiterated that deadly force can only be used during an arrest if:
• 1.Necessary to prevent the escape; and
• 2.The officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.
• When a white policeman shot a black teenager to death in Ferguson, Missouri, the incident sparked days of riots and months of protests. Few issues are as volatile as the use of police force. This one was especially controversial because it also involved racial tensions and the use of deadly force against a youth.
• Though these incidents are divisive, note that police are entitled to maintain and enforce social order through the use of force. The use of force refers to the amount of effort used by an officer in order to compel an offender to comply with the officer.
• Officers face dangerous situations every day and are permitted to use appropriate measures to address those situations and complete their law enforcement duties.
• The Use of Force Spectrum-The Supreme Court has recognized that "the right to make an arrest or investigatory stop necessarily carries with it the right to use some degree of physical coercion or threat."
• However, the degree of coercion or force used must be proportional to the threat and escalate only in response to the threat. So, for example, in an ideal situation, an officer should use the following graduated methods to diffuse a situation:
• Physical presence: Using his or her mere presence,where no force is used. This is the preferred method to resolve a situation.
• Verbalization: Using verbal statements, from non-threatening requests to direct orders.Here, officers first issue typical commands in a nonthreatening manner. An example is, 'hand me your driver's license.' Officers can become more forceful in their commands if the offender is not compliant, such as shouting 'stop' or 'put your hands up!'
• Empty-Hand Control: Using physical bodily force through grabs, holds, punches or kicks. Officers start with soft technique, which includes grabbing or holding the offender. This is used if the offender is trying to get away from the officers.
• If more force is needed to gain compliance, the officer can move to hard technique, which includes punching or kicking. This is used if the offender is physically assaulting the officer. Some moves, such as chokeholds, have been banned in many jurisdictions.
• Less Lethal Methods: Using weapons such as a baton, chemical sprays, Tasers, or police dogs. Here, officers use certain technologies to gain control of a situation, such as chemical spray or a conducted energy device.
• A conducted energy device, or CED, is a tool, such as a Taser, that discharges a jolt of electricity into the offender. These items are used when the offender poses a threat to the officer or others by resisting empty-hand control or possessing a weapon other than a firearm.
• Lethal Force: Using lethal weapons such as firearms. Lethal force is only appropriate when an offender poses an immediate and serious threat to the officer or another person. In most jurisdictions, this means the officer or another person must be threatened with death or serious bodily harm, such as when an offender brandishes a firearm. Officers use deadly force by firing their firearms.
  
• In order to be considered reasonable and compliant with the Constitution, whenever force is used (the last 3 methods), it must stop when the need for the force ceases, for instance when a suspect is successfully restrained or a situation has otherwise de-escalated.