I’m sure most of us have seen the
video on YouTube of the ISU student involved in an altercation with a police
officer that used pepper spray on the individual in order to subdue him. Some
people think that the officer did what was necessary in order to take the
student into custody and some believe that he went too far when he decided to
use pepper spray. So the question I would like to ask is, when is it ok for a
police officer to use a higher level of force in order to subdue a suspect and
do police ever take it too far? Police officers deal with hundreds of different
people every day most of them are civil and understand that the police are just
doing their jobs but other make it rather difficult. When that happens, police
sometimes have no choice but to use force in order to control the situation. According
to the National Institute of Justice “Police officers should use only the
amount of force necessary to control an incident, effect an arrest, or protect
themselves or others from harm or death.” If police are required to use higher
levels of force they are to have the individual receive medical attention
immediately after. There are many different levels of force that the officer
can use. These range from less than lethal force, such as pepper spray,
punching, kicking and Taser’s. In some more serious cases police dogs and
pellet guns are brought in, in some more serious scenarios police are required
to use deadly force when the officer believes that his or her life is in
danger. But how does an officer know when to go to that next level and use a
more serious use of force such as a Taser, mace, bring in a K9 unit, etc.? This
is when the officer’s discretion plays a huge role in knowing when it is time
for them to use a more extreme tactic in order to defuse the situation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdCUdR8qNF4&feature=email
As seen in the video some officers
believe that it is better to use more force earlier in a confrontation then others
would. Some people would see the lady as just an innocent shopper having a
little argument with the cashier causing no physical harm to people, but then
the officer got involved and for some reason thought it was necessary to use a
Taser to control the individual. Even though some might think that the officer
overreacted and should not have gone to such extremes, the chief explains that
the officer did the right thing and didn’t break any department rules. Overall
the police are just trying to do their job but when offenders chose to react in
a way that can put the officer at risk of becoming injured they have no choice
but to use a more extreme devices. In general police using his or her own
discretion to determine when to use a more serious form of force has been shown
to work.
Work cited:
http://nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/officer-safety/use-of-force/welcome.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdCUdR8qNF4&feature=email
Work cited:
http://nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/officer-safety/use-of-force/welcome.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdCUdR8qNF4&feature=email
I was a little confused as to what exactly your point of view on the subject is. I think that police discretion is a very tricky subject. The video was a little difficult to make out but it did seem like the police officer may have reacted a little too strongly. I hate to say that is because she is a woman (clearly I am as well and I want to be a police officer) but it did seem as if it was easier for her to just pull out the taser instead of physically taking the woman to the ground to arrest her. Police discretion is of course up to the officer in question, and it is hard for others to judge "what they would have done" in the same situation. Even though I do believe it is necessary to make sure that the police don't abuse their power, I also think it is important NOT to portray the police as "bad". Police taken an oath to "Serve and Protect" but they are only human and occasionally make mistakes. We need to remind ourselves that we cannot constantly "police the police" or they will not be able to do their jobs effectively any longer.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Krista, I am slightly confused regarding your stance on the subject. Yes, discretion is obviously a key element when looking at an issue of this matter. However, I feel that the discretionary decision making is a part of what makes you a good police officer. You must know how to react in different situations and know the amount of force needed to control a situation. In the video we see a female officer quickly use a taser on a citizen. Krista implies a good point, that the use of force accessories could easily be used as tools to provide ease to police officers. Despite a new era of police professionalism being in progress, I believe there will always be issues regarding police and use of force. I think it is important for citizens to remember that "police have only brief moments to make decisions while citizens have all day to contradict them." This can be seen in the video when the female officer tases the citizen. The news media ridiculed the officer for her actions without necessarily knowing the whole story. Perhaps that officer encountered that citizen last week with a gun and the citizen reached for her pocket. So basing her decision on her past experiences with the citizen was great. However, that is not to say that the alternative Krista mentioned does not happen either.
ReplyDeleteI believe the amount of force an officer should use is difficult to judge from looking at the situation from the outside. It is easy as a college student to view a video of a woman being tased at a store and come to the conclusion that the officer was out of line and used too much force than was necessary. But is it possible that the officer felt threatened and simply reacted? Police officers are trained for situations similar to this, but I feel that it may be possible that when an individual is put into a threatening situation their body naturally reacts to fight or flight. I am not saying that it is okay to use excessive force, but I find it difficult to criticize the way someone acts when I have not been in a similar situation. However, our Police Ethics book states that police should first use the power of exhortation and reciprocity before turning to coercion and violence. It seems reasonable to first use logic or an exchange and to attempt to calm a situation, but sometimes it is difficult to calm an irate individual. There have been recent incidences of officers using excessive force to break up some of the Occupy Wall Street Movements. Officers in California and Seattle, Washington went on a pepper spraying bonanza, which got out of control. Some of these officers were put on administrative leave. I believe some officers simply get power happy when they are allowed to use force. There does, however, seem to be a time and place for deadly force as in the case of an offender holding a gun. I have been taught that a gun in hand is a gun in use. There have been officers who have unfortunately attempted to talk people into dropping their weapons and have been killed in the process. I think the only way an officer can know how much force is appropriate in each situation is to be properly trained and from experience in the field.
ReplyDeleteThe level of force an officer has to use in any given situation is very hard to judge, considering not every situation is the same. The only person who can really judge what level of force to use in an altercation is the officer or officers involved. This is why we need competent and level-headed officers so they can make these split decision choices correctly.The public lets the police have these powers, yet when they actually see force being used in real life they are appalled and scream police brutality. The public does not realize that at times the officers need to punch, taze, pepper spray, or even shoot an individual to stop the situation from getting out of hand. In the ISU video I think the officer was completely justified in the amount of force he used considering he was involved with a combatant subject with no backup. Honestly, I have spoken to other officers when talking about that tape and they said he should of actually used more force because the incident went on for too long. There are, however, cases where police force does go too far and sadly, these are the only cases that you see on youtube or the news. Well trained officers are a must in this profession so they can get the support and cooperation from the public. In the end, harsh force needs to be used from time to time and the only person who can judge how far use the force is the officer involved and the public needs to trust our officers to make these hard and split second decisions wisely.
ReplyDeleteI agree that police officers should be able to use their own discretion in each situation in deciding how much force they might need to use to control a situation. I also do believe that their are many situations that you will find a police officer using more force than needed. Most of the time you might never know what the whole story could be because they media only shows viewers what they want society to believe is true. You might think one situation is just a normal one but you might of never thought that the person that just got tasered is a known police fighter.. This is sometimes why I think some police use more force in some of the situations they in counter.
ReplyDeleteI like the point that Krista made about "policing the police." It would be difficult to effectively do your job as a police officer while constantly thinking that everything you do will be scrutinized by everyone.
ReplyDeleteThis topic of police force reminds me of the controversy in Champaign a couple of years ago. Police responded to a burglary call and when they went in the house, two teens were in there. A physical altercation ensued, and I believe that one of the kids reached at the officer's weapon. When that happened, the officer reacted and shot the teen, Kiwane Carrington, resulting in Kiwane's death. This was the most popular topic with the media for a long time, and is sometimes still referenced in the news.
At some times a police office can take matter into their own hands and cause more harm then good. Their discretion is based on the individuals training. Therefore the answer is not always "We need more training", but rather a combination of training and situational skills. This subject is a problem that always needs to be addressed. All kinds of situations occure and can not always be trained for. The officers do their best with what they have been trained for. Others believe that you should always go one step above the force levels, in order to handle the situation, just like the lady that was tazzed. This training is affective but is also contraversial.
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