Excessive Force
What is excessive force? According to Wex Legal Dictionary and Encyclopedia, excessive force is when the force exceeds the required amount of force to de-escalate a situation or to safeguard the individual or others from any hurt, harm, or danger from an individual (Excessive Force, n.d.). Excessive force is becoming an increasing issue as society grows and crimes evolve. Some of the problems stem from the illegal exercise of police power due to the lack of funds for adequate training, staffing, promotional opportunities, retention, and resources.
More than half of law enforcement agencies have policies and procedures that provide guidance on the use of force. According to the National Institute of Justice (NIJ, 2009), these policies and procedures provide a series of actions to de-escalate a situation when it is becoming out of control with a suspect. It is always difficult to outline the needed force one can use in restraining a suspect resisting arrest. This continuum provides numerous levels of force for an officer to respond to a suspect.
According to NIJ (2009), the law enforcement officers are taught the correct way to use the use-of-force continuum and are expected to use the appropriate amount of force to resolve any situation. The NIJ (2009) added that, depending on the circumstances of the case, a law enforcement officer can be very impulsive in the use-of-force continuum. Each level of force is flexible to change with the escalation and