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Police Use Of Force Essay

2494 Words10 Pages

Many different issues, controversies, and problems in law enforcement relate to personnel administration. One of the most controversial problems in law enforcement is the use of force. This is a topic that has been studied and talked about repeatedly. The use of force is a problem that can be corrected by addressing the problem and taking action to prevent it. The use of force is an inevitable strategy when it comes to police work. There have been many stories where the lives of citizens and officers have been taken by the incorrect use of force. There is no universal definition of the use of force by police officers. When the use of force comes into play, the correct conclusions must be made as to when the force is necessary, whether the officer has …show more content…

Because of the use of force, there has been a lack of trust with police from communities. There have been many situations in which an officer has used unnecessary force, authority, and racial bias. There are many issues when it comes to the use of force. Rodney King was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality and the incorrect use of force in the 1990s. After this incident, several police agencies began to rethink their use of force training and policies. Many officers even reevaluated what they believed about the mistreatment of the suspects. After the Rodney King incident, there were public outcries about the mistreatment of citizens when it came to police officers and their authorities to use force. There are several cases in which police officers have used an excessive amount of force when handling situations. George Floyd was an African American man who encountered the deadly side of force when an officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes, resulting in his death. Floyd’s death was one of the many that were caught on camera. The video of this incident raised protests just about everywhere in the United States against police brutality, bias, and

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528 Words | 3 Pages

One common opinion is that officers should not use more force than is necessary or reasonable, and even then, that force should be used only as a last resort. “Police use force to affect civilians’ conduct. On a day-to-day basis, they do so most often by employing the least degree of force available to them, their mere presence. Cops wear uniforms and drive distinctly marked cars so that, without saying a word, they may have an effect on citizens’ behavior” (Fyfe, 38). When an officer’s presence fails to fulfill the desired conduct, the next course of action for said officer would be verbalization.

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Police officers have vowed their life to protect and serve. They risk their lives every day for their communities. As the last few years have sped past us, police officers have been very aggressive with the force they use when arresting a suspect, or even people in general. According to a Texas article on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, “police officers typically use force offensively rather than defensively and do so with at least some degree of premeditation.” (Gross,2013, page 167).

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Although we hope our Police force will use their powers for good, but sometimes police misconduct can occur. Often, the police are under great pressure to act as quick as possible, espcially in a murder case and if the murder victime is white, a child, police officer, or prominent. For example, In the 1990’s the case of Rodney King, that not only shows a racist issue within the criminal justice system, but also the issue with abuse from police officers, but changed the country’s views on the LA police force. Twenty- Seven years ago,Rodney King was brutally beaten by Los Angeles police officers.

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200 Words | 1 Pages

Christopher J. Harris, a professor at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, used data from various studies to test his theory that there may be certain types of officers that are more susceptible to using force and also that certain situational factors (like circumstances/environment and the suspect/victim involved) increase the chances of force being used. His hypothesis was right in that there are certain situations and types of officers more prone to have an improper force incident. Out of all the data roughly 4-5% of cases showed use of force; of that 2.3-3.3% were shown to have been reasonable force, while only 1.3-1.8% were improper use cases. Young, inexperienced, male officers tended to be more likely to use improper force while aggressive/hostile,

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485 Words | 2 Pages

The beating of Rodney King – the presence of situational and emotional dynamics in violent situations. Most incidents of police violence which have created a public scandal has the appearance of atrocity due to its disproportionate use of force. The Rodney King beating in Los Angeles, March 1991 is an archetypal instance. King was caught by police officers after a high-speed chase and was brutally beaten (Karstedt, Loader & Strang, 2013). Local witness George Holiday filmed much of it from his balcony and the video later aired around the world, which raised concerns about police treatment of minorities in America (Karstedt, Loader & Strang, 2013).

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190 Words | 1 Pages

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760 Words | 4 Pages

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1683 Words | 7 Pages

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