Justified And Unjustified Use Of Force: Ferguson Case Study

Essay

Justified/Unjustified Use of Force

Ferguson Case

The death of Michael Brown at the hands of an armed law enforcement officer Darren Wilson with Michael being unarmed in the whole case presents an opportunity for the analysts and students to understand and study the use of force. There are different schools of thought in this case whether this was a justified use of force by the police officer or not, but all of this needs to be set aside when the verdict of grand jury comes in the favor of the police officer. Different eye witnesses had different opinions and statements on the real scenario which made the case more complicated. One could talk about various aspects related to this case as of why did this happen but the reality seems to

For example, if you are walking down the street and somebody starts yelling at you. Now if you return and give that person a smack, that would be a use of force, but is it justified? No. on the other hand if that person is a police officer, you need to listen to him and do as he says rather than running away. The police officer has the right to do what he’s doing rather it is his duty. But in the case of a civilian yelling at you, if he gets closer and indulges himself in a fight with you, his actions are not justified.

In the case of Ferguson, the scenario is a bit different. Michael was not walking on the sidewalk rather he and his friend Johnson were walking in the middle of the street. Moreover, Michael was apparently not an innocent civilian, he had just committed a robbery. In this specific circumstance, the yelling and shouting of the police officer upon Michael to halt is a justified use of force, and Michael in return indulging in manhandling is

Louis County police and Pierre Wilson with the case under discussion, it makes the scenario quite easier to understand. These two gentlemen got into an argument where officer charged Pierre with an extendable baton that broke three of Pierre’s fingers and was refused any medical attention for quite some time. This case was too an unjustified use of force by the officer since they were in an argument and no physical threat was apparent from the discussion. The stresses and frustrations in the life of a police officer are understandable but they never justify charging civilians with defense guards provided to the officers. In the end, officer Gore was suspended without pay. But in the case under discussion, officer Wilson came up with fatal shots that resulted in the death of Michael while on the other hand mere charging with the baton got Gore suspended. In both the cases unjustified use of force is evident and makes the case of officer Wilson an example of extreme reactional use of force.

The real reasons that made officer Wilson shoot 12 rounds on Michael might never be known. Some describe them as racial discrimination while others argue on stressful life and self-defense upon being charged physically. In any case the use of force that may prove to be fatal is