Counter Arguments and Rebuttals
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Use Of Force by Police officers
Student’s Name: Tyliesha Drayton
University affiliation: ECPI University
Course: ENG 120
Date: 10/24/2023
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Some people never knew there’s a mechanism used when police officers are
dealing with an offender who isn’t compliant this mechanism is the officers last
option. Use of force mechanism is taught to police officers before the officer
graduates. Many citizens never knew that there’s a mechanism to get offenders under
control to comply some look at it as harming an offender. First off, this mechanism is
only used when the amount of force is necessary to deescalate an incident, make an
arrest, or protect themselves or others from harm. The levels of force police will use
would be basic verbal and physical restraint, and less – lethal force, lethal force.
Secondly, there are five uses of force: level one or verbal, Level two or weaponless,
Level three or less lethal weaponry, Level four, or Lethal force (Defensive), and Level
five or Lethal force (offensive). In a situation an officer is likely to use force when an
arrest is made, domestic, traffic stop, drunk/disorderly, and investigation then they’ll
need to use this mechanism. Use of force by police officers is a very important topic
for citizens that disagree with the police officers using deadly force on offenders that
fail to act in accordance with commands, 15 percent of society doesn’t believe it
should be used to prevent harm to the officer and innocent bystanders (Guarino).
Officers use this deadly force to minimize any imminent threat or bodily injury done
to the officer, another person, or to deescalate the disturbance done by the offender.
Given that this is true on the behalf of police officers they must have a reasonable
cause to perform this deadly use of force when a suspect violates the fourth
amendment (“Enforcement Workshop - the Supreme Court’s New Rules for Police
Use of Deadly Force | Office of Justice Programs”).
Use of force has been a concern for most American families. In the article
Police Use of Force in the USA: Wealth of Theories and Lack of Evidence, (McLean
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et al) Offred advice of police officers using the use of force as police brutality. When
is described as the amount required by the police to gain control by an unwilling
subject. These days citizens have been judgmental since the murder of George Floyd
that occurred May 2020 this concern has caused blurred information and untrue
information throughout society. However, such common wisdoms hide the
uncomfortable reality that most citizens are concern with this technique because they
believe that police are using this technique to harm or cause death to an unwilling
subject some also look at it as racial profiling (“Use of Force: What? Where? How
Much? | Office of Justice Programs”). When using use of force there should be a
reason which would only be effective when a subject isn’t being compliant. This
mechanism may only be used when no reasonably effective, safe, and feasible
alternative appears to exist. Some of the reasons uses of force are used would include
arrests, disturbance, domestic, traffic stop, drunk/disorderly, and investigation (“Use
of Force”). When an offender feels the need to flee the scene the officer has probable
cause to enforce the use of force against an unarmed felon from fleeing; the court has
agreed that this use of force will be done to prevent any type of harm. Officers must
have a reasonable cause to arrest the offender which would result in use of force to
prevent escape or resistance to arrest (“Use of Force”). There are 6 steps of use of
force officer presence, verbal commands, soft controls, hard controls, intermediate
weapons, and lethal force. When the officer is using these forces on an offender the
subject should stop moving to deescalate the situation. The main goal for use of force
by police officers is to physical force for an noncompliant offense to carry out lawful
searches, preventing imminent physical harm to themselves or others, or preventing
property damage or loss.
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Handcuffing has been a common method police officer has been around since
the 1780s. The first company to manufacture handcuffs was Hiatt Handcuff.
Handcuffing is a mechanism used as a safety device its safer to control a subject if
they do not have free use of their hands and arms (“Application of Handcuffs Must Be
Reasonable; Constitutes Use of Force”). Handcuffing must be reasonable cause for
example when an officer believes a suspect may try to flee the scene during
investigation then the officer has the right to place them in handcuffs (Adras et al.).
The court decisions have approved to place a subject in handcuffs even when they’re
arrent under arrest. It’s very important for citizens to understand their rights. Some of
the reasons officers have the right to handcuff a subject when executing a warrant, to
protect officers’ safety, when they believe a suspect in custody is a flight risk, at any
time after they place someone under arrest (Adras et al.). There are signs officers look
for when they’re using the handcuffing mechanism on a subject if there’s a risk of
violence included tensing up, not cooperating with commands, making intense eye
contact, being impaired by drugs or alcohol. Things to consider when using handcuffs
on a topic make sure handcuffs aren't too tight, area the person's hands in front of
them if putting they're behind their back is too painful, said the man or woman in the
handcuffs and help them stability while transferring, keep away from useless
accidents. There are three different types of handcuffing styles chain, hinged, and
rigid bar handcuff chain handcuffing is the most popular type of handcuffing style
.
There are several arguments to counter the contentious debate on the use of force by
police officers. This essay highlights these opposing viewpoints, including rebuttals to
support the argument on the ethical and responsible use of force by law enforcement agencies
such as the Police.
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Opponents contend that excessive use of police force is relatively rare and is not an
issue to be overemphasized (Bennell et al., 2021). Despite the fact that not all police
contact results in the use of excessive force, it is crucial to understand that even lone
instances of excessive force can have detrimental consequences that reduce the public's trust
in law enforcement (Bennell et al., 2021). Every instance of excessive force is a severe
problem because it undermines public confidence in the police department as a whole.
Some argue that the use of force is important in the protection of the safety of police
officers, particularly when they are in high-risk situations. Nobody contests the fact that
police officers must use force to protect themselves when faced with urgent danger. However,
the current issue is how force should be used (Mullinix et al., 2020). Reformers advocate for
better training and de-escalation techniques rather than outright forbidding the use of
force. Good training and procedural fairness can reduce the need for excessive force and
boost police safety.
The non-compliance of suspects sometimes justifies the reason for using force since
police officers are left with no choice (Paoline et al., 2018). It is not always necessary to
respond to non-compliance with excessive force. Law enforcement officers are trained in a
number of strategies to compel compliance without resorting to excessive or lethal force,
including verbal de-escalation and non-lethal tactics (Paoline et al., 2018). Determine
whether there were any other, less forceful ways to obtain cooperation by looking into the
circumstances around non-compliance.
In conclusion, engaging with these counter arguments is a powerful approach to
strengthening the argument in favor of the ethical and responsible use of force by police
officers. While acknowledging the opposing viewpoints that exist on these issues, it is crucial
to work towards a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of these multifaced issues
(Bennell et al., 2021). This will encourage meaningful reforms that improve trust in law
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enforcement while also safeguarding the safety and rights of citizens and everyone who
comes into contact with police officers.
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References
Bennell, C., Alpert, G. P., Andersen, J. P., Arpaia, J., Juha Matti Huhta, Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, Ariane Jade Khanizadeh, McCarthy, M., McLean, K., Mitchell, R. J., Arne Nieuwenhuys, Palmer, A., & White, M. D. (2021). Advancing police use of force research and practice: urgent issues and prospects. Legal and Criminological Psychology
, 26
(2), 121–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12191
Mullinix, K. J., Bolsen, T., & Norris, R. J. (2020). The Feedback Effects of Controversial Police Use of Force. Political Behavior
, 43
(2), 881–898. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-020-09646-x
Paoline, E. A., Gau, J. M., & Terrill, W. (2018). Race and the Police use of Force Encounter in the United States. British Journal of Criminology
, azw089–azw089. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azw089
Wood, G., Tyler, T. R., & Papachristos, A. V. (2020). Procedural justice training reduces police use of force and complaints against officers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
, 117
(18), 9815–9821. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920671117
Adras, et al. “Can a Police Officer Handcuff You without Arresting You?” Adras & Altig, Attorneys at Law
, 2 Nov. 2022, www.adrasandaltiglaw.com/can-a-police-officer-
handcuff-you-without-arresting-you/.
“Use of Force.” Police Department
, 3 Feb. 2017, police.ucla.edu/other/use-of-force#: ~:text=The%20reasonableness%20of%20the%20use.
“Use of Force: What? Where? How Much? | Office of Justice Programs.” Www.ojp.gov
, www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/use-force-what-where-how-much
.
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Guarino, Ben. “Few Americans Want to Abolish Police, Gallup Survey Finds.” Washington Post
, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/22/abolish-police-gallup-poll/
.
“Enforcement Workshop - the Supreme Court’s New Rules for Police Use of Deadly Force | Office of Justice Programs.” Ojp.gov
, ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-
library/abstracts/enforcement-workshop-supreme-courts-new-rules-police-use-
deadly#:~:text=The%20six%2Djudge%20majority%20ruled. Accessed 18 Oct. 2023.