Critical Analysis 1 -CJ
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Using Force to Uphold the Law
Dawson S. Payne
University of North Georgia
Intro. To Criminal Justice G1
Professor Whitney Hicks
October 11, 2023
Using Force to Uphold the Law
In today’s society, there are many controversies over law enforcement and procedures. A controversy that stands out the most is police brutality. People talk about this topic a lot of times and the media has highlighted many incidents. People are constantly seeing the small number of individual officers who act out or those who are faced with a tough split-second decision, which could mean the difference between the life or death of an officer too. The media highlights when the police kill people in the line of duty, however, it is not mentioned enough how much an officer must endure helping maintain peace and order in society, under the laws of the United States. For police to use force they must abide by the law and do so only when there is no other safe and feasible option. Police are hurting people in the process, but what about the individuals who believe they know their rights when most are ignorant of the laws? People know their rights,
but most are not educated on all articles, statutes, precedents, and other laws that influence what officers can and cannot do. The use of force is necessary to keep peace unless every individual were to live in complete harmony.
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In most day-to-day situations, law enforcement does not have a justifiable reason to use force at all. “Most officers start as patrol officers. Typical day-to-day duties include assisting in emergency scenes, responding to burglaries, and monitoring the roadways and stopping cars that are driving erratically or speeding” (Para. 3, Khan Academy). Very rarely are there situations where law enforcement officials have to decide whether or not to take forceful action to gain control of a possibly dangerous situation. Many people do not understand that federal law grants law enforcement officials the legal right to use force under specified conditions. According to the
United States Department of Justice, in the case of Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989), “Officers may use force only when no reasonably effective, safe, and feasible alternative appears to exist and may use only the level of force that a reasonable officer on the scene would use under the same or similar circumstances. It is the policy of the Department of Justice to value and preserve human life. Officers may use only the force that is objectively reasonable to effectively gain control of an incident, while protecting the safety of the officer and others, in keeping with the standards set forth in Graham v. Connor” (Para. 1, Department of Justice).
The police are not able to just abuse their power, and they must follow strict guidelines to engage
in forceful activities, otherwise, they face severe consequences. In the United States, there is a movement that has been going on for years now, called Stop Police Brutality. Many people believe that all police are brutal and are bad people who are out to get citizens. Many situations have occurred where police are forced to use force or even deadly force, but even when it is legally justified, people still see a problem with it. For example,
on August 1st, 2023, a man at a mall in Brookhaven, Georgia was shot and killed. The male was reported to be yelling at customers at the mall and was carrying a knife. When the police arrived
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on the scene they found the man who matched the description given by the 911 caller. When the police approached the suspect and attempted to speak to the man, he became very angry and agitated. He continued yelling and proceeded to throw his drink onto the two officers. With the knife visible, the man had begun to charge at one of the officers, by which the officer punched the suspect, and a fellow officer tased the man. When the taser did not work and the man attempted again, one of the officers shot the suspect and called for medical support immediately. When the suspect arrived at the hospital he was then pronounced dead. The man has yet to be identified, and the shooting is under investigation. Due to technological advancements, everyone can record, and the media loves to highlight the worst situations that are very biased. Most of the time people are recording situations that occur with law enforcement officials, and some videos tend to go viral. These clips will show how “brutal” the police are, however, many times there is not enough content to the given situation to show the whole picture. Due to the media showing the wrongdoings of the few, they affect the image of the remaining hard-working men and women who put their lives at risk for the safety of the public. This hurts the relationship and trust
between law enforcement and the public, which is opposite of what law enforcement stands for. To become an officer of the law, individuals “must undergo rigorous testing and training in order to enter this profession” (Para. 6, Khan Academy). These tests include an asset, an accuplacer, a compass test, and a psych evaluation. This job also requires officers to have a background check done, and they cannot have any prior convictions. For someone to enter law enforcement they pass rigorous tests to become authority figures that uphold the law. These people deserve a lot of respect for the hard work they have achieved, and their selflessness in helping people and maintaining order under the current set of laws. Now the system is not
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perfect, and sometimes there are extremely unfortunate situations whether it be at the fault of a perpetrator/suspect or an officer. Human error is real, and the criminal justice system is not perfect, but there are constant developments to improve policing and help officers learn when it is and is not okay to use force or deadly force in a given situation. According to the United States Department of Justice,
1-16.600 - TRAINING –
V. All officers shall receive training, at least annually, on the Department's use of force policy and related legal updates.
VI. In addition, training shall be provided on a regular and periodic basis and designed to:
Provide techniques for the use of and reinforce the importance of de-escalation;
Simulate actual shooting situations and conditions; and
Reinforce the appropriate exercise of discretion and judgment in using less-than-lethal and deadly force in accordance with this policy.
VII. All use-of-force training shall be documented (Para. 8, Department of Justice).
For the many people who are not aware, the officers who protect our streets are consistently learning and training so that they do not use excessive force. Their goal is to de-escalate the situation to maintain order, and peace, and to protect the public. The brave men and women who continue to put on their uniform and to go out into the public to serve and protect our society, are the reason we have order here in the United States. Without the hard work of these men and women, people would do as they please, and the citizens
would be left to defend themselves. Though the system is not perfect, it is necessary to have a functioning society. When people do not listen to the authority of a law enforcement official, and
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then proceed to get aggressive, they will face forceful action until the officer gains control and restrains the individual. The goal is never to use force, and to solve things peacefully. However, when something goes sideways, and an officer's life is on the line, a decision will have to be made. The police have to be able to protect themselves, and should not be punished if they are acting accordingly in the line of duty. Living with guilt from these situations can be enough to rob a person of their sense of self. If individuals who came into contact with law enforcement officials were cordial and cooperative, then there is no need for the use of force. Police brutality occurs but very rarely in a corrupt way. The police do what they have the legal right for and if someone resists, then they make the situation escalate. Officers are people too, and are not perfect, however, they are being trained consistently, they must uphold the law, and they pass rigorous requirements to obtain their position in society. I believe that the use of force is necessary and people should look into the statistics of police corruption and the new updated training requirements for law enforcement
officials before they determine all police are bad. Without the use of force, law enforcement officials would be sitting ducks. The legal use of force should not be considered police brutality, because the officers are within their rights to use force if seen as necessary.
References
The United States Department of Justice. (2022, July 25). 1-16.000 - department of justice policy
on use of Force. The United States Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/jm/1-
16000-department-justice-policy-use-force#:~:text=Officers%20may%20use%20force
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%20only,the%20same%20or%20similar%20circumstances
. N/A, N. (n.d.). What does a police officer do? (article). Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/college-careers-more/career-content/serve-your-
community/career-profile-police-officer/a/what-does-a-police-officer-do#:~:text=Most
%20officers%20start%20off%20as,required%20to%20file%20a%20report
. Atlanta, F. 5. (2023, August 1). Man armed with saw blade shot and killed by police outside Town Brookhaven. FOX 5 Atlanta. https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/town-brookhaven-
shooting-peachtree-road
.
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