The Use of Force by Police, Specific Cases and their Implications - Research Paper Example

?The Use of Force by Police, Specific Cases and their Implications Force is a technique that is needed in order for police to perform their day to day duties; however there are no widespread regulations about what constitutes unreasonable levels of force. There is concern among the public that there is not much control over the way that the police use the power they have and that the control over this is limited. Three recent news events indicate that police are often aggressive in their approach; in many cases the aggression appears higher than warranted by the situation. During the Wall Street protests, there were two incidents of pepper spray use: one of them appears to be entirely unwarranted, with video evidence supporting this accusation, while the other is less clear. Accusations of unwarranted violence have also been made in cases regarding the arrest of one drunk and disorderly man, and two men with tinted windows. The evidence from these cases suggests that police use force as a response to many situations, even when it does not appear to be strictly needed. Introduction Force is used by the police to overcome resistance to their authority and to protect both civilians and officers. It is necessary that they have this ability in order for them to carry out their function, and the use of reasonable force is legal. However, the subject is one of significant contention, in regards to both non-deadly and deadly force. The use of force is often connected with racism, with significant concern by civilians that many instances where force is used are the result of racial profiling. There is rising debate about whether the police overstep their boundaries in the use of force, using force when it is not necessary, and in order to subdue or suppress civilians that are involved in undesirable, but not illegal actions. Examples of this include use of police force on civilians during peaceful protests, and using excessive force on particular races but not others. This had lead to concerns that control surrounding the use of force in the police is severely lacking. The manner in which police use force is varied and depends on the circumstance, the individuals involved and the agency in which the officer is from. The most basic form of force involves the use of handcuffs. Other non-lethal forms of force include the use of conductive energy devices (CEDs) such as tasers, and of aerosol sprays such as Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray, also known as pepper spray . Firearms are also used, although the rate at which they are discharged is low, with one study estimating at in 0.6% of incidents a firearm was discharged . There are no national laws or regulations that control the use of firearms within the police, and as a consequence, policies differ between cities and states. The rules and directives concerning the use of force differ between agencies. Within the United States, 45% of local and state law enforcement agencies have been found to allow the use of OC spray, and 20-30% allow the use of CEDs to bypass passive resistance . Likewise, different agencies and states have different follow-up procedures for the use of force. The amount of force used by police has been found to differ significantly depending on the authority of the police officer. Detectives were found to be considerably more forceful than patrol officers under the same types of situations . Concern for the use of force by the police is partially connected to the lack of discipline for police officers that use force that is greater than the situation requires, even when the force that was used was clearly unjustified. In the case of the use of lethal force through firearms, following incidents it is often unclear whether the force used was unjustified or justified. As the cases are reviewed by the police, there are few cases where the use of force is considered unjustified and as a consequence there are few criminal charges laid . The definition of justified force that is used by the police in these investigations does not always match this of civilians, and as a consequence, the outcomes of these reviews are often questioned. The Wall Street Protests On September 17, 2011 around 1,000 protesters attended the first day of a peaceful protest known as Occupy Wall Street. The protest had been in planning stages since early in June and was designed to be a peaceful occupation of Wall Street in protest of the budget cuts, and the way that money is being handled in the US in general. From the seventh day of the protest, there were rumors of police brutality, with videos surfacing of police using mace on young women. The women were protesting peacefully, and were hemmed in and sprayed as a group. Several videos of the incident have been posted online, which clearly indicate that the use of force in this case was unwarranted, as the women were well within their legal rights to peacefully protest. For the officer in question, Anthony Bologna, this is not the first time that he has been questioned for his conduct, as he already stands accused of violating civil rights and of conducting false arrests during protests against President George W. Bush and the Iraq war in 2004. There is pending legal action over this event which is expected to be heard in 2012 . However, this was not the only example of the use of police force during the Wall Street protests. While the initial protest ended towards the end of September, this was not the end of the protests as demonstrations continued not just in New York, but in cities and states across the country. A second incident of pepper spraying occurred in the first week of October when protested rushed barricades that were erected to prevent them from accessing the Stock Exchange and Wall Street . Beyond these incidents, images of force by the police, many times appearing unreasonable, continue to appear online, although for most there is no official comment from the police. The Wall Street protests are a recent example of observed use of police force against citizens that were within their rights protesting peacefully. It is likely that in part the police were responding out of fear and uncertainty as there were a large number of protesters, and while the protest was peaceful, there was always the prospect that it could turn violent. Police have been extensively condemned for their actions throughout the period, with many of the organizers deeming the response of the police both brutal and unnecessary . The second incident of pepper spraying, while having received widespread media attention, is not as radical as the first. Here, protesters attempted to overrun the police, who were forced to respond in some manner for their own safety and that of the protesters. In contrast, during the first incident of pepper spraying, the young women did nothing that put either themselves or the police in danger, and broke no laws. Questionable use of a Taser On May 31, 2009 David Twedt, a 56 year old man from Iowa had a confrontation with police. He was intoxicated at the time, and the police told him to dump out his drink onto the ground. He did not, and ignored repeated police requests for him to stop. Eventually, after being tailed home by police, Twedt confronted Officer Adam Dupic near the driveway of his home. Dupic had his taser ready and Twedt commented on this. There is some contention of what was said, but the consequence is that Dupic fired the taser into Twedt. This was not the end of the event, with the police pepper spraying Twedt repeatedly, and using the taser on him no less than eight times. Even though he was repeatedly disobeying police orders and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct Twedt claims that the use of force by the police in this case was excessive and unwarranted. The police argue that the level of force used was necessary in order to subdue Twedt, as he has a history of difficult behavior. Dupic states that, he used the force as Twedt was intoxicated and past experience indicated that the man was prone to violence . While this explains the first use of the taser, it does not account for the sheer number of times that both pepper spray and the taser was used on this man. Improper Use of Force in Mountain View In Mountain View, Colo a complaint was filed against a police officer for excessive use of force when dealing with two mean who had improperly tinted windows. The two mean report being repeatedly yelled at, with the officer slamming the passenger onto the floor and rough handled both of them. The passenger suffered bruises and cuts to both his face and upper chest, requiring treatment in hospital. The two men were charged with resisting arrest, which they claimed not to have done. The driver of the car considered that this could be a reaction to the tinted windows themselves, and was concerned for other people who might have them . The investigation into this is still ongoing, and the officers point of view has not yet been heard. As a consequence, it is difficult to determine whether this is the full story, however it does appear to indicate a form of prejudice or stereotyping as a consequence of the window type that the men had. Conclusion What is reasonable force? This paper has discussed three different incidents where police have used force in a manner that some observers consider questionable. There is no standard as to what constitutes reasonable or unreasonable force, and in many cases the decision is one the police officer has to make in a few seconds at most. The example of Wall Street protestors rushing the barricade and being pepper sprayed by the police is one incident of this. Here the police had little time to react, whether their reaction was necessary is difficult to determine, but their reaction was reasonable given the circumstances. In contrast, earlier on in the protest a police officer used pepper spray on a group of young women who were peacefully protesting and well within their rights. Clearly, this was not reasonable use of force. Police use force in order to perform the requirements of their job, and they would be ineffective without it. Nevertheless, force is easily misused whether it is as a result of individual prejudice, fear or poor decision making. As a consequence, it is important that there are appropriate controls in place. References Read More