¶ … Excessive Force
Since September of 2011, "federal prosecutors are targeting a rising number of law enforcement officers for alleged brutality" (Johnson, 2007). Statistics report that there have been increases in "cases in which police, prison guards and other law enforcement authorities have used excessive force or other tactics to violate victim's civil rights," estimates put it at approximately 25% (Johnson, 2007). Given the increase in excessive force by police, it inevitably leads to the question: why is this happening?
Excessive force is a concept that does not have a concrete definition; but there are some levels of force by cops that are thought to be excessive based on the circumstances that they are confronted with. "Excessive force," according to ABC news, is a "slippery metaphor" and "experts say it's any force beyond what's necessary to arrest a suspect and keep police and bystanders safe" (Segan, 2011). From 1994 to 1998, there have been 147,362 incidence of police related force according to a project manager for the National Police Use of Force Database Project (Segan, 2011). Though, the Human Right Watch group reports that there have been approximately 12,000 complaints a year of law enforcement abuse (Segan, 2011). As attention is being drawn to the excessive force incidents, society is being increasingly alarmed at the violations it poses to their civil rights.
Statement of problem
The issue that needs to be researched are the factors that are involved with the increased police brutality...
Analysts worry that the imagery of "terrorist" and "immigrant" will be a potent source of increased uses of excessive force (Bai and Tang 2002). Finally, the fact that juries rarely convict police officers for use of excessive force indirectly contributes to this culture. The police officers accused in the Diallo killing and the Rodney King beating, for example, were acquitted. Author and former prosecutor Scott Turrow wrote about the difficulty
If the suspect's injuries required medical attention, though, the use of force might be considered excessive. Each case is considered on an individual basis. Such elements as the officer's size, the suspect's size, the severity of any injury incurred, and the severity of the crime under question will all be taken into account. When defining "excessive force," uninvolved officers who are considered to be reasonable and prudent will provide a
Excessive Use of Police Force in the State of California Excessive Force in California The objective of this study is to examine the use of excessive force by police officers in the State of California. Toward this end, this study will conduct an extensive review of literature in this area of inquiry. The work of Wiley (2011) entitled "Excessive Force Claims: Disentangling Constitutional Standards" reports that "excessive force claims seem to be reported
S. In April 2005, where there is a description of how a cell search took place there as per his version. "The guards secured his hands behind his back and, while he was so restrained, the guards picked him up and slammed his body and his head into the steel bunk in his cell. They then threw him on the floor and continued to pound his body and bang his
The young man had struck the officer repeatedly before continuing to resist arrest, and finally being killed. The court found in favor of the officer. Hopkins v. Andaya is a similar case in which an officer was struck repeatedly and ignore despite several warnings. In both these cases, self-defense necessitated the use of firearms. In the case of Tennessee v Garner, on the other hand, a suspect was fleeing. According to
During the 1960's and 1970's, violent contact with the police, resulting in force occurred during anti-war, labor and civil rights demonstrations, during a politically tumultuous time. It is safe to conclude that excessive force was used during these clashes. Deaths and injuries were the results of political clashes at the Republican Convention in Chicago, during campus riots held at several universities, during political demonstrations held in public places and in
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