2. The police subculture is defined by secrecy, solidarity, and cynicism. In at least 350 words, reflect on how a subculture that promotes these attributes impacts an officer’s ability to conduct himself or herself in a professional and ethical manner.
3. According to the National Institute of Justice (2016), police officers “should use only the amount of force necessary to mitigate an incident, make an arrest, or protect themselves or others from harm” (para. 5). How does a police officer determine the “right” amount of force to use? When is use of force considered unlawful? In this Discussion, you will identify a specific incident involving the of use of force and determine whether it was lawful. In doing so, you will consider the outcomes of two landmark U.S. Supreme Court Cases: Tennessee v Garner (1985) and Graham v Connor (1989).
National Institute of Justice. (2016). Police use of force. Retrieved from https://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/officer-safety/use-of-force/pages/welcome.aspx
To Prepare:
• Read about these two cases provided in this module’s Learning Resources.
• Also, review these Learning Resources:
o National Institute of Justice, “The Use-of-Force Continuum”
o Community Oriented Policing Services, “Use of Force”
• Locate a video link on the Internet that involves police use of force. The video should be less than 5 minutes long. Ensure that it has transcripts so it’s accessible to all your colleagues.
• Post the link to the video with your initial discussion response.
•
Post at least 300 words, in which you:
• Provide an overview of the occurrence of use of force described in the video
• Describe which police department was involved
• Explain why the police were in contact with the person(s) that they used force against
• Include any other information you feel is pertinent to the case
• Determine whether the police use of force in the video is lawful, based on the related case law and information you learned regarding the use of force continuum. Explain why or why not.
Links: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/471/1/ https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/490/386/
Answer preview
Police officers should always ensure they only use the amount of force required to deescalate an incident, protect themselves, and property from harm (National Institute of Justice, 2016). The courts, through the decisions in the Tennessee vs Garner (1985) and the Graham vs Connor (1989) cases uphold such an approach when it comes to the reasonable use of force by police officers. With regard to the Philando Castile shooting, the amount of force used by Yanez was not lawful and appropriate, considering the underlying context. Castile did not pose any threat to the officer, and as such, he should not have used lethal force which resulted in Castile’s death. Although Yanez verbally asked Castile not to reach for his gun, he should have used non-lethal force to deal with the situation.
