The basic issue that has led to the development of proposed SB 5073 is police accountability in the use of deadly force in community policing. There have been numerous examples within the last year of police using deadly force while dealing with members of minority communities of different racial or ethnic backgrounds. In most cases, if not all cases, imminent danger created by the suspect was very much in doubt. As a result, the Congressional legislators have proposed SB 5073.
The controversy that has led to this bill has been created by widespread confusion over disjointed policing policy regarding the use of deadly force, especially in diverse communities. For example according to Amnesty International (2015), the United States did not keep …show more content…
The United States ratified it in 1992. It states that, “The deprivation of life by the authorities of the State is a matter of the utmost gravity and that states must take measures to prevent arbitrary killing by their own security forces." Therefore, all states must comply with International law and standards, including the United Nations Basic Principles on the use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, Principle 9. This principle states: “Law enforcement officials shall not use firearms against persons except in self- defense or defense of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury, to prevent the perpetration of a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to prevent his or her escape, and only when less extreme means are insufficient to achieve these objectives. In any event, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect …show more content…
All these above issues in turn create a lack of trust by the public toward the police and policing practices. They translate into a feeling of a lack of respect for minority communities and a lack of respect for life among the
The controversy that has led to this bill has been created by widespread confusion over disjointed policing policy regarding the use of deadly force, especially in diverse communities. For example according to Amnesty International (2015), the United States did not keep …show more content…
The United States ratified it in 1992. It states that, “The deprivation of life by the authorities of the State is a matter of the utmost gravity and that states must take measures to prevent arbitrary killing by their own security forces." Therefore, all states must comply with International law and standards, including the United Nations Basic Principles on the use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, Principle 9. This principle states: “Law enforcement officials shall not use firearms against persons except in self- defense or defense of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury, to prevent the perpetration of a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to prevent his or her escape, and only when less extreme means are insufficient to achieve these objectives. In any event, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect …show more content…
All these above issues in turn create a lack of trust by the public toward the police and policing practices. They translate into a feeling of a lack of respect for minority communities and a lack of respect for life among the