Today, police officers are expected to face countless danger while keeping the peace. These officers are expected respond to calls for service and later find their response scrutinized by society, media, and policy makers. Often questioned are the discretionary powers afforded to police officers and a quest by the public for a change in the way officers respond. Use of Force in today’s climate gives rise to a plethora of complaints, unfavorable publicity, and unnecessary stress while officers strive to execute their sworn duties. The use of force is determined by the nature of the dangers; therefore, officers responding to dangerous calls for service should be allowed to respond as trained using the policies, laws, and the force continuum
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Activist are quick to respond to deadly use of force incidents with the intention to excite the public using inflammatory rhetoric and speaking without fact. In doing so, these activists have inspired death and injuries, prompted a division between the community and the police, and social unrest. Some activists have participated in police training. In an article, Shoot or don’t shoot: police scenarios prove eye-opening for civil rights leaders by Perry Chiaramonte, described their training as “a split-second decision” (Foxnews.com, Chiaramonte, 2015). The article detailed an incident of a distressed subject in a manic state in which the officer proceeded to issue orders to and as he did the subject grabbed an object from his side and made a furtive movement toward the officer and this caused an eye opening point where activist Quanell X, a leader in the New Black Panther Party stated, “it could have been anything in his hand, and I still would have used force to stop him” (Chairamonte, 2015). Yet, when the scenario is no longer fictional training and the scenario unfolds as real life danger the response is not the same. In a real life scenario, the encounter prompts police officers or others to fear for their safety requiring a deadly force encounter; the article becomes mute. Many people have opinions regarding the shoot or don’t shoot decisions and some question why police officers do not shoot to injure. An article, Why cops don’t shoot to injure also found on Police One.com, stated there are too many reasons why this could not be accomplished. According to the article, frankly “people don’t stop, even when they have suffered a mortal wound” and largely police shootings happen during “near-panic conditions” (Why Cops don’t shoot to
Activist are quick to respond to deadly use of force incidents with the intention to excite the public using inflammatory rhetoric and speaking without fact. In doing so, these activists have inspired death and injuries, prompted a division between the community and the police, and social unrest. Some activists have participated in police training. In an article, Shoot or don’t shoot: police scenarios prove eye-opening for civil rights leaders by Perry Chiaramonte, described their training as “a split-second decision” (Foxnews.com, Chiaramonte, 2015). The article detailed an incident of a distressed subject in a manic state in which the officer proceeded to issue orders to and as he did the subject grabbed an object from his side and made a furtive movement toward the officer and this caused an eye opening point where activist Quanell X, a leader in the New Black Panther Party stated, “it could have been anything in his hand, and I still would have used force to stop him” (Chairamonte, 2015). Yet, when the scenario is no longer fictional training and the scenario unfolds as real life danger the response is not the same. In a real life scenario, the encounter prompts police officers or others to fear for their safety requiring a deadly force encounter; the article becomes mute. Many people have opinions regarding the shoot or don’t shoot decisions and some question why police officers do not shoot to injure. An article, Why cops don’t shoot to injure also found on Police One.com, stated there are too many reasons why this could not be accomplished. According to the article, frankly “people don’t stop, even when they have suffered a mortal wound” and largely police shootings happen during “near-panic conditions” (Why Cops don’t shoot to