There are a number of publications and websites that address the various aspects of law enforcement agency and individual police officer accountability. Many of the publications and websites address their states policies and procedures on accountability, but do not address them on a broad or national level. There are many court cases that have driven the direction of police accountability in a good way. However, those court cases do not come up until non-accountability becomes an issue.
Recent Issues
Recent issues have shown that law enforcement agencies have to hold their police officers accountable. The situation that occurred in Ferguson in 2015 is a good example. The citizens took action and effected a change in the local culture that increased …show more content…
Garner. Furthermore, the officers reacted based on an older common law that allows the use of deadly force for fleeing felons. Consequently, the officers involved shot an unarmed suspected felon. The family of the victim alleged that the police officers involved violated the constitutional rights of the victim. Officers were responding to a burglary in progress at a business. The police observed the suspect fleeing the scene. One of the officers saw the suspect and could clearly see that he had no weapon. The police officer ordered him to stop and he refused. The suspect continued to climb a wall to escape and officers shot and killed him. This issue here was whether law enforcement officers can use deadly force to prevent an escape of an unarmed suspected felon. The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States was the center of the case. The Supreme Court Justices looked at the reasonableness of the search and seizure and also the officers’ actions. Furthermore, the court examined the procedures used based on current law. The judges argued that a deadly seizure analysis should show a careful balance between the public interest and the nature of the crime against the individual in question. Burglary was a serious felony and based on current law, officers used reasonable force. However, the Supreme Court did rule that the common law rule needs revision due to the differences in …show more content…
Department of Justice to bring law suits against law enforcement agencies where a pattern of the abuse of citizens’ rights are violated. There have been several cases and the departments in question had to adopt start of the art policies in their use of force, citizen complaint procedures, implementation of early intervention systems and improve training within the department. However, the agencies affected with these mandates only includes thirty nationwide. There are thousands of law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and by implementing a federally mandated process throughout the United States, accountability will be at the top of the list. There will be less questions and the leadership will have to rely on the federal mandates when implementing or changing
Recent Issues
Recent issues have shown that law enforcement agencies have to hold their police officers accountable. The situation that occurred in Ferguson in 2015 is a good example. The citizens took action and effected a change in the local culture that increased …show more content…
Garner. Furthermore, the officers reacted based on an older common law that allows the use of deadly force for fleeing felons. Consequently, the officers involved shot an unarmed suspected felon. The family of the victim alleged that the police officers involved violated the constitutional rights of the victim. Officers were responding to a burglary in progress at a business. The police observed the suspect fleeing the scene. One of the officers saw the suspect and could clearly see that he had no weapon. The police officer ordered him to stop and he refused. The suspect continued to climb a wall to escape and officers shot and killed him. This issue here was whether law enforcement officers can use deadly force to prevent an escape of an unarmed suspected felon. The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States was the center of the case. The Supreme Court Justices looked at the reasonableness of the search and seizure and also the officers’ actions. Furthermore, the court examined the procedures used based on current law. The judges argued that a deadly seizure analysis should show a careful balance between the public interest and the nature of the crime against the individual in question. Burglary was a serious felony and based on current law, officers used reasonable force. However, the Supreme Court did rule that the common law rule needs revision due to the differences in …show more content…
Department of Justice to bring law suits against law enforcement agencies where a pattern of the abuse of citizens’ rights are violated. There have been several cases and the departments in question had to adopt start of the art policies in their use of force, citizen complaint procedures, implementation of early intervention systems and improve training within the department. However, the agencies affected with these mandates only includes thirty nationwide. There are thousands of law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and by implementing a federally mandated process throughout the United States, accountability will be at the top of the list. There will be less questions and the leadership will have to rely on the federal mandates when implementing or changing