Police Use of Force Police use of force is an often misunderstood and ambiguous policy. Its purpose is to allow police officers the ability to apprehend and conduct investigations using an appropriate amount of physical and psychological force. Even though some feel that the police should have a wide berth to decide what it considers an appropriate use of force, current policy is ambiguous because there have been many civil law suits and protests claiming inappropriate use of force, public opinion has waned in light of several high visibility incidents, and many people see police as the aggressors.
“Experts say [excessive force] is any force beyond what’s necessary to arrest a suspect and keep police and bystanders safe” (Segan, 2014). Police …show more content…
Graham, a diabetic, felt that his blood sugar levels were decreasing and needed the orange juice to restore them. He noticed a long line at the store and immediately left to go to a nearby friend’s house. A Charlotte North Carolina police officer named Connor noticed Graham and believed that his hasty entry and exit was suspicious. Graham had gotten a ride from his friend William Berry. Connor pulled Graham over, ignored the story about the blood sugar and told the two to remain in the car (Rehnquist, …show more content…
He passed out and other police officers on the scene cuffed him. His friend, Berry told the Supreme Court that the police officers threw him onto the hood of the car and refused to allow him to access the orange juice that another friend had brought to the scene (Rehnquist, 1989). “At some point during his encounter with the police, Graham sustained a broken foot, cuts on his wrist, a bruised forehead, an injured shoulder, and a loud ringing in his ears” (Rehnquist, 1989, p. 2).
Graham V Connor determined that “reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than the 20/20 vision of hindsight” (Rehnquist, 1989, p. 2). This case sets a precedent for current use of force laws. In this particular case, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Graham because Graham did not pose a significant threat to police. There should have been no need for Graham to have physical harm done to him and the officers should have used better judgment in helping Graham get access to the orange
“Experts say [excessive force] is any force beyond what’s necessary to arrest a suspect and keep police and bystanders safe” (Segan, 2014). Police …show more content…
Graham, a diabetic, felt that his blood sugar levels were decreasing and needed the orange juice to restore them. He noticed a long line at the store and immediately left to go to a nearby friend’s house. A Charlotte North Carolina police officer named Connor noticed Graham and believed that his hasty entry and exit was suspicious. Graham had gotten a ride from his friend William Berry. Connor pulled Graham over, ignored the story about the blood sugar and told the two to remain in the car (Rehnquist, …show more content…
He passed out and other police officers on the scene cuffed him. His friend, Berry told the Supreme Court that the police officers threw him onto the hood of the car and refused to allow him to access the orange juice that another friend had brought to the scene (Rehnquist, 1989). “At some point during his encounter with the police, Graham sustained a broken foot, cuts on his wrist, a bruised forehead, an injured shoulder, and a loud ringing in his ears” (Rehnquist, 1989, p. 2).
Graham V Connor determined that “reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than the 20/20 vision of hindsight” (Rehnquist, 1989, p. 2). This case sets a precedent for current use of force laws. In this particular case, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Graham because Graham did not pose a significant threat to police. There should have been no need for Graham to have physical harm done to him and the officers should have used better judgment in helping Graham get access to the orange