As we have seen from Part I of this note, Supreme Court jurisprudence is extraordinarily deferential to police officers’ actions and decisions, reflecting an often expressed idea that police officers are simply doing the best that they can in a difficult job. Our deep-rooted system of deference makes it far too difficult to hold police officers and departments accountable for any misconduct. Section 1983 litigation does nothing to help control or regulate police use of force because (1) only a small fraction of section 1983 litigation is successful and (2) even if the plaintiff prevails, the multi-million dollar payouts and settlements only punish the city’s taxpayers and does nothing to incentivize departments to control or regulate police
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This section argues that methodology employed in police training academies actually encourage use of excessive force in two ways. First, most training academies teach officers to be fearful of the people that they are hired to protect and serve. Second, a significant amount of the time in the police academy is spent on the use of firearms and use of force, but little time is spent on de-escalation and communication. When someone dies or is seriously injured at the hands of police, then the training they received becomes its own …show more content…
Such emphasis on the severity of the risks that officers face without taking into account the likelihood of those risks materializing” is detrimental to modern policing as well as to citizens’ right to personal security because it encourages officers to shoot (or use force) first and ask questions later as their safety is more important than yours. Training police officers to believe that they are in constant danger, under attack, and that citizens are threats to their safety –instead of the people that they are supposed to serve and protect- creates an atmosphere of fear, tension, and hostility. “Put simply, a fearful police officer is a dangerous
This section argues that methodology employed in police training academies actually encourage use of excessive force in two ways. First, most training academies teach officers to be fearful of the people that they are hired to protect and serve. Second, a significant amount of the time in the police academy is spent on the use of firearms and use of force, but little time is spent on de-escalation and communication. When someone dies or is seriously injured at the hands of police, then the training they received becomes its own …show more content…
Such emphasis on the severity of the risks that officers face without taking into account the likelihood of those risks materializing” is detrimental to modern policing as well as to citizens’ right to personal security because it encourages officers to shoot (or use force) first and ask questions later as their safety is more important than yours. Training police officers to believe that they are in constant danger, under attack, and that citizens are threats to their safety –instead of the people that they are supposed to serve and protect- creates an atmosphere of fear, tension, and hostility. “Put simply, a fearful police officer is a dangerous