Force used by police.

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Police use of excessive force has to be reasonable since it is made up of a seizure that is in the fourth amendment. In order to determine whether the force used by a police officer is excessive, it relies on the situation that led to the confrontation. The intentional use of excessive force by police officers is allowed in the fourth amendment, but it has to be under reasonable circumstances. The utilization of force is judged according to the view of an appropriate officer on the event. The judgment must also give room to considerations that officers are frequently required to make an instant judgment concerning the level of force used in a specific situation (Chambliss, 2011).

In situations where the police officer believes that the actions of the suspect may be dangerous to them, their partners, and the people around them, then he or she can use deadly force. Also, if a suspect threatens an officer with a weapon, then the officer is permitted to use deadly force because risk has been established. Officers are not constitutionally mandated to hold or utilize other weapons that are not lethal before they end up using deadly force when the suspects confront them with the same. The fourth amendment does not allow the second-guessing of police officers if an officer makes a rapid decision under particular uncertainties (Lawlor, 2017).

Some law enforcement trainers believe that police officer should exhaust all reasonable choices before applying deadly forces to suspects. This is not true, according to the fourth amendment. The fourth amendment does not need officers to consider all choices in events that requires the use of excessive force. This is because the officers are in a stressful, significantly evolving situation that makes them vulnerable to death or severe injuries; for instance, if an officer fires fatal shots in an attack, the officer is not liable under the fourth amendment for not using a less-intrusive choice. This is because he was at the risk of suffering severe injury or death; thus, the fourth amendment does not demand a police officer to utilize less-harmful force as long as the utilization of excessive force is reasonable (May & Headley, 2008).

Additionally, if an officer uses deadly force to stop a suicidal person with a substance abuse history, attacking the police officer with a knife is reasonable. This is due to the fact that the person posed a threat to the safety of the police officer, and it is constitutionally right to use the excessive force. The fourth amendment if focused on whether the situation was appropriate for an officer to utilize excessive force but not on the most acceptable action may be or if there are alternative actions (Miller, 2020).

Several circumstances may justify the police officer’s utilization of excessive force. Deadly force is the force that is capable of causing serious bodily harm or death. It may be such as the use of firearms or chokeholds. As we have seen earlier, a police officer is allowed to utilize excessive force if a situation reasonably requires force in order to retain the suspect in custody. It is stated that if a suspect resists arrest, an officer can increase the force to deal with the resistance. If the force increase to a point where the suspect threatens the life of the officer with severe injuries or death, then the officer is allowed to use force in order to retain the suspect. Pointing a firearm to an individual without firing it is not the use of deadly force. Deadly force is justified when an officer reasonably believes that a suspect causes a threat of severe physical harm or death to the officer or to those around the suspect. If a suspect also threatens an officer with a weapon, it is also permitted for the officer to use deadly force to arrest the suspect. An officer is also allowed to shoot a fleeing suspect whom the officer has a reasonable belief that he or she has committed a crime, whether physically dangerous or not (Lawlor, 2017).

It is the duty of police officers, however, to ensure the safety of bystanders when using the deadly force to arrest a suspect. The use of deadly forces by private individuals in an arrest has more restrictions for law enforcement officers. If a private person uses deadly force, they have no privileges of relying on the probable cause. Generally, they may use deadly force in arresting a suspect who poses a risk of threat of physical harm or death if they suspect committed the crime (Chambliss, 2011).

References

Chambliss, W. J. (2011). Undefined. SAGE.

Lawlor, B. M. (2017). When deadly force is involved: A look at the legal side of stand your ground, duty to retreat, and other questions of self-defense. Rowman & Littlefield.

May, D. A., & Headley, J. E. (2008). Reasonable use of force by police: Seizures, firearms, and high-speed chases. Peter Lang.

Miller, L. (2020). The psychology of deadly police force encounters Science, practice, and policy. Charles C Thomas Publisher.