Use of force

The use of force, in the context of law enforcement, may be defined as, "the amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject.

Depending on the jurisdiction, legal rights of this nature might be recognized to varying degrees for both police officers and non-sworn individuals; and may be accessible regardless of citizenship.

Injuries to civilians tend to focus attention on self-defense as a justification and in the event of death, the notion of justifiable homicide.

The Australian position on the use of troops for civil policing is set out by Michael Head in Calling Out the Troops: Disturbing Trends and Unanswered Questions;[4] compare "Use of Deadly Force by the South African Police Services Re-visited"[5] by Malebo Keebine-Sibanda and Omphemetse Sibanda.

Use of force dates back to the beginning of established law enforcement, with a fear that officers would abuse their power.

Currently in society, this fear still exists and one of the ways to fix this problem, is to require police to wear body cameras, which should be turned on during all interactions with civilians.

[7] On November 12, 1984, Graham, who was a diabetic, felt an insulin reaction coming on and rushed to the store with a friend to get some orange juice.

Eventually, when Connor learned that nothing had happened in the convenience store, the officers drove Graham home and released him.

Over the course of the encounter, Graham sustained a broken foot, cuts on his wrists, a bruised forehead and an injured shoulder.

[8] In determining the "objective reasonableness" of force, the court set out a series of three factors: "the severity of the crime," "whether there is an immediate threat to the safety of officers or others," and "whether the suspect is actively resisting arrest or evading".

[9] On October 3, 1974, Officers Elton Hymon and Leslie Wright of the Memphis Police Department were called to respond to a possible burglary.

When they arrived to the scene, a woman standing on the porch began to tell them that she heard glass breaking and that she believed the house next door was being broken into.

Wilson called the owner of the apartment complex because of the disturbances that were being caused; loud music and the sounds of bottles breaking.

Thirty or forty officers were rounded up with riot gear – including pepper ball guns – to try to disperse the crowd of 1,000 attendees.

The officers gathered in front of the complex where 15 to 20 students, including Timothy C. Nelson, were attempting to leave, but no instructions were given by the police.

He collapsed immediately and was taken to the hospital much later on, where he suffered multiple injuries including temporary blindness and a permanent loss of visual acuity.

A series of 13 linked reports, found more than 150 cases from 2015 to 2020 of K-9 officers improperly using dogs as weapons to catch, bite and injure people.

Police officers are often shielded from liability, and federal civil rights laws don’t typically cover bystanders who are bitten by mistake.

There is no clear-cut provision in the actual law regarding the degree to which the use of force is permissible as a means of arrest, except in the case of the use of weapons.

[33][33][34][35] This requirement of "to the extent deemed reasonably necessary" clarifies the so-called principle of police proportionality, which is understood to apply to the use of tangible force in general.

According to the "Guidelines for the Work and Activities of Police Officers Focusing on the Prevention of Injuries and Accidents" (issued by the Deputy Commissioner of the National Police Agency on May 10, 1962), depending on the ferocity and resistance of the other party, the possible means include "using a baton and arrest techniques," "drawing a gun," "holding a gun," "threatening to shoot," and "shooting at the other party.

[31][32][36] The following three types of crimes are defined by the National Public Safety Commission's Rules on the Use and Handling of Guns by Police Officers and Other Personnel (National Public Safety Commission Rule 7):[37] When special judicial police personnel such as Japan Coast Guard officers, narcotics officers, or self-defense force soldiers on public security missions use weapons, the Police Duties Execution Law will be applied mutatis mutandis based on the respective laws.