Use of force
Our text states, “police officers are the only
authority empowered to use physical force and it is used only as a last resort”
(Banks p.27). How do police officers decide in a split second how much force is
necessary? How do we as society establish what we think is adequate or
excessive force?
The media is still reporting on excessive force used
by some police officers. Recently, two Oklahoma Highway Patrol have been
accused of using excessive force against a deaf man. During the traffic stop,
the 64 year old man was struck in the face for not showing his hands when
ordered to. It is alleged the driver fled the scene of an earlier car accident.
The media reports there was a sign stating “Driver is deaf” posted on the
driver’s side window. Again this is what the media is reporting.
The photos of Mr. Pearson is disturbing and I try
not pass judgment. Without all the facts, I can only hope there is much more to
this particular story and not just another excessive force story. I still want to believe police officers are
protectors of good citizens with and without handicaps and merely police
presence alone will prevent excessive force. If the conclusion of the investigation
proves these officers did react with excessive force, it will not be enough to
just pull them off the streets. Again, just my opinion.
I posted the
video clip below.
References:
Keisha: You have written a good blog on the police use of force. The embedded video supplemented your blog well. Professor Taylor
ReplyDeleteHi there
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about that police officers are the ones that decide which kind of force they will use to control a situation. In my personal opinion, it depends in how dangerous is the situation that an officer is in. Now sometimes they overdue in handle certain situations, so when that happens you will see in the news some conflicts towards to the police. The population in general are not very happy how cops are dealing with the general population; cities such as Miami metro for years have a negative acceptance by the local communities. I think in this case, it is just a matter of educate the both community and officers.