Criminal Justice

Changes In Use Of Force Policies

1.The standards related to the use of force by law enforcement officers are changing.  Modern sensitivities to how force is applied, the decision making process of who to use force against, and new technology are reshaping use of force policies.  The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), in Guiding Principles for Use of Force, has published 30 recommendations for changing use of force policies (see attached link).  Examine these 30 recommendations, and discuss two of the recommendations that you feel are most important in changing use of force policies.

Reference

Police Executive Research Forum (2016).  Guiding principles on use of force.  Retrieved from  http://www.policeforum.org/assets/guidingprinciples1.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Use Of Force Case Law Examination

The standards related to the use of force by law enforcement officers have been profoundly shaped by case law decisions.  Choose one of the use of force case law decisions to discuss:

• Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985) (fleeing felon rule)
• Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) (definition of “Objective Reasonableness")
• Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S.1 (1968) (frisk for weapons)
• Flores v. City of Palacios (2004) (immediacy of threat determination)
• Ford v. Childress (650 F. Supp. 110 (1986) (past dangerousness justifying deadly force)
• Brower v. Inyo County, 489 U.S. 593 (1989) (use of roadblock to stop fleeing driver)
• Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (2007) (use of force to stop a fleeing vehicle)
• Kuha v. City of Minnetonka, 328 F.3d 427 (2003) (canine use of force warning required)
• Mattos v. Aragano, 661 F.3d 433 (2011) (Taser use case law)

2.Discuss what happened in the specific incident that led to the case law decision, what the court decided, and how this decision guides officers in appropriate use of force decision making.

250 words for each answer