Police Use Of Force Essay

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USE OF FORCE Laura Milligan August 25, 2007 Victor Harris, ignoring the blue lights and siren of the officer trying to stop him for speeding, led officers on six-minute chase speeds exceeding 85 miles per hour on two-lane roads. When Harris turned into a shopping center, officers positioned their cars in an attempt to block him. He collided with Deputy Scott’s vehicle before escaping. Followed by, Deputy Scott, now the lead car in the pursuit, requested and received permission to use a precision intervention technique (PIT) maneuver to stop Harris. However, because the speed was so great, Deputy Scott instead decided to hit Harris’s car with his front “push” bumper. In the ensuing second collision, Harris suffered significant…show more content…
Congress by enacting the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. This act requires the Attorney General to collect data on excessive force by police and to publish a report annually. In April 1996 the first report to congress entitled The National Data Collection on Police Use of Force summarized what was found from studies that examined the use of force by police agencies. The report found that some of the problems researchers encountered were the variations in the definitions in what use of force is, police agency reluctance to provide accurate data, and the detail needed to describe the incidents of use of force. (Greenfield, Langan, Smith, 1996) This study found that the lack of adequate training is one of the major factors behind the rising instances of excessive force. Law enforcement use-of-force training traditionally has been rather incoherent. Officers learn shooting as an isolated skill, baton qualification occurs annually, handcuffing skills are taught rarely, and defensive tactics training often takes place only to try out a new technique or weapon. Departments frequently depend on field training officers to teach rookies decision-making skills and how to select the appropriate level of force. In addition, most instruction focuses on increasing the efficiency of an isolated element in the force continuum
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