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A journal for 30DBC and other feline musings. |
| July 30 Prompt: This week, US President Donald Trump encouraged police to use more aggression with people they arrest; many police departments are speaking out against this rhetoric. How much force is really necessary when arresting the average criminal? Honestly, I don't know enough about this to really give a solid opinion either way. I don't know the context in which it was said. Perhaps because of the really bad media on police, most police departments have been "loosening up" or being less aggressive, because they're afraid of getting bad media. Perhaps the President said what he said in an effort to encourage police not to back down, but to use as much force as necessary to bring criminals to justice. As far as how much force is necessary when arresting the "average" criminal, it's hard to say. Criminals are as diverse as the day is long. A shoplifter shouldn't be treated like a mass murderer--the crime should be taken into account, as well as how dangerous/armed the criminal is believed or known to be. Excess force is always wrong. Sometimes, the lines are blurred, especially if an officer has reason to believe his/her life or their fellow officers's lives are in danger. I recently watched an episode of "Blue Bloods" where this was the case. A female officer had an inconsistency in a report. She had tackled an armed man to the ground and had to remember the location of a cell phone the man had on his person, I believe. What she reported was not where the cell phone actually was, and she was severely punished for this. However, the person in charge of punishing the officer was taken by the police chief to a practice where she had to go into several different potentially dangerous situations and remember intricate details about the color of the criminal's shirt, whether or not they had a gun, etc. She failed that test miserably, and the chief had proved his point. When adrenaline is coursing through your veins, and you believe your life is in danger in some way, it is VERY difficult to focus on the little details. What matters is that the criminal is brought to justice, and that as many lives are saved as possible. All this is to say that I don't believe excess force should be used in any situation, but the lines can be blurred, especially in the line of work police officers find themselves in daily. Their job is to protect citizens, and I believe in the good will and integrity of most police officers out there. Not that there aren't bad apples, but in most cases, the police are just trying to do their job and protect their own and their officer's lives. An abundance of caution is always warranted--and caution doesn't have to include an itchy trigger finger. Just being aware of the situation, being prepared for the worst, and having an ultimate goal to bring everyone, criminal and officer, to the end of the day in one piece should be enough.  AlyCatAuthor |
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