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Excessive Force

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Journal Article Analysis
Week eight: Chapters 26 - 29
Use of force
Article in text:
How Reasonable Is the Reasonable Man?: Police and Excessive Force Author(s): Geoffrey P. Alpert and William C. Smith. Source: The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973), Vol. 85, No. 2 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 481-501 Published by: Northwestern University
Notable Points I want to discuss / Point of View Observed from each reading: 1. What is excessive force is the main issue or topic being discussed in this article. The author clearly shares the same concern policemen and citizens have. There is really no clear set definition on how to describe when certain force is appropriate. The author takes a side in that officers and citizens need to educate themselves in knowing both roles of each other; so they can better understand the extremely different situations police officers are in. By understanding the civilian and the civilian understanding the role of an officer it helps with defining the reasonable person. It is a totality of situational circumstances and ethical acceptability which must be evaluated to determine if force used by a police officer is reasonable. My assessment: For my personal opinion on this point I would agree with the author partially, being a police officer you do not know when a regular situation will turn into a deadly one. We as officer were given this special privilege of force and taught how to use it properly, especially when your life is one the line. We are taught that when we are in a life threating situation, it either your life or theirs. I could not agree more, if a suspect is trying to harm or kill me I will do everything in my power to deescalate the situation with no one

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