JURIST Guest Columnist John Mario Acosta Jr., Valparaiso University Law School Class of 2016, discusses and evaluates several methods of force used by police … Throughout recent history police officers have been scrutinized for the things they do. Even today not much has changed. The evolution of technology has brought their job to every television in the US. Shows like COPS, Disorderly Conduct and many others shed light into the secret world of law enforcement.

Today, the nation’s police officers aim to be better trained and better equipped to deal with most any situation. Police academies throughout the world educate police officers in many different areas from writing reports to use of force. Law enforcement agencies around the world rely on this initial training in hiring officers.

The US Commission on Civil Rights has stated that in diffusing situations, apprehending alleged criminals and protecting themselves and others officers are legally entitled to use appropriate means including force. Two questions remain: what is reasonable force and what is excessive force? Reasonable use of force is the amount of force necessary to arrest or gain suspect compliance. Excessive force is generally any force that is grossly disproportionate to arrest or gain suspect compliance. This type of force can be inspired by malice rather than mere carelessness or overzealousness and not only does it shock the conscience of the court but citizens alike.

Police academies educate new officers to use the amount of force necessary and reasonable to arrest a suspect. Today’s academy instructors are current or former police officers with a wealth of knowledge and experience, who train officers to utilize the proper force in the performance of their duties. The different levels of force police officers have at their disposal are as follows:

Officer Presence: The mere appearance, demeanor and non-verbal communication that should create an atmosphere of compliance.

Verbal Commands: Clear and concise orders or commands given by the officer to the individual and should create an atmosphere of compliance.

Soft Hands: Control techniques that have a low probability of causing connective tissue damage, lacerations of the skin or broken bones and should create compliance. Some soft hand techniques are pressure points and arm bars.

Hard Hands: Control techniques that have a probability of causing connective tissue damage, lacerations to the skin, or broken bones and should create compliance. Some hard hand techniques include hand and leg strikes.

Pepper Spray: A less lethal chemical compound that makes the eyes tearful. The active ingredient in pepper spray is an inflammatory agent that swells up the eyes and mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract causing pain and temporary incapacitation.

Taser: A less lethal weapon that fires barbs attached by wires to batteries causing temporary paralysis.

Asp Baton/Impact Weapon: A less lethal impact instrument. When expanded, ASP batons can be as short as 16 inches and as long as 31 inches. They are normally around 7 inches long when they are not expanded.


K-9 Units: Highly trained handlers and dogs. They follow both verbal and hand commands of their handler.

Presentation of Deadly Force: The moment when police officers draw their weapons and utilize it as a deterrent or compliance tool but do not discharge their weapon.

Deadly Force: The taking of an individual’s life in the line of duty. A last resort.

According to a study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, contact between police and the public are about equal. About 51 percent of police contacts occurred when persons requested police assistance and 49 percent were police initiated, such as when police pulled over drivers during traffic stops or stopped persons in public places. Of that 49 percent, about 1 percent of drivers pulled over in traffic stops had physical force used against them by police. Of these drivers 55 percent believed the police behaved properly during the stop.

The two recent high profile uses of force incidents, the first in Hammond, Indiana involving Jamal Jones and Hammond Police Department and the second in Columbia, South Carolina involving Levar Jones and former State Trooper Sean Groubert. Both incidents were captured on camera, but each had different outcomes. These incidents, like many others, have refueled a burning fire that has never been extinguished: police officer use of force.

The encounter between Jamal and the Hammond police was due to a traffic infraction for both front seat occupants not having their seatbelts on. Police officers gave Jamal numerous opportunities to comply with their verbal commands. Currently this incident is under investigation to determine whether the police officers were justified. In my opinion, these officers utilized the amount of force necessary to gain compliance. In my experience, one of the most difficult situations to deal with as a police officer is a passive non-compliant individual.

Whereas looking at the South Carolina incident Levar Jones was compliant and non-aggressive. Once again this involved a traffic stop for a seatbelt violation. Levar was following the officer’s commands to get his license when he was shot. Currently Sean Groubert, the State Trooper involved was fired and facing a charge of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. This felony carries up to 20 years in prison. In my opinion this officer utilized unnecessary, unreasonable and excessive force. Levar did make an overt movement after being instructed to get his identification. In my knowledge, training and experience Levar’s actions did not rise to the level of being shot.

When an officer is sued for using excessive force what will courts look at? In Graham v. Connor the US Supreme Court held that all alleged excessive force cases would be analyzed on a case-by-case basis using the Fourth Amendment’s “objective reasonableness” standard rather than under a due standard process. The Supreme Court set forth three factors to consider:

1. The totality of the circumstances
2. Force should be judged by a reasonable standard
3. Whether a reasonable police officer with the same training and experience faced with a similar situation would do the same.

Courts take into consideration that all law enforcement agencies have a policy that if a specific situation arises where the use of deadly force is authorized that the police officer may shoot to stop the threat. However, the officers should not discharge their weapons to kill but rather stop and incapacitate the individual from completing a potentially deadly act.

Courts also recognize that officers aim for maximum effectiveness in stopping the suspect while creating minimal danger to innocent bystanders. Moreover, once the individual has been stopped the officer should render appropriate first aid when possible.

What measures are in place once a police officer is involved in a use of force incident? The officer is typically placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation. This investigation is conducted internally and sometimes externally, or both. Once the investigation is complete the case is typically presented to a grand jury to determines whether to indict the officer or not. This is the checks and balance system used to ensure the officer did not use excessive force. Once cleared the officer is placed back into active service, if not cleared then disciplinary proceedings will commence. These proceedings typically involve the officer’s termination or resignation from the department.

The public must understand that police officers make split second decisions but they are people and make mistakes. Measures are already in place to ensure the force used was reasonable.

The common knee jerk reaction is to condemn the officer for his actions before seeing all the evidence. The criminal justice system is innocent until proven guilty. This includes police officers.

One way this growing epidemic could be eliminated is with better communication between police and citizens. For example by establishing a citizen review board comprised of members of the community, local judges, attorneys, police officers from other jurisdictions, etc. to give an informed decision on whether the force utilized was reasonable and to keep other citizens informed.

Another step might be to establish a citizen’s police academy. These academies would give local citizens a chance to interact with the police officers and learn aspects of the job they may not understand until placed in the role of a police officer.

The overall goal is to bring police officers and the community together. Once citizens and police officers work to keep each other safe, both will better understand their roles. This produces a stronger, safer and more unified place to live.

John Mario Acosta Jr. is currently a second year law student at Valparaiso University Law School. He previously served in the Military in a variety of positions including a K-9 unit, twelve years in the police force before completing his undergraduate and masters degrees in Criminal Justice from Troy University in Alabama. His current e-mail address is john.acosta@valpo.edu.

Suggested citation: John Acosta, Evaluating and Understanding Police Use of Force, JURIST – Student Commentary, Jan. 17, 2015, http://jurist.org/student/2015/01/john-acosta-police-use-of-force.