Understanding Law Enforcement Use of Force
Before I went through the academy, I had absolutely no idea how officers were trained or what levels of force were constitutional and justified, which often resulted in significant misunderstandings.
For anyone who is interested in better understanding law enforcement use of force, including how officers are trained to use force and the standards to which officers are held, I would HIGHLY recommend reading this document. When I went through the Raleigh Police Academy more than 10 years ago, our training officers did an EXCELLENT job explaining how and when to use various arrest techniques and different levels of force. But before I went through the academy, I had absolutely no idea how officers were trained or what levels of force were constitutional and justified, which often resulted in significant misunderstandings. But having gone through this training and after studying multiple Supreme Court cases on the use of force during law school, I now understand many things that I never could have understood by simply watching police videos (or by hearing media presentations of police interactions).
I know that not everyone can go through a police academy (or would want to), but I do think it would be extremely helpful if more people took time to understand both how officers are trained to use force and what the constitutional standards are that govern that use of force. Reading this document will probably take 20-30 minutes, but in light of current calls to defund the police and the many law enforcement encounters reported in the news, I think this would be 20-30 minutes well spent. And while I don’t know everything there is to know, I’d be happy to answer any questions I can (either on this thread or privately). Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read it!
Here it is again: