Response to Robert Brings
One of the most important characteristics of police work is the legal authority given to law enforcement officers to use force where necessary to enforce the law. However, the force applied must not under any circumstance be disproportionate or excessive. That means, for instance, that a police officer is not supposed to shoot an unarmed man who poses no threat to him or to the general public. However, in the US, for example, incidents of police shooting unarmed men have been on the increase in the recent past, with the latest being Alton Sterling shooting in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in Minnesota. It is for this reason that I don’t agree with Brings when he points out that there are rare occurrences of police shooting of unnamed people.
While it is true that are circumstances that could compel a law enforcement officer to use force, such circumstances must at all times justified, rare and be the officer’s last option. According to a study by Klahm and Tillyer, some of the factors that influence the use of force by the police include suspect characteristics such as race or ethnicity, gender, age demeanor, social class and intoxication. Other factors include encounter characteristics such as weapon type, proactive contact, and resistance and officer characteristics like race, education, experience and age (Klahm & Tillyer 217).
Hence, it is true that such unjustified use of force by the police affect the general perception of the public towards law enforcement officers and the entire criminal justice system.
Response to Randy Asubonteng
I think Randy has hit the nail on the head when he says that it is both morally and legally wrong for police officers to shoot unarmed men irrespective of their race. It is also true that if this police practice goes unabated, it may adversely affect the general perception of the public about law enforcement officers due to their abuse of law. Fo r, the law only allows them to use force when necessary and I don’t think shooting someone who poses no substantial threat to the police falls anywhere within the meaning of ‘necessary force’. Moreover, as Gerstenberger, Beatty and Weatherby note, race plays a significant role in the police use of excessive force in the United States given that most of the victims of officer-involved shootings are Black (274). Also, Pollock argues that thought the law enforcement officers have the discretion to use force in appropriate circumstance, they should not use lethal force on otherwise unarmed men. This is because this practice negatively affects how members of the public perceive of the role of the police in the community (141). It is also unethical and immoral to do so, particularly when such a decision to use force is influenced by racial attitudes towards suspects. With poor relations between the police and members of the community, the law enforcement officers are less likely to be successful in their work since this positive interaction and perception is important.
Works Cited
Gerstenberger, David, Keanan Beatty and Georgie Ann Weatherby. "Factors influencing fatal officer- involved shootings." Journal of Law and Criminal Justice 2.1 (2014): 273-298.
Klahm, Charles F and Rob Tillyer. "Understanding police use of force: A review of the evidence." The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice 7.2 (2010): 214-239.
Pollock, Joycelyn M. "Police discretion and dilemmas." Pollock, Joycelyn M. Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice. Belmont, CA: WADSWORTH Cengage Learning, 2013. 135-170.
