Chapter 9: Policing the Police

Legitimate: The minimum amount of force needed to control a situation.
Conducted Energy Devices: These are devices that produce a shock that temporarily stops muscle function and inflicts pain.

Force Continuum: This is a guide that officers can use to determine the level of reaction and force they need to use.
Level of Threat and Force Necessary
- Complaint (Level I): Communication or verbal commands
- Passive Resistance (Level II): Low-level physical tactics
- Active Resistance (Level III): Use of come-along holds, chemical sprays, or pressure points.
- Assaultive with the potential for bodily harm (Level IV): Defensive tactics such as using a baton
- Assaultive with the potential for serious bodily harm or death (Level V): Deadly Force
Less-Than-Lethal Force: When an officer uses their baton or hands to defend.
Lethal Force: These require “absolute and immediate tactics” this means an officer has to use their firearm.

Graham v. Connor: The court decided that the actions have to match what a reasonable officer would do during the crime without knowing what the future would hold. It also decided that any cases relating to the excessive use of force by a police officer would be analyzed under the fourth amendment.
Objective Reasonableness: Based on the totality of the circumstances the decisions made about the amount of force used had to be the same amount of force a reasonable officer in the same position would use.

Excessive Force: When officers use more than the required/legitimate force.
Brutality: When officers express a malicious intent to harm.
Us versus them attitude: An attitude that separates officers and the community and that can decrease productivity between them both.

Fleeing Felon Rule: If a felon is seen fleeing the scene of their crime then an officer is allowed to shoot them. This rule was invalidated later in 1985.
Officers can use deadly force when…
- An individual has committed a felony and is still using deadly force or threatening to.
- Officer believes that the individual will cause serious injury to the officer arresting them.
- When preventing a prisoner from escaping prison.
- Sufficient warnings were given but the riot failed to stop.

Pursuits: When an officer tries to stop a suspect but the suspect flees resulting in a chase.
County of Sacramento v. Lewis: The court decided that high-speed pursuits are legal and do not violate the due process clause of the fourth amendment as long as it does not end in death.
Scott v. Harris: The court ruled that an officer can hit the car or shoot at the fleeing individual during a high-speed pursuit if they put other innocent bystanders at risk.

Police Corruption: This is the misuse of an officer’s authority.
Grass Eaters: Officers who accept gifts/favors but do not seek out such activities.
Meat Eaters: People who demand bribes in exchange for protection from a person whom they are seeking a favor,

Commission: A group of individuals that investigate misconduct.
The 3 Commission Themes:
- Improve recruitment and training
- Improve relationships between the police and the community
- Improve the police complaint system
The first commission to analyze police conduct was Wickersham Commission in the 1930s

Third Degrees: A technique used in the 1900s that allowed officers to inflict pain on suspects to get a confession.
The Wickersham Commission (1931)
- Precipitating Incident: Prohibition, increasing crime rate, need to reevaluate juvenile justice and adult justice process.
- Underlying Problem: Increasing crime rates but more specifically organized crime and agents need to be reevaluated
- Recommendations: Establish a complaints system and bring awareness to problems between the police and minority communities.
The Kerner Commission (1965)
- Precipitating Incident: Riots of the 1960s and minority communities complaining about officers abusing their power.
- Underlying Problem: Police misconduct, lack of accountability, and no oversight of police procedures.
- Recommendations: Better recruitment and training standards, accountability to the community, and establishing mechanics for registering complaints.

Internal affairs bureaus (IABs): This is where citizens can register complaints.
Exonerated: When the complaint was not proven true.
Democratic Accountability: Accountability to the community, over a group of individuals with the power to use coercive force.
Hierarchical Accountability: Accountability to those structurally higher within the department.
Procedural Justice: People are more likely to accept the outcome as fair if they believe the trial and procedures taken to get there were fair
Ombudsman: This person reviews all complaints against public servants.
Substantiated Complaints: These are complaints against officers that turned out to be true.
Early Warning System (EWS): This allows the department to keep track of all complaints against officers, the outcome of the complaints, and repetitive behavior patterns that are potentially problematic.
Mediation: A program that encourages settlements outside the traditional enforcement process