This Court Finds You Guilty!

Prosecutions of Police Officers emanating from the “Use of Force” are commonplace in America’s inner cities. As a result, most Police Officers in NYC, LA, Chicago, Detroit, Miami and other large cities, are acutely aware of the consequences of the “Use of Force”, particularly “Deadly Force.” Every NYC cop for example, either knows or knows of, fellow officers who have found themselves facing criminal prosecution as a result of having used force while acting in their official capacity. Most of these prosecutions involve cases where the Officer(s) involved discharged their firearm resulting in the death of an individual. Prosecutions emanating from firearm discharges resulting only in injury, serious or not, are much less common. Regardless, every Police Officer knows beforehand that when they fire their weapon an exhaustive investigation will result. Still, many officers find themselves in a state of disbelief when it happens to them. When officers find themselves being prosecuted for what they felt was a routine use of non-lethal force, this feeling of disbelief is even more debilitating since very little forethought is usually given to the use of such force or its potential consequences. The purpose of this article is to examine the fallout from the use of “non-lethal force” resulting in a death or injury.

Officers generally use this type of force to overcome resistance and effect arrest, not to counteract the use of Deadly Force against them or a third party. This fact only serves to contribute to and potentiate, their shock and befuddlement when they find themselves facing a criminal prosecution since the Officers employing the force rarely if ever view themselves as having used what could retroactively be deemed an application of Deadly Force should the person die in consequence.

Although Police Officers are educated in Law and “Use of Force” issues at the Police Academy, I suspect that most Police Officers view their education in this area rather abstractly, never really considering the possibility that such a tragedy could be visited upon them. So, how do we avoid falling into to this “Use of Force Trap” and what is the limit of the possible fallout from its use? The first step in avoiding any problem is raising your awareness of it. This I hope to do by putting you, graphically and palpably, in the shoes of a Police Officer indicted, tried, convicted and sent to prison as a result of having exercised what he or she believed was a routine application of non-lethal force in the discharge of their official duties.