Though the constitution provides an effective measure to ensure the safety of the public and police officers during a suspect’s arrest, police officers experience challenges in determining the appropriate force for restraining a suspect. The case of Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S 1 (1985) encouraged the Supreme Court of American to authorize a police officer to apply excessive force when a suspect poses a severe threat to the public and the police officer during the arrest ( Hemmens & Del, 2016 ). The case of United States v. Gibson, 392 F. 2d 373 (4 th Cir. 1968), require a police officer to issue a warning immediately after the arrest of a suspect. Additionally, if the suspect threatens to shoot an officer or member of the public to falcate the suspect’s escape, the court requires the police officer to issue warning or caution when possible. However, the American constitution does not justify excessive force when the suspect does not present an immediate danger to the public and the police officer during the arrest.
The justice professional should examine the situation thoroughly to discover the actual nature of the ethical dilemma. Accordingly, the police officer should analyze the response nature of the suspect during the arrest. The suspect’s response to arrest will determine whether to apply appropriate or excessive force during the arrest. Graham v. Conner, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) enable a police officer to decide the appropriate force when the suspect attempt to resist or evade arrest ( Dunham & Alpert, 2015 ). The police officer should evaluate the consequences of the force used during suspects’ arrest and ensures that force application complies with the constitutional provisions. For example, using the appropriate force when the suspect does not pose a threat to the public and the police officer enable the justice professional to uphold the code of conduct in the police service department. Consequently, the type of force that police officers apply during the arrest of suspects depends on the nature of offenders’ response to the apprehension process.
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References
Dunham, R. G., & Alpert, G. P. (2015). Critical issues in policing: Contemporary readings . Waveland Press.
Hemmens, C., & Del, C. R. V. (2016). Criminal procedure: Law and practice . Cengage Learning.
