The criminal law remains one of the broadened areas of the legal practice, considering the number of aspects involved. Criminal law involves an in-depth discussion concerning the common crimes and possible defensive approaches with clear explanations of individual's constitutional rights, and the process involved from the time is arrested to the determination of the case. Criminal law is ideally a system involving the establishment of rules meant to keep safe the public and prevent any wrongful conducts. Violation of such a system attracts certain punishments and penalties (Lacey, 2012). Based on such an overview, this paper analyzes a scenario with the aim of identifying the individual crimes committed and the possible civil action against the perpetrators through the application of the principles of criminal law to criminal justice practice.
From the case, the four possible crimes committed include assault and battery, possession of drugs, making false statements, and refusal to comply with officer's command to stop. In most cases, assault or battery occurs when an individual makes an attempt of physically striking the other or acts in a manner considered to be a threat with the intent of putting the fear of an immediate harm in an individual (Ashworth & Horder, 2013). Despite the fact that most crimes involving assault and battery are combined as a single offense, the two are, however, two different legal concepts with distinct elements. As such, assault is merely the attempt or threat to cause harm or injury to another person whereas battery refers to the actual contact against a person in a harmful or offensive manner, which in most cases happen intentionally (Lacey, 2012). Even though an assault requires neither harm nor any element of physical contact, in most instances, a connection between the defendant and victim is equally considered an assault.
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The second crime evident in the scenario is the possession of the drug cocaine. Whereas possession refers to the instance of having to own or being in control of something, legally, the term has a significantly different definition. Under the law, possession of cocaine refers to the state in which an individual with knowledge that the drug is illegal still have the control of it while being aware of the fact that it is in their possession (Lacey, 2012). According to the scenario presented, it is evident that the individual spotted by Officer Jones, who partly matched the description of the person alleged to have caused harm and robbed had full knowledge that he was in possession of cocaine. Such evidence is obvious considering the fact that when Officer Jones initially asks him to stop, the person refuses to comply with the Officer's command as he continued to walk. When Officer Jones commands him to stop for a second time, he stops, and a bulge is seen from his right pocket. The individual reaching out into his pockets and later trying to withdraw his hand from the pocket is clear evidence that he wanted to conceal the cocaine from Officer Jones. Upon the person falling to the ground, Officer Jones locates a baggie full of small baggies each filled with a substance appearing like cocaine. Such is similar on how cocaine is usually stored; giving proof that indeed the person had full knowledge and control of the cocaine in his possession.
The third crime according to the scenario project is the making of false statements by the victim. Making a false statement, either knowingly or willingly together with concealing of information is considered a federal crime. In most cases, individuals who commit the crime of making false statements whether knowingly or willingly do so in an urge to cover up certain crimes that would equally be punishable by law (Ashworth & Horder, 2013). There are three incidences in which provision of false information is considered a criminal act including falsifying, concealing or covering up of information or act using any king of trick, making of statement considered to be materially false and fraudulent, and the making of a false writing with the knowledge that it contains certain fraudulent statement. In the scenario, from the detectives' investigations, it is revealed that the victim's claim of having been robbed and beaten at gun point was make-up information; rather, the victim had been involved in a domestic incident with the husband, and was concealing the truth to prevent the husband from being charged for assault and battery. Based on such a consideration, it is evident that the victim provided false information with the intention of covering up a crime, and thus a criminal act in itself. The evidence of omission by an individual as a principle of criminal law makes the behavior of the victim a crime (Lacey, 2012).
The forth crime is the failure to obey an Officer's command to stop in the case of the individual mistaken to have been the perpetrator against the victim. In spite of the fact that disobedience to an Officer's command is mostly considered a crime in instances involving traffic, the mistaken perpetrator had no reason to continue walking after a command from Officer Jones, who was in full police uniform. Moreover, the scenario happened at midnight in a high-crime area, thus Officer Jones in an attempt to foster peace and safety in the area had the prerogative of stopping individuals at will. Following the occurrences in the scenario, it is evident that a civil action is necessary for providing an amicable solution to the incidences. A Civil action is a legal action, though not criminal taken between private individuals (Monahan & Catalano, 1976). In the scenario, it is important for the victim to ask for forgiveness from the alleged perpetrator for having been the reason for his shooting and to Officer Jones for having given false information. Besides, Officer Jones should also ask for forgiveness from the alleged perpetrator for having mistaken him despite having only a partial match to the description given by the victim.
From a case law perspective, there are some civil actions possible against the police officer, the department, and the city. For the Officer, he should pay for damages arising from the alleged perpetrator's injuries from his shooting. Such is based on the fact that the person never met the full description given by the victim, despite the alleged crime having taken place just a minute or two earlier. Also, the alleged perpetrator was not armed as thus the officer had not reasoned of shooting. For the department, the slow response to an emergency call remains the major contributing factor to the unfortunate occurrences, especially the shooting. Had the department responded promptly, the situation would have been under control in good time without further injuries. They should also pay for he damages for the occurrences, especially being criminally liable for the slow response and inadequate staffing of officers for night patrols in a high-crime area. For the city, despite being a high-crime area only provides surveillance of a single officer. The city should also be criminally liable for increased insecurity in the area such as offering assistance to domestic violence victims.
References
Ashworth, A., & Horder, J. (2013). 1. Criminal Justice and the Criminal Law. Principles of Criminal Law, 1-21.
Lacey, N. (2012). Principles, Policies, and Politics of Criminal Law. Principles and Values in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Essays in Honour of Andrew Ashworth, 19-36.
Monahan, J., & Catalano, R. (1976). Toward the safety society: Police agencies and environmental planning. Journal of Criminal Justice, 4 (1), 1-7
