Application Essay: Police Discretion, Use of Force, and De-escalation Assignment
Prepare an application essay addressing on integral to the criminal justice field and future criminal justice professionals from a biblical worldview.
Watch and listen to the officers in each incident. Be mindful of possible tactical skills and de-escalation skills that were employed or not exercised. Both incidents ended very differently.
Body Camera Footage 1
https://www.citizen-times.com/videos/news/local/2018/03/01/apd-chase-beat-man-they-say-jaywalked/110950514/
Body Camera Footage 2
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-villaronga-video-20171108-story.html
Before you write your essay, consider the following definitions and research findings:
Police discretion is the flexibility police officers have in deciding between multiple courses of action to resolve a situation in the course of performing their duties. Research identifies several factors that determine whether law enforcement officers decide to enforce or not enforce laws: (1) the officer’s personal feelings regarding the severity of an offense and the potential risk it poses to the public; (2) the specifics of a situation; and (3) supervisor expectations of how officers will carry out their job functions (Ishoy, 2016). Other studies find that if an offender is a resident in the community where the offense occurs, an officer is 18% less likely to arrest the offender, especially if the offender is under the age of 21 or over the age of 51 (McCamman & Mowen, 2017).
Use of force is the amount of police effort necessary to get a resistant suspect to comply. Below read the case Graham v. Connor (1989). The United States Supreme Court determined that the Fourth Amendment’s objective reasonableness standard should be the measure used in alleged excessive use of force cases.
GRAHAM v. CONNOR, (1989) [http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/490/386.html]
Based on the above information, respond to the following questions and instructions:
When reflecting on Body Camera Footage 1 and Body Camera Footage 2, consider the amount of police effort used to get each suspect to comply. Explain why the amount of force used by the officers in each incident was either reasonable or excessive.
Consider how the discretionary powers of the police can be beneficial to citizens from a biblical worldview.
Discuss whether either suspect posed an immediate threat to the safety of the officers, himself, or the public. Consider if each suspect was actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.
Your 400-word minimum/500-word essay supports your views on this week’s required readings and study materials, demonstrating course-related knowledge.
