The Legality of the Use of Force by the Police Essay

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The current social and economic conditions in many States are changing. Every year it is possible to get news about rallies, discontent, and even revolutions related to people’s disagreement with the initiatives of the authorities. A deterrent role should be played by the executive branch, represented by the police. In this case, the police often use physical force to suppress criminal acts. A vital issue in this study is the ethics and legality of such measures by the police.

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The main tasks of the police, as one of the law enforcement agencies, are to ensure the personal safety of citizens by combating crime. However, the functions of the police are not limited to this. Service in law enforcement agencies is primarily about serving people and helping citizens to protect their rights. Often, the protection of the rights of the majority is carried out through the use of physical force against a perpetrator.

Indeed, under U.S. law, the police may use violence to apprehend and suppress an offender when circumstances so require. I am convinced that this mechanism has a generally positive effect on society. It is essential to understand that today’s world is far from a utopia in which every citizen is aware of the responsibility for the actions they take. To suppress evil intentions, the police have a psychological effect on the population by creating an associative links of “resistance to the police = physical force.” In other words, a responsible citizen will not offer resistance and, consequently, will receive damage.

On a completely different plane is the problem of the legality of physical force. More and more people are questioning the responsibility of a police officer for the deliberate use of force outside the code. Unfortunately, American society is familiar with the tradition of law enforcement officers using power against the public, especially if they are of a different race or ethnicity (Rodriguez 1). In the case of Joe Torres, the police had used violence against a man who had been making noise at a bar and had then taken him to a detention cell instead of a hospital, as required. The man died, and his death caused a public outcry. For this reason, the current policy should be revised towards increasing the responsibility of an officer for the use of force where it is not necessary.

Work Cited

Rodriguez, Melanie Rodriguez. Racial Injustice in Houston, Texas: The Mexican American Mobilization Against the Police Killing of Joe Campos Torres. 2017. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2022, February 16). The Legality of the Use of Force by the Police. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-legality-of-the-use-of-force-by-the-police/

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"The Legality of the Use of Force by the Police." IvyPanda, 16 Feb. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/the-legality-of-the-use-of-force-by-the-police/.

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IvyPanda. (2022) 'The Legality of the Use of Force by the Police'. 16 February.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "The Legality of the Use of Force by the Police." February 16, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-legality-of-the-use-of-force-by-the-police/.

1. IvyPanda. "The Legality of the Use of Force by the Police." February 16, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-legality-of-the-use-of-force-by-the-police/.


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IvyPanda. "The Legality of the Use of Force by the Police." February 16, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-legality-of-the-use-of-force-by-the-police/.

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