NCJ Number
181668
Date Published
March 2000
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This is a police officer’s handbook that discusses procedural questions and case law studies regarding medical aid for persons in custody.
Abstract
The United States Constitution mandates that any person in custody has the right to medical aid in certain circumstances. That right arises out of the 14th Amendment’s “due process of law” provision. The question to be decided in most cases is whether furnishing that aid in the particular circumstances of a case comes within the “due process” mandate. The handbook discusses a specific case and presents legal commentary. The legal commentary, with relevant case citations, reviews deliberate indifference to medical need; mere negligence in furnishing medical aid; use of restraints; use of pepper spray; protection of prisoner from harm by another prisoner; and protection of prisoner against self-injury. The booklet also describes police officers’ attitudes toward themselves and their work, and how these attitudes can affect their careers. The handbook contains brief tests to be used by police department discussion leaders in conjunction with subjects presented in the handbook.