NCJ Number
87743
Journal
Criminal Law Bulletin Volume: 18 Issue: 6 Dated: (November-December 1982) Pages: 528-534
Date Published
1982
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Internal police policies are more effective controls than State laws in the limitation of police power to use deadly force.
Abstract
State laws governing use of deadly force are generally extremely broad and provide little real guidance for officers confronted with the decision of whether to kill. Moreover, many prosecutors are reluctant to initiate criminal against officers who have violated even the broad parameters of State law. Conversely, experience has shown that police use of deadly force is highly amenable to control through internal police department policies. In the informal setting of the department, police chiefs need not worry about the reluctance of prosecutors to act against officers. When police chiefs choose not to take appropriate action, local legislation may be required to force them to do so. Such legislation allows for specification of local deadly force policies and practices and creates police chiefs' accountability where none may previously have existed. A model local ordinance has been proposed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which has been engaged in a 2-year project designed to reduce unnecessary police use of force. Basically, the model ordinance makes the chief of police accountable for the use of firearms and other means of deadly force by department officers. Although such an ordinance is likely to be resented by many police chiefs, responsible ones will view it as a mechanism by which they have been given legitimate political guidance in administering the most awesome power granted members of any American institution -- the power to take a life. Sixteen footnotes are provided.