Regulating Police Use of Deadly Force (From Ethics, Public Policy, and Criminal Justice, P 93-109, 1982, Frederick Elliston and Norman Bowie, eds. - See NCJ-86248)

• NCJ Number: 86254
• Author(s): R Wertheimer
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: Oelgeschlager, Gunn and Hain Publishers, Inc
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This essay presents the procedures and policies for police use of deadly force in the Multnomah County Sheriff's Department (Ore.) and discusses some of the implications.

Abstract

The procedures for the police use of deadly force in Multnomah County are based in a policy of maximum restraint, articulated on the basis of the State's abandonment of capital punishment as a testimony to the value of a person's life, regardless of a person's past misdeeds. The punitive use of deadly force by police is absolutely prohibited, and deadly force is permitted only when an officer perceives there is preponderant evidence that the targeted person threatens another human life. This includes using deadly force to prevent the escape of a person whom the officer has good reason to believe is so violent and dangerous as to be threatening to citizens' lives. It is further stipulated that even when an officer may be permitted to use deadly force under the conditions specified, an officer may refrain from doing so if he/she deems the use of such force inadvisable under particular circumstances. This is to say that the officer is encouraged to err on the side of refraining from the use of deadly force, even if it means a suspected felon escapes arrest. Four notes are listed.