Describe appropriate use of force in criminal justice.

Description should include

• the levels of force (i.e., the escalating levels of response available to the police officer, beginning with officer presence and continuing through verbal commands, control restraint, less-than-lethal force, and deadly force)
• duty to intervene
• the role of de-escalation
• citizen actions that precipitate the escalating levels of police response, to include cooperative, passive resistance, active resistance, active assaultive, and deadly threat
• threat perception
• the legal definition of self-defense
• the legal relationship between the fear of bodily harm and the use of deadly force (See the Code of Virginia for specifics about the use of deadly force)
• the tests under the law that justify the use of deadly force to defend oneself or another person
• the conditions under which an officer may use less-than-lethal force to control a situation or effect an arrest
• the conditions under which an officer may use deadly force
• the right of officers (and other protective services officers) to use deadly force vis-à-vis a citizen’s right to self-defense
• an administrative review of all use-of-force incidents
• a review of Graham v. Connor (1989).

Process/Skill Questions:

• What is an officer’s fundamental duty?
• What are an officer’s key responsibilities?
• What are the legal ramifications involved in the use of any force?
• What are the personal, civil, or criminal ramifications for the officer who uses any force?
• What is the difference between a citizen review board and an administrative review board?
• What are considered deadly weapons?
• Why is handcuffing considered use of force?
• What is the objective reasonableness test created as an outcome of Graham v. Connor 490 U.S. 386 (1989)?