When does police use of force become excessive or unjustified Provide a definition of excessive force Is there a difference between improper force and excessive force Use of force by police is specific to each case and to what the police officer deems necessary in order to control an unwilling suspect Because of the accusal that excessive police force is common there are many ways that police officers are investigated for excessive force when a claim is made Improper force can be broken down into two main categories unnecessary and excessive Excessive force is defined by an officer going to far in terms of force needed to apprehend or control a suspect While unnecessary force is an application of force when it is not needed or justified For example I have just pulled over two white men that appear to be intoxicated and the driver become very belligerent rather quickly The passenger has obeyed all commands and is safely in custody while the drive refuses to vacate the vehicle I am able to lean in and overpower the individual by grabbing his hands while my partner pulls him out of the vehicle This shows the use of physical force but at a necessary level and is within the proper measures of police force although it may have been dangerous for myself because I am unaware if the suspect is armed Some would argue that if a police officer were to hit a person they were trying to subdue out of anger that THAT would be excessive I disagree with this assumption In my own personal opinion I would say that police use of force becomes excessive or unjustified when it is no longer needed An example of this would be when a criminal is subdued and detained and poses no threat whatsoever if the police officer were to strike them that in my eyes would be excessive A definition of excessive force that I would use would be the use of force when it is no longer needed Some could even argue that taking that extra bit of force could simply be extra precautionary but I would disagree with this too I think that when a person poses no threat whatsoever then any extra force used against them would be excessive When I consider improper force and excessive force I do think that an difference exists between the two Improper force to me is being over prepared in a situation that would require an officer to take action but a perverse amount of force is used I think of the taking of Alien Gonzalez and how a SWAT team was used to break into the home and take him back To me that was an example of improper force An example of excessive force would be what we have already mentioned the use of extra force to a person who has already been subdued is excessive
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