Search Result: Use-of-Force Policies

At presstime many things had still not been publicly released regarding the Devin Brown incident. LAPD detectives, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, and the FBI were all investigating the shooting. So it’s not known where Garcia was standing when he discharged 10 rounds into the Camry. And it’s not known if his use of deadly force was justified.

Documentation and self-control are the keys to protecting yourself against charges of unreasonable force on persons in custody.

Among more polite officers, internal affairs is thought of as a necessary evil. In less polite, more candid circles it's thought of in less savory terms like "the secret police" and "the rat squad."

Founding a police department is a challenge that not many people would want to assume. But that's the task that faced the civic leaders of Federal Way, Washington.

Initiating your agency’s first K-9 unit is a daunting task. If you’re willing to accept this challenge, then the first thing you need is the support of your department.

No department would dare let said officer hit the street without training and instruction in policies governing the use of a pistol. Many PDs even have policies regarding the use of flashlights. But in most departments an edged weapon/cutting tool clipped to the pocket of the officer's duty pants flies under the radar.

According to media accounts, nearly 100 officers who joined the force during a 1989-90 recruitment drive-when background screening and standards were all but non-existent-were later charged with criminal wrongdoing.

In the early morning hours of Oct. 14, 1998 a call was received at Placer Co. Sheriff's dispatch regarding a report of a suspect armed with a knife and standing in the street behind a four-plex apartment in a high-density population area.  The situation would be quickly ended without the loss of life, but it could easily have been otherwise.

As police service dog use continues in full swing, a body of special legal knowledge is beginning to develop.