One of the reasons I decided to research what kind of weapons police officers carry is because I was curious on what kind of weapons they carry, and in which situations do they use certain weapons, and how the police officers are trained to react to certain situations also I will be talking about how much police officers are disliked today. In the police field a couple of people say they do not get paid enough for the dangerous things that they encounter everyday to keep people safe or to keep the world from getting out of control, so it takes the men and women that are dedicated and strong to be able to endure all the task they go through everyday. But police officers have an advantage compared to any other job the police officers get to carry these following weapons: Handgun, Shotgun, Bulletproof vest, Duty Belt, Handcuffs, Taser, Baton, Mace, Extra Magazines, Radio, Flashlight, Knife, and Boots. As I was reading all the equipment the police officers carry I would say they carry a lot of weapons in order to keep them safe from be harmed while trying to keep people safe. …show more content…
The officers are taught to always take action first before something bad happens so that means that an officer could shoot a person mistakenly because he think he or she has a gun but along it could be a wallet but all along officers are taught that their safety comes first and use whatever kind of force necessary to make sure that they are safe at the end of the day at all means. But from all the research I did officers are trained what to do at certain situations and which weapon to use in the situations as well because the officers are very important when they are trying to keep the people safe, and arrest the ones that are doing the wrong things as well. (The
With the articles and past research that I have collected, studies tell us that less than 3 percent of police-citizen contacts involve the threat of physical force by the police. The percentages are higher when the level of force is below lethal force, for instance 20 percent of arrests may involve some type of special or needed force to obtain and control the suspect in able to put him in custody. In the academy, police officers are taught to use equal or greater force to subdue the suspect and do what is necessary to protect the public and also look out for officer safety. Most incidents of force are low level applications such as using the arms, hands, legs, or their bodies to gain control of the suspect. Every police officer is supposed to be trained to a certain standard, and should be able to use the correct amount of force for the situation at hand. Police officers have situational training in the academy on what level of force to use if necessary. All police officers are equipped to handle most if not all situations or levels of force that is need to
One thing that they probably learn is the dynamic resistance response model (DRRM). This model suggests, “where the dynamic indicates that the model is fluid, and resistance demonstrates that the suspect controls the interaction…in this view of the suspect’s level of resistance determines the officer’s response.” (Peak, 1947, p.161). This model helps teach the amount of force that a police officer can use against a civilian. If a citizen is resisting, it depends if it threatens the officer in any way then they can use deadly force. According to the book, if the suspect is passively resisting arrest by moving away then the officer can use appropriate responses like a firm grip. If the suspect is aggressive then the officer can use personal weapons like the hands, feet, batons, and etcetera. If they are a deadly resistant suspect, then the police officer can use deadly force to apprehend the suspect (Peak, 1947, p. 161). The police officers need to use appropriate reaction to the suspects manner. In the cases mentioned earlier if they are not resisting arrest, then there is no need to use deadly force. Officers need to be educated in handling suspects because that would decrease the amount of African Americans dying at the hands of police officers. According to the Associated Press, “there is a three-day course that is aimed at discouraging verbal and needless physical abuse…once you put your hands on someone, you can’t go back” (Hays & Long, 2015.). These courses that officers go through encourage police officers to stay calm and never lay a hand on suspect. This will help prevent them from becoming liable of a lawsuit or getting charged. Police officers need to be retrained and educated about how they respond to
Police officers must be trained to shoot with precision; correspondingly, they must not solely be trained to shoot to kill, but also to shoot to simply harm. Once they are taught both ways, they must learn to assess their situation to conclude whether it requires the former or the latter. This is highly important for the reason that it can spare a life, and it easier to prosecute officers who failed to use proper protocol for shooting. Furthermore, this training helps to prevent discrimination against minority groups. Many officers target male minorities; however, when officers do sensitivity training and assess their situation, the officer can keep his fear at bay and civilians will be treated
By teaching police officers alternatives to shooting to kill, they experience higher risks with their lives. Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly, said, “It would be "very difficult" to train officers to shoot to wound” (Jacobo, 2016). Police officers are viewed as “predators” and “an occupying army” rather than allies (Valey, 2016). This is a perception that needs to change because it counteracts the mission of police officers
As expected, the police force is the main arm entrusted with the powers to ensure peace, order, and justice in society. For this very reason, the police need to maintain a high sense of respect and hesitation of law and policies that defend the wellbeing of the citizens and a country in general. However, when the police misbehave in a way that makes the normal citizen realize that the police broke the law, the citizens are most likely to reduce their cooperative behaviors towards the police (Harris, 2009, p.26). Because of this, the conflict between citizens and police officers hinders the officers’ ability to do their job to their full potential. In the United States, one of the most prominent police misconducts is the use of excessive force in handling citizens (Micucci & Gomme, 2005, p. 488). The trend has been around in the U.S. for decades now, and
The authors also explain that there are no real statistics to help explain how many times an officer has used a firearm. The text explains that there is no significant data to help explain police shootings and how many occur each year (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Most of the data that can be found does not clearly state the numbers of times a firearm was used. Majority of data is found through data bases such as Vital Statistics (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Even data bases such as Vital Statistics do not provide clear information on police
For example, according to Dara lind “Officer’s aren’t supposed to shoot to kill. They’re supposed to do whatever is necessary to disable the threat”(Lind). Whenever an officer gets caught up in a difficult situation where deadly force is needed for the most part officers do shoot to kill because they feel like there life is in danger themselves. Yes like they said they are supposed to do whatever is necessary so therefore if shooting to kill someone is necessary to them then for police officers it is the right thing to do. But in reality in some occasions deadly force by a cop resulting in someone’s death is not needed and there should be other alternatives to handle difficult problems like that. In addition, “Usually, the point from where the officer believes he has to use deadly force to the point where he uses deadly force -- where he pulls
The second amendment states “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” This means that citizens have a right to bear arms, but since this amendment is not very clear there is some controversy. Many people argue that there shouldn’t be assault weapons because they are too powerful, or that this amendment was not intended to allow high powered assault weapons. There are many reasons on why assault rifles and large magazines should not be banned in the United States, including protection, defense, and past bans have not been effective.
Everyday law enforcement personal have the possibility to face dangerous events in their daily duties. In performing such duties a police officer could come by a seemingly ordinary task, and in a blink of an eye the event can turn threatening and possible deadly. When or if this happens to an officer they won’t have
Either a Police Officer has been shot or a Police Officer has shot a citizen, but either way the final result is death. Whether an Officer has been shot or an Officer has shot someone these cases seem to be related to one thing, fear. People in today’s society feel as though they can’t trust Police Officers as they are there to hurt and kill them. And Police Officers feel as though they are in danger of doing their everyday duties because people see them as the “bad guys” and want to hurt or
Recently in the United States there has been in increase in deaths that have come from police officers using deadly force. The use of force is inevitable as a police officer, many times their own lives or the life’s civilians are at risk when it comes to determine what type of force a officer should use. There are many incidents where police officer have to react in a matter of seconds and has to choose between his own life or that of the individual causing the disturbance. When a Police Officer uses deadly force has caused outraged with the public, stirring up protests and creating a scandal for the police officer and the Police Department. Many do not know when it is right for an officer to use deadly force and what constitutes it, or what happens when the officer does not use the appropriate amount of force that is required to control the situation. There has been many changes in Police Departments around the country to try to reduce the use of deadly force in response to the issues that have occurred because of it.
Many people know of the police officers of today’s world and that it is their job to enforce the laws set by their government, but not many people know the history of your typical everyday United States police officer or how they came about. The idea for neither your everyday police officer nor his or her department they work for or how a police department operates, originated in the United States. Over the years though America has made changes and adapted its system over the years to make it more suitable for its countries beliefs and practices.
Firstly, it is important to consider that policing is wholly dependent on public consent. More recently, there can be seen to be a breakdown in the relationship between police and the public, which has ultimately led to the belief that the police are illegitimate due to a disproportionate use of force. Some researchers maintain a belief that brutality is used by the police to control a population considered undesirable, whilst they go beyond the law, it is a method used to achieve social order (Skolnick and Fyfe, 1993). Thus, whilst it may seem like the police are supported in their duties, the idea of allowing all police rights to carry guns on duty could be something problematic (Squirres and Kennison, 2010). If police abuse their basic powers, then they can easily abuse the powers to use extreme force which can become dangerou...
What happens when officers forget their role and responsibilities? They abuse their power and go beyond their duties crossing lines that should not be crossed for instance in Saratoga New York a police officer tries to conduct and illegal vehicle search, when the civilian refuses, the officer slaps him and takes the keys. This type of conduct should not be tolerated and officers should constantly be reminded of the consequences of such actions. One thing in particular that can be observed is that in most videos the officers are not alone yet the other officers knowing their partner are wrong do not intervene, this pattern shows that the officers are not being trained properly. Proper training can easily avoid such conflicts for example in the case of Saratoga New York another officer could have deescalated the situation by letting his partner know that what he is doing is illegal, this simple action could had avoided a lot of problems. The majority of police officers do an excellent job but is the few that do not do a good job the ones ruining the image and reputation of the force, reminding officers of their duties and paying attention to their actions can make a difference in job performance while helping keep good community
A police officer’s duty is to maintain public order, preventing, and detecting crime. The concept of police officers, also known as cops, and law enforcement has been around ever since the ancient Romans had a theory that an organization of “peacekeepers” would reduce the crime and violence being committed. This theory stuck with society and is still around today. People of law enforcement have a mission when they step into their police car, that mission is to enforce the rules of conduct or law. Of course, accomplishing this mission can be dangerous. Often when a cop leaves his or her house to go to work worries start to set it, such as “will I be coming back home when my day is over” or “will a simple traffic stop go sour and someone ends up dead?” These thoughts are apart of the stress that comes with the job and most people are trained to deal with this stress.