Graham V Connor 1989

In the University of Massachusetts Amherst, there is an educational research center serving the diversity of the LGBTQ community known as the Stonewall Center. Proudly displayed on their window is “Black Lives Matter.” This isn’t an act of superiority. It’s a reminder. All of the United States’ history has treated African-Americans poorly and even when segregation had ended, racism was still left around for all minorities to suffer. The Black Lives Matter movement was started recently because of the onslaught displays of police brutality shown in the media. It stems farther back in history however and it recently getting the attention that it rightfully deserves to hopefully cause a stand still.

In the case of Graham v. Connor, when a black man was followed from a convenient store because of his hasty departure, due to his diabetic and insulin reaction state, suspicion was created that led for Graham and his friend to be followed in their vehicle, and eventually a case of police brutality. Graham, a diabetic that was having an insulin reaction was handcuffed and

Connor came up with a justification of sorts, “whether the force was applied in a good faith effort to maintain and restore discipline or maliciously and sadistically for the very purpose of causing harm” (Graham v. Connor 1989). It considers the severity of the offense suspected, if the suspect poses as a threat to themselves, the officer, or others and if the suspect is actively resisting or attempting to escape. The “provocation” rule, “holds that police who use force not deemed excessive may be liable nonetheless because they provoked the victims to respond in a way that makes officers reasonably fear for their safety” (Weiss 2016). For County of Los Angeles v. Mendez, Mendez is suing for having been shot sans warrant and thus violating their 4th Amendment rights. This case thus involves a precedent, the Constitution and the Court of Appeals and now the Supreme Court to come to a