Use of Force Principles Flashcards

An officer fires a warning shot into the air to scare a fleeing suspect. This is generally:

Answer: Prohibited by most modern policies due to danger and lack of control

Most agencies prohibit warning shots because the rounds are uncontrolled and can endanger bystanders.

Force used purely as punishment or retaliation against a subject is:

Answer: Never justified and constitutes misconduct

Force may only be used to control a subject or protect safety, never as punishment or retaliation.

A neck restraint that restricts blood flow to the brain (vascular restraint) has, in many jurisdictions, been:

Answer: Banned or restricted to deadly-force situations only

Many agencies have banned or restricted neck restraints, treating them as deadly force due to the risk of death.

When an officer points a firearm at a subject, this action is best categorized as:

Answer: A use of force that must be reasonable and often must be documented

Pointing a firearm is a seizure and a use of force that must be reasonable and is commonly reportable.

Graham v. Connor instructs that reasonableness must allow for the fact that officers often make decisions:

Answer: In tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving situations

The Court recognized officers must make split-second judgments in tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving circumstances.

An effective use-of-force report should primarily document:

Answer: The specific facts and threat indicators that justified the force used

A proper report articulates the specific facts and threat cues that made the officer's force objectively reasonable.

Qualified immunity may protect an officer from civil liability when:

Answer: Their conduct did not violate clearly established law a reasonable officer would know

Qualified immunity shields officers whose conduct did not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights that a reasonable person would know.