MCOLES Use of Force Principles 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes 'excited delirium' and its relevance to use of force in Michigan law enforcement?
- A legal defense used by officers to justify excessive force
- A medical condition involving extreme agitation, superhuman strength, and high risk of sudden death that officers may encounter (Correct answer)
- A training term for when officers become overly aggressive during an arrest
- A term for subjects who resist arrest due to drug use only
Correct answer: A medical condition involving extreme agitation, superhuman strength, and high risk of sudden death that officers may encounter
Excited delirium is a recognized medical emergency marked by extreme agitation, elevated temperature, and risk of cardiac arrest, requiring prompt medical attention during or after force encounters.
Question 2: After applying physical restraints to a subject who had been actively combative, an officer's ongoing responsibility includes:
- Leaving the subject alone to calm down in the patrol car
- Monitoring the subject's breathing and positioning to prevent positional asphyxia (Correct answer)
- Immediately transporting without further assessment
- Requesting a supervisor to assume all monitoring duties
Correct answer: Monitoring the subject's breathing and positioning to prevent positional asphyxia
Restrained subjects, particularly prone or hobble-restrained individuals, must be monitored for positional asphyxia and medical distress.
Question 3: Under the Fourth Amendment, law enforcement use of force is analyzed as:
- A due process violation under the Fourteenth Amendment only
- A seizure that must be objectively reasonable (Correct answer)
- A criminal act requiring intent to harm
- An administrative matter handled solely by department policy
Correct answer: A seizure that must be objectively reasonable
The Supreme Court in Graham v. Connor held that force during arrest or investigative stops is a Fourth Amendment seizure subject to objective reasonableness.
Question 4: An officer uses a Taser in 'drive-stun' mode on a fully restrained, handcuffed subject who is verbally abusive but not physically resisting. This action is most likely:
- Justified as a pain compliance tool for verbal non-compliance
- Excessive force because the subject poses no physical threat while fully restrained (Correct answer)
- Acceptable if the subject used profanity directed at the officer
- Permitted since drive-stun mode is non-lethal
Correct answer: Excessive force because the subject poses no physical threat while fully restrained
Using a Taser on a fully restrained, non-physically-resistant subject for verbal behavior is disproportionate and constitutes excessive force.
Question 5: The concept of 'totality of the circumstances' in use-of-force analysis means:
- Officers must consider every possible outcome before using any force
- All facts and circumstances known to the officer at the moment of force are considered together (Correct answer)
- Courts review only physical evidence, excluding officer testimony
- Force is evaluated based on the most serious charge the suspect faces
Correct answer: All facts and circumstances known to the officer at the moment of force are considered together
Totality of the circumstances requires weighing all factors simultaneously—threat level, resistance, environment, officer capability—rather than any single element.
Question 6: Which of the following actions is an example of 'tactical repositioning' as a de-escalation strategy?
- Calling for backup and waiting indefinitely without action
- Moving to a position of cover that increases time and distance from a threat while maintaining awareness (Correct answer)
- Retreating from a scene entirely and letting the subject leave
- Switching from one force option to another during an encounter
Correct answer: Moving to a position of cover that increases time and distance from a threat while maintaining awareness
Tactical repositioning uses movement to improve officer safety and buy time for de-escalation without abandoning the scene or subject.
Question 7: Michigan's legal standard for an officer's use of force in making an arrest is that the force must be:
- Whatever is necessary to guarantee a successful arrest
- Reasonable and necessary given the totality of the circumstances (Correct answer)
- Pre-approved by a supervisor for any level above verbal commands
- Restricted to only techniques taught in the officer's initial MCOLES academy training
Correct answer: Reasonable and necessary given the totality of the circumstances
Michigan law, consistent with federal constitutional standards, requires that arrest force be reasonable and necessary under the circumstances.
MCOLES Use of Force Principles 5
Which of the following best describes 'excited delirium' and its relevance to use of force in Michigan law enforcement?