Officers may use force only when no reasonably effective, safe, and feasible alternative appears to exist and may use only the level of force that a reasonable officer on the scene would use under the same or similar circumstances.

In practical terms, use of force amounts to any combination of threatened or actual force used for a lawful purpose, e.g. to effect arrest; defend oneself or another person; or to interrupt a crime in progress or prevent an imminent crime.

Sep 9, 2024 · It is crucial that the force used by police officers is objectively reasonable and in proportion to the threat posed by the suspect. If a person poses an immediate life threat to the officer or others, the use of deadly force may be justified.

View data on use-of-force incidents involving law enforcement personnel, subjects, and circumstances from a nationwide perspective.

Feb 3, 2012 · In order for an officer’s use of force to be deemed “objectively reasonable,” his/her force response (“what” and “how”) must be reasonably balanced with the governmental interests at stake (“why”).

How adequate is research in the USA for discovering best policies and practices, and best implementation strategies, for reducing loss of life and injury from police use of force.

Statistical information and publications about law enforcement's use of force in the United States from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Apr 21, 2022 · Police departments that have adopted more restrictive use of force policies are making progress towards improving public safety. While most departments still use the reasonable officer standard to evaluate the use of force, they are much more explicit on how much force can be used.

Feb 18, 2021 · The first step to measure excessive force is to capture the use of any action deemed as force, regardless of whether or not it is excessive. Therefore, recommendations were made on how to measure law enforcement use of force nationally with the ability to identify which acts were excessive.

This chapter examines the meaning of a ‘use of force’ under article 2(4) of the UN Charter, focusing on its required means.