Unit 2 Use Of Force Lesson 1 PDF

Unit 2 Use of Force Lesson 1 Force Guidelines Lesson Goal At the end of this lesson, you will understand using reasonable and necessary force when taking a suspect into custody, when working in a correctional environment, or when defend- ing yourself or others. Chapter 776, F.S., governs a...

Unit 2 Use of Force Lesson 1 Force Guidelines Lesson Goal At the end of this lesson, you will understand using reasonable and necessary force when taking a suspect into custody, when working in a correctional environment, or when defend- ing yourself or others. Chapter 776, F.S., governs all use of force by criminal justice officers. Even though the statutes refer to law enforcement officers, the legal guidelines regarding use of force apply equally to corrections and correctional probation officers. ✅ HL421.1. Identify elements of the Florida Statutes related to the use of force by criminal justice officers The statutes identify two general areas where an officer’s use of force is justified: to apprehend and arrest a subject, or to defend self or others. Section 776.05, F.S., addresses the issue of an officer using force to make an arrest: A law enforcement officer, or any person whom the officer has summoned or directed to assist him or her, need not retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because of resistance or threatened resistance to the arrest. The officer is justified in the use of any force: (1) Which he or she reasonably believes to be necessary to defend himself or herself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest; (2) When necessarily committed in retaking felons who have escaped; or (3) When necessarily committed in arresting felons fleeing from justice. However, this subsection does not constitute a defense in any civil action for damages brought for the wrongful use of deadly force unless the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by such flight and, when feasible, some warning had been given, and: (a) The officer reasonably believes that the fleeing felon poses a threat of death or serious physical harm to the officer or others; or (b) The officer reasonably believes that the fleeing felon has committed a crime involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious physical harm to another person. 214 / Florida Basic Recruit Training Program (HL): Volume 2 ✅ HL421.2. Explain the provisions of chapters 944 and 945, F.S., related to the use of force by state correctional and correctional probation officers While chapter 776, F.S., applies in general to all criminal justice officers, chapter 944, F.S., addresses the use of force specifically by state correctional and correctional probation officers. Chapter 945, F.S., establishes that the Department of Corrections has jurisdiction over the supervisory and protective care, custody, and control of inmates and offenders. Section 944.35, F.S., provides that: (1)(a) An employee of the department is authorized to apply physical force upon an inmate only when and to the extent that it reasonably appears necessary: 1. To defend himself or herself or another against such other imminent use of unlawful force; 2. To prevent a person from escaping from a state correctional institution when the officer reasonably believes that person is lawfully detained in such institution; 3. To prevent damage to property; 4. To quell a disturbance; 5. To overcome physical resistance to a lawful command; or 6. To administer medical treatment only by or under the supervision of a physician or his or her designee and only: a. When treatment is necessary to protect the health of other persons, as in the case of contagious or venereal diseases; or b. When treatment is offered in satisfaction of a duty to protect the inmate against self-inflicted injury or death. Objective Reasonableness ✅ HL421.3. Explain the concept of objective reasonableness The courts use objective reasonableness to decide whether an officer’s use of force is an appropri- ate response to a subject’s resistance. Appropriate force is the amount of force reasonably neces- sary to make an arrest. The U.S. Supreme Court said in Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989), that the reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of how a reasonable officer on the scene would respond, rather than from the 20/20 perspective of hind- sight. To determine if an officer’s actions were objectively reasonable, the courts look at the facts and circumstances the officer knew when the incident occurred. Chapter 4 Criminal Justice Defensive Tactics / 215 ✅ HL421.4. Explain that subject resistance and officer response may change rapidly Courts recognize that criminal justice officers must make split-second judgments about the amount of force needed in a particular situation under circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and quickly changing. The officer’s reasons for using force must be consistent with constitutional and statutory law, as well as agency policies and training guidelines. The Supreme Court has made clear that use of force is a seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Correctional officers must also consider that use of force may violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. An officer’s agency may establish the specific techniques, tactics, and applications that an officer may use in an encounter with a resistant subject. Authority to Use Force Much litigation against criminal justice officers is not about the amount of force used, but whether the use of force was permitted at all. Though the law grants criminal justice officers the right to use force, this right is conditioned on their official authority. ✅ HL421.5. Apply the legal authority for an officer’s response to a subject’s resistance Correctional officers have full-time authority over inmates due to the inmates’ sentence and loss of certain rights. A law enforcement officer is authorized to use only the force reasonably neces- sary to accomplish lawful objectives. This may be established by the officer’s reasonable belief, or reasonable suspicion, that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed. Escalation, De-escalation, and Disengagement Force decisions may escalate and de-escalate rapidly in relation to the perceived threat. An officer’s goal is to achieve subject compliance. Compliance is the verbal or physical yielding to an officer’s authority without apparent threat of resistance or violence. ✅ HL421.6. Explain escalation, de-escalation, and disengagement Escalation, de-escalation, and disengagement are important concepts in making legally and tacti- cally sound, reasonable responses to resistance. Escalation is increasing the use of force or resis- tance. De-escalation is decreasing the use of force or resistance. Disengagement is discontinuing a command or physical use of force, for example, by breaking away from a subject. Officers are legally permitted to escalate their use of force as the subject escalates their level of resistance. ✅ HL421.7. Explain how the injury potential to an officer may affect their response The officer’s choices are determined by the subject’s actions and the risk of physical harm posed to the officer or others. Once the officer gets control or compliance, they must de-escalate the use of force. Under certain circumstances, disengagement may be the best tactical option, for example, 216 / Florida Basic Recruit Training Program (HL): Volume 2 when the officer is waiting for backup, when the officer is injured or outnumbered, or when the suspect has superior firepower. If you place a subject in a prone position to apply restraints, remove them from the prone position, and place them into a position of comfort as soon as practical. Assess the subject to make sure they are responsive and not in distress. Remember that in all of the defensive tactics you employ, the subject’s safety is your responsibility. Structure of the Force Guidelines The force guidelines provide a framework for making decisions involving the reasonable use of force by criminal justice officers. The structure of the force guidelines is based on constitutional considerations and case law and describes appropriate decision-making in a fluid and dynamic situ- ation. The guidelines consider the relationship between subject resistance and various situational factors in determining the officer’s response options. Subject Resistance Levels ✅ HL421.8. Define passive resistance Passive resistance is a subject’s verbal or physical refusal to comply with an officer’s lawful direc- tion, causing the officer to use physical techniques to establish control. Some examples of passive resistance include: a subject refusing to move at the officer’s direction a subject refusing to leave the vehicle when arrested during a traffic stop a subject refusing to take their hands out of their pockets or from behind their back ✅ HL421.9. Define active resistance Active resistance is a subject’s use of physically evasive movements directed toward the officer, such as bracing, tensing, pushing, or pulling to prevent the officer from establishing control over the subject. Some examples of active resistance include: a subject physically hanging on to a person or object to keep from being removed a subject bracing or pulling away from the officer when the officer grips their arm a subject trying to run when the officer touches or tries to grab the subject’s arm or shoulder ✅ HL421.10. Define aggressive resistance Aggressive resistance is hostile, attacking movements that may cause injury but are not likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the officer or others. Chapter 4 Criminal Justice Defensive Tactics / 217 Some examples of aggressive resistance include: a subject balling up their fist and approaching the officer a subject pushing the officer back as the officer tries to take them into custody a subject grabbing any part of the officer’s body ✅ HL421.11. Define deadly force resistance Deadly force resistance is hostile, attacking movements with or without a weapon that create a reasonable perception by the officer that the subject intends to cause and has the capability of causing death or great bodily harm to the officer or others. Some examples of deadly force resistance include: a subject refusing to drop a knife when ordered to by an officer and choosing to move toward the officer a subject shooting or pointing a gun at an officer or other person a subject using a vehicle to try to run down an officer Officer Response Options Try to resolve a situation with the least amount of force necessary. Command presence and verbal communication often will defuse many volatile situations. Sometimes, though, these are not enough, or you may not have a chance to use them. You may have to use physical force to gain control. Physical force includes physical control, using less lethal weapons, and deadly force. You need not apply force in gradually increasing steps to justify physical control or even deadly force. Instead, you should respond with force that is reasonably necessary for the circumstances in each situation. ✅ HL421.12. Demonstrate officer presence Officer presence is your ability to convey to subjects and onlookers that you are able and ready to take control. Subjects’ and onlookers’ reactions to you depend on their perceptions of how you present yourself. Be aware of and interpret non-verbal communication. Some movements and gestures can be clues to escalating aggression, such as clenched fists, shifting feet, or hidden hands. Subjects also observe your actions to determine your attitudes and intentions. Officer presence is your first response to any situation. By simply arriving on the scene, an officer affects a subject or situation. Command presence is your demeanor and the way you exhibit confidence through erect posture, alertness, and attention to surroundings. It is how you carry yourself. Your presence can determine whether a subject’s resistance escalates or de-escalates. A good command presence projects an image of confidence in your skills and abilities to perform the task at hand. Command presence includes personal appearance (your uniform and personal grooming). 218 / Florida Basic Recruit Training Program (HL): Volume 2 ✅ HL421.13. Define physical control Physical control is achieving compliance or custody through the use of empty-hand or leverage- enhanced techniques, such as pain compliance, transporters, restraint devices, takedowns, and striking techniques. These techniques will be discussed later in this chapter. ✅ HL421.14. Define less lethal weapon A less lethal weapon is not fundamentally designed to cause death or great bodily harm. Some examples include electronic control devices (ECD), conducted electrical weapons (CEW), expand- able batons, flashlights, and chemical agent sprays. ✅ HL421.15. Discuss deadly force in relation to defensive tactics Recall from Chapter 3, Firearms, that deadly force is likely to cause death or great bodily harm. Some examples include using a firearm, eye gouges, empty-hand strikes to the throat, and impact- weapon strikes to the side of the neck. Section 776.06, F.S., states: (1) The term “deadly force” means force that is likely to cause death or great bodily harm and includes, but is not limited to: (a) The firing of a firearm in the direction of the person to be arrested, even though no intent exists to kill or inflict great bodily harm; and (b) The firing of a firearm at a vehicle in which the person to be arrested is riding. Section 776.07, F.S., states: (2) A correctional officer or other law enforcement officer is justified in the use of force, including deadly force, which he or she reasonably believes to be neces- sary to prevent the escape from a penal institution of a person whom the officer reasonably believes to be lawfully detained in such institution under sentence for an offense or awaiting trial or commitment for an offense. Using deadly force may be an officer’s first and only appropriate response to a perceived threat. Deadly force does not necessarily mean that someone dies from the force used. It can cause great bodily harm or no harm at all. For example, striking the throat is deadly force even if the officer misses the target. ✅ HL421.16. Identify what is needed to justify using deadly force The decision to use deadly force is a serious one. Base your decision to use deadly force as a defen- sive tactic on a clear, reasonable belief that you, a fellow officer, or another person faces imminent danger of death or great bodily harm. Chapter 4 Criminal Justice Defensive Tactics / 219 ✅ HL421.17. Identify the circumstances when an officer has the duty to intervene Officers have a legal responsibility to prevent excessive use of force, or intervene during an exces- sive use of force encounter by other officers. Section 943.1735, F.S., defines excessive use of force as force that exceeds the degree of force permitted by law, policy, or the observing officer’s employ- ing agency. To intervene, an on-duty officer must: observe another officer engaging, or attempting to engage, in excessive use of force choose an intervention that is reasonable based on the totality of the circumstances not jeopardize their own health or safety Factors for Deciding to Use Deadly Force Officers use three criteria for making deadly force decisions: ability, opportunity, and intent. ✅ HL421.18. Identify the subject’s ability, opportunity, and intent as they relate to the officer’s response to resistance Ability refers to the subject having the means to carry out their intent to cause death or great bodily harm. An officer must determine whether the subject has the necessary means to cause death or great bodily harm to the officer or others. A weapon is not required; a subject must have only the apparent ability to carry out the intent. If the subject seems physically able to cause death or great bodily harm, then they have the ability. For example, a 6’4”, 250-pound muscular man threaten- ing to do bodily harm to an officer does not necessarily need a weapon. By virtue of their size and physical condition, they have the apparent ability. Opportunity means the subject is capable of acting on a plan to cause death or great bodily harm to the officer or others. The subject’s weapon often determines opportunity. For example, a suspect armed with a knife is perhaps not an immediate threat to an officer standing far away. However, the same person standing closer or carrying a firearm certainly has the opportunity to carry out the intent to cause death or great bodily harm. Intent is a subject’s intention to voluntarily make the bodily movement that becomes the act to commit a criminal offense. This can be viewed as a reasonably perceived, imminent threat to an officer or others based on a person’s actions, behaviors, words, or other indicators. It is a percep- tion derived from the totality of the circumstances. Officers should use the amount of force necessary and reasonable for the situation. If ability, oppor- tunity, and intent are present and you cannot control the threat using lesser means, then deadly force is justified. When resistance de-escalates, so must your response. 220 / Florida Basic Recruit Training Program (HL): Volume 2 Totality of Circumstances ✅ HL421.19. Explain what totality of circumstances means The totality of circumstances test considers the overall facts of a situation to determine if you had the authority to detain someone for committing a crime or to perform a legal search. In reference to defensive tactics, this also is a term the court uses to refer to all facts and circumstances known to the officer at the time, or reasonably perceived by the officer at the time, as the basis for a use of force decision. The courts will look at the totality of circumstances in determining whether the decision was objectively reasonable and, therefore, legally justified. The totality of circumstances includes consideration of the subject’s form of resistance, all reasonably perceived situational factors that may have had an effect on the situation, and the response options available to the officer. ✅ HL421.20. Identify various situational factors that may influence the use of force Some situational factors may include: the severity of the crime the immediate threat of the subject the subject’s mental or psychiatric history, if known to the officer the subject’s violent history, if known to the officer the subject’s combative skills, if known to the officer the subject’s access to weapons, if known to the officer the innocent bystanders who could be harmed the number of subjects versus number of officers the duration of the confrontation the subject’s size, age, weight, and physical condition the officer’s size, age, weight, physical condition, and defensive tactics expertise the environmental factors, such as physical terrain and weather conditions ✅ HL421.21. Apply reasonable and necessary force to given situations The force guidelines are a framework criminal justice officers can use for making decisions involving the reasonable use of force. The guidelines recognize that officers make use of force decisions based on the totality of circumstances at the time of an incident. Circumstances are fluid and dynamic. Responding properly requires constant assessment as the situation changes. Chapter 4 Criminal Justice Defensive Tactics / 221  Force Guidelines—The Decision-Making Process Subject Resistance Situational Factors Is the subject verbally or physically resisting What subject factors influence this situation? my lawful authority? Weapon? Physical size? Demeanor? Others? Is the subject making attacking movements What officer factors influence this situation? that are not likely to cause death or great Training? Experience? Physical size? Others? bodily harm? What environmental factors influence this Is the subject making attacking movements situation? Weather? Location? Presence that are likely to cause death or great of others? bodily harm? Justification Officer’s Response Were my actions reasonable based on the Can I physically control the subject? subject’s resistance and the totality of the circumstances? Could I use a less lethal weapon not meant to cause death or great bodily harm? Am I able to articulate the reasons for my actions? Is deadly force the appropriate option to prevent death or great bodily harm to myself Was I in compliance with constitutional and or others? state laws, agency policies, and training? Use of Force Reporting Many agencies require an additional report any time an officer uses force to control a subject. To properly defend a use of force decision, you need to clearly articulate, or put into words, the basis for your decision to use force. You should include the factors that establish your perspective from the totality of circumstances at the time you decided to use force. For example, if you used deadly force, state exactly what you saw and felt, what actions and behaviors the subject exhibited, and any other relevant infor- mation that created your perception that the ability, opportunity, and intent to cause great bodily harm or death existed. Simply stating in a report, “the suspect threatened me,” is not a sufficient basis for justification. Remember that the contents of a use of force incident report will be seen by supervisors, prosecu- tors, defense attorneys, judges, and the public. You should be thorough and include the factors used in any use of force decisions since information added later could be viewed with skepticism and could be inaccurate. 222 / Florida Basic Recruit Training Program (HL): Volume 2