Abuse of Power

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that law enforcement entities have legal authority to issue commands that must be obeyed by citizens, to exercise control over individuals, to take them into their custody, and to arrest them. Those authorities are implemented by individual police officers and agents pursuant to criteria established at law governing their use of physical force to gain compliance or to overcome resistance to effect their arrests. The writer discusses that police practice in the field represents a constant opportunity for potential misuse of lawful police powers, and for abuse of persons physically, verbally, psychologically, and with respect to their constitutional civil rights. The writer concludes that civil rights abuse by police is the most sensitive and dangerous type of unlawful police action, because it applies to conduct that is permissible in the same circumstances except for the personal motivation of the officer.

From the Paper:

"Adverse circumstances and heated verbal attacks by angry citizens sometimes triggers a (natural) response on the part of police officers to respond in kind, or, at the extreme, with verbal abuse in the form of threats to use their lawful powers of arrest for intimidation purposes where, in fact, any such use of arrest powers is unlawful under the given circumstances.
"Typical examples with potential to trigger verbal abuse by police would include responding to members of the public who are indeed complying with a lawful order to disperse, or to vacate a specific area, but who do so while expressing their verbal disagreement or displeasure with the officer's command. They may even choose to insult the officer personally, but provided their actions do not constitute a threat to the officer or a refusal to obey his lawful orders, and as long as their manner of expression does not constitute a violation of any specific statute, the officer may not respond in a manner that is abusive, or by purposely intimidating the subject. Verbal and psychological abuse by police of this kind may also arise in the context of their interactions with persons in their lawful custody."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Geeting, J. (2005) The Badge: Thoughts from a State Trooper. Indian Wells: Mckenna
• McCauley, R. (2005) Use of Force and High-Intensity Tactical Police Flashlight: Policy Concerns; The FBI Law Enforcement Journal. Vol. 74 No.11
• Montgomery, D. (2005) Perspective: Excessive Force 101; The FBI Law Enforcement Journal. Vol. 74 No.8
• Schmalleger, F. (1997) Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century. New Jersey: Prentice Hall

More papers on Abuse of Power:

• Essay # 37614 : "Presidential Abuse of Power"
• Research Paper # 122752 : "Police and Abuse of Power"
• Essay # 9268 : "Abuse of Power"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: