By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that every law enforcement agency across America has rules, policies and laws that regulate use of force?
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on January 1, 2019, they started a series of data collection regarding police officers and the use of force all across America. The FBI Website states that the purpose of this data is, “…the FBI will continue coordination with these and other agencies and organizations to provide reliable, accurate, and timely information for analysis and informed conversations.” What those conversations lead to are anyone’s guess but the website does mention the word “training” specifically for law enforcement officers in the way of “use of force.”
This past week, there were many riots, looting and mass destruction in our cities across America. This all reportedly stemming from the killing of George Floyd at the hands of four Minneapolis Police Officers who have all been fired and arrested in Floyd’s death. These officers were arrested after a video emerged of one of the officer’s knees on Floyd’s neck, killing Floyd. Only one officer actually used that restraining technique that eventually killed Floyd but because the other three officers did nothing to stop that officer, they also were charged with a crime.
Since the Floyd incident, many incidents and levels of use of force have been seen as well as recorded. One particular video taken on May 31st shows a Seattle police officer telling another officer to take his knee off an arrested suspect’s neck. In another incident also recorded on video by a news crew, two Buffalo police officers were charged with assault last Saturday after shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground. The elderly man was protesting over the death of George Floyd.
Other incidents regarding use of force by police have also been recorded and or reported on widely. Some Americans are now demanding a uniform set of rules pertaining to the use of force at the hands of police while others are calling for the complete defunding of police agencies.