Police Response Essay

I've often been asked by folks after highly publicized law enforcement incidents if I will modify or tone down the level of physical technique in my classes. People are often surprised to hear my answer is almost always a resounding no. It is easy to pass judgement when you are a casual observer critiquing a police response, hell it is easier for me too. There are some things I would like to impress upon you that I hope will help you understand what goes through an officer's mind. I may not change your opinion. That is not my intention. I simply want to give you some context.
First, we are nearly ALWAYS at a reactionary disadvantage. What do I mean by that? An officer pulls someone over at 1 AM and makes his approach to the vehicle to ask for the driver's paperwork. The occupant(unbeknownst to the officer) has an outstanding warrant and has removed a loaded firearm from his side door pocket and is now poised to
We all process it differently. What may invoke a fear response in you may be laughable to someone else. That does not in any way detract from or invalidate what the person feeling the fear feels. To illustrate this, imagine the responses I may get when I ask both a man and a woman the last time they feared for their life. A man may have great difficulty remembering a time, if ever, he has felt physically threatened. A woman may give you a very different answer. Courts have established what is known as the standard of reasonableness to deal with this very problem. It is the reason you think many police officers often seem to get away with excessive uses of force. Courts examine what a reasonable person or officer(of like condition) would do in that particular circumstance at that particular time. What they often find is that the officer's response was appropriate or at least understandable. Very rarely do people place that kind of impartiality upon themselves when they are Monday morning quarterbacking the latest youtube