Week 10 Flashcards
What is the case of Paul Boyd? (3)
Paul Boyd was a man with bipolar disorder who was fatally shot several times by police
A review found the officer not guilty of any wrongdoing as there was no evidence of excessive use of force
It was a clear case of officer-induced jeopardy, where the situation was handled in such a way that lethal use of force resulting in death was an almost inevitable conclusion
Where does the authority to use force come from in Canada? (3)
Section 25 of the Criminal Code of Canada
Says any law enforcement officer is justified to do what is required or authorized and use as much force is necessary for that purpose
Emphasis on the belief on reasonable grounds and that it is necessary for the preservation of self or others
What US court case informs the legality of use of force? (3)
Graham v. Connor (1989)
Defines that the reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on that scene (not in hindsight)
Also described a number of factors to determine when force is a necessity (severity of crime, immediate threat, resisting/evading arrest)
What Canadian court case informs the legality of use of force? (3)
Cluett v. The Queen (1985)
Officers are authorized to use force that is reasonable, proper and necessary to carry out their duties, providing necessary wanton or unnecessary violence is used
What is reasonable and proper depends on the circumstances of the case
What strategies are put in place to encourage reasonableness? (5)
CCRF
Departmental policies
Rigorous use of force training
Use of force models or continuums
Body-worn cameras
What is the National Use of Force Framework? (4)
Developed in the 1990s and adopted across the country
Different services use slightly different versions or call it different things but it is essentially the same model
It does not give the police the authority to use force but is more of a training aid for officers on when to use appropriate and proportional use of force dependent on the situation and the offender
Also used for post-event articulation to help officers explain what happened and their decision-making process when writing a use of force report (only if they use soft force or more)
How does the National Use of Force Framework work? (5)
When a police officer encounters a situation, framework helps officers continuously assess, plan and act accordingly in response to the situation and its risk level
They then can break down the different behaviors that the offender exhibits into 5 different categories (cooperative, passive resistance, active resistance, assaultive, grievous bodily harm or death
They then assess their perception and tactical considerations (bystanders, training, abilities, tools available, time, etc.)
Options from there include officer presence, communication, physical control (soft to hard), intermediate weapons (taser, baton, pepper spray) and lethal force (gun)
All of the options are positioned on the chart in a specific way to encourage officers to use proportional responses to the level of threat (i.e., cooperative with officer presence, active resistance with physical force, grievous bodily harm/death with lethal force)
What is the problem with use of force stats in Canada? (2)
There is not as much data in Canada than the US (no national database by police or government)
There are external databases by CBC and academic institutions but they are subject to bias and have superficial data
What do use of force statistics show? (3)
One study examined 4 urban areas in Canada with 7 police agencies for 8 years
Only 0.1% of all police interactions result in force (likely higher, closer to 2%, due to different definitions of force that exclude soft force like pressure points and joint locks that don’t cause injury)
Most subjects involved were male (87%) and young (median 30)
What modalities are used in use of force cases? (7)
Single use modalities make use 59.6%, multiple use modalities make up the rest
Physical strikes are the most common at 77%
CEW (conducted energy weapons) next at 14.9%
Firearm pointed in 10.2%
Vascular neck constraint in 6.6%
Pepper spray in 3.6%
Police canine in 2.4%
What were the reasons that police were originally dispatched to the scene? (5)
Intoxication (22.5%)
Disturbance (17.5%)
Assault (10.3%)
Domestic (9.6%)
Mental health (7%)
What did injuries in use of force incidents look like? (3) How many died?
16.6% were transported to hospital
57.3% had some kind of physical injury (from bruises to more serious injuries)
Most injuries will be minor
Only 0.14% (7) suspects died
What is the role of police psychology in use of force situations? (4)
Use of force research
Use of force training and consulting
Expert testimony in use of force scenarios
Clinical interventions following use of force events (fitness for duty evals)
What are the challenges with use of force research? (5)
Sensitive data being handled
Participation is low (time consuming, high risk studies)
Logistics (costs a lot of money due to safety concerns)
Measurement issues (self-reports can lie)
Realism (there are external validity problems when making fake things feel real)
What is the impact of stress on decision-making in use of force incidents? (4) AP JD MP AM
Attention and perception
Judgement and decision making
Motor operation and performance
Articulation and memory
How does brain functioning impact use of force incidents? (7)
The frontal lobe is responsible for thinking and decision-making, particularly the pre-frontal cortex
This impacts what the officer sees, feels, hears, and remembers
Under serious stress, the frontal lobe and all its biological systems/functions are compromised
Survival instincts kick in (fight/flight/freeze)
The subcortical areas (reptilian) of the brain take over, which are evolutionary parts responsible not for clear thinking but basic survival
Officers can react faster and stronger but this compromises higher level functioning
Some officers receive specialized training to modulate these reactions but most don’t, which creates problems
How do perceptual distortions impact use of force incidents? (2)
Officers in UofF situations often experience perceptual distortions, which can impact an officer’s performance and memory
Examples include sounds getting quieter/louder, tunnel vision, time distortion, memory impairment, auto-pilot, paralysis, intrusive thoughts
What are use of force myths? (2)
Lack of understanding about use of force dynamics and facts can lead to endorsement of myths
In addition to lack of understanding about law/police/UofF/psychology, biased media portrayals of use of force incidents lend to endorsement of myths
What is the frequency of force myth? (2)
Most people overestimate the frequency of events where force is used by police
Research shows that use of force, especially lethal force, is rare
What is the Single Bullet Fallacy? (3)
A lot of public discord comes from the public belief/perception that more than one shot/bullet is excessive and one bullet should be enough
Reality is that, depending on the case, substance use, physical state, adrenaline and other factors, several bullets may cause little reaction/impact
The only time a single bullet will incapacitate someone immediately is with a shot to the brain stem, which the average officer is not trained to do
What is the shooting to wound myth? (3)
The myth that police officers can “shoot to wound” assumes a high degree of shot precision/accuracy
This does not match the actual abilities of officers, who are trained to shoot center mass simply because it is the largest area of the body with the highest probability of hitting something
The weapons are not good enough and the training is to infrequent/poor to expect officers to be able to shoot in places that will only wound
What is the association between race and use of force? (4)
Several studies by criminologists and sociologists have examined the association between race and police use of force
Most studies find an association, with Black and Indigenous people overrepresented in these cases
The only thing up for debate is why there is overrepresentation (racism? situational factors? officer features?)
The results of studies relying on multivariate statistical analysis (to control for other factors) to answer this question comes back with mixed results, with some saying race is a predictive factor and other saying it is insignificant
