Use of Force
Use of Force
Serena R. Smith
Grand Canyon University
JUS 515
Use of Force
Use of Force One night, a small-town patrol officer stops a car driven by two teenagers. The officer believes that one of them might be responsible for a string of recent burglaries. The teens are questioned, and the officer becomes angry at their responses. Over the objections of the teenagers, both teens are pulled out of the car and shoved around a little. They are both told that they are under arrest and the officer begins to place handcuffs on them. Both fight back and both are beaten badly (Bruno, 2010). The question is what legal recourse is available to the families of the teens if any? Let me first start by discussing the use of …show more content…
The teens are unlawfully seized from their cars because they might have been involved and placed under arrest and no crime was committed. Everything after the officers pulled them over was illegal. The police officers had no right to stop the car in the first place. The officers also committed assault and battery against the teens. The teens are resistant in being arrested and they fight back and are beaten badly (Bruno, 2010). The officers used excessive force because it was more than what was necessary. If they felt the need to arrest the teens for whatever reasons, they did not need to beat the teens up. The teens’ families could file a monetary suit for violation of their Fourth Amendment rights of unlawful search and seizure. They could also include in their suit, that the officers had no probable cause to stop them and so everything committed after they were pulled over is illegal. They were also arrested when there was clearly no crime committed. And last but not least they could sue for extreme emotional distress, because the officers did beat the boys badly. Not only are they arrested, but they are also beaten. So, for the reasons stated above the families of the teens could file a monetary suit. Another case that police used excessive force is the Rodney King case. The officers brutally beat him while other officers stood by and