Why Kenosha Police Officers’ Use Of Force On Jacob Blake Was Justified
Most people have no understanding of what constitutes ‘reasonable force’ for police. Yes, it sometimes includes shooting a man, in broad daylight, in the back seven times.
Let’s Go Through Legal Principles for Use of Force
Well-established legal principles govern the use of “deadly force” by law enforcement officers. Initially, it is important to stress that the law is clear that an officer cannot use deadly force “merely to prevent a felon’s escape.” Thus, shooting Blake would not be justified based solely on the fact that there was an outstanding felony charge against Blake and the officers were attempting to arrest him.
However, while generally police may not use deadly force to effectuate an arrest, the Supreme Court has made clear that deadly force may be used if “the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or others.”
In the videos, Blake appeared to be armed with a knife. It has been established that a knife was found in the car he was reaching into, although whether he possessed it during his altercation with police is unclear. The mere fact that Blake may have been armed with a knife, though, also does not justify the shooting. Rather, objective reasonableness is determined based on “whether the totality of the circumstances justified the use of force.”
In determining the objective reasonableness of force, consideration is given to the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight, the suspect’s demeanor, whether the suspect is intoxicated or noncompliant, whether the suspect has a weapon, whether the officers ordered the suspect to drop the weapon, the distance separating the officers and the suspect, and whether any hostile motions with the weapon were made.
The key question in this analysis is whether the suspect “poses a threat.” “A nascent threat can be sufficient; it need not materialize to the point of harm.” Thus, an officer need not wait until a suspect knives or shoots someone, but “may anticipatorily use a weapon to protect himself or others.” In other words, “[i]t is the perceived threat of attack by a suspect, apart from the actual attack, to which the officer may respond preemptively.”
Put otherwise, “a reasonable officer need not await the ‘glint of steel’ before taking self-protective action; by then, it is ‘often . . . too late to take safety precautions.’”
https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/31/why-kenosha-police-officers-use-of-force-on-jacob-blake-was-justified/