Whether or not to use force is the most serious decision and one of the most significant
interactions law enforcement officers can have with citizens. The decisions made by political
and administrative officials when they determine matters of policy or the decisions made by
individual officers in split seconds may be of life or death importance. The determination of
the proper use of force by law enforcement at both administrative and individual levels is
crucial for both law enforcement and for the public to maintain order protect society enforce
just laws and reasonably respect and protect the rights of civilian citizens. Typically a
successful use of force accomplishes an actual seizure within the meaning of the Fourth
Amendment and therefore seizures are examined as Fourth Amendment issues in this book. The
most basic and generalizable legal standard for the use of force is «reasonableness» and this
book examines the reasonableness of the use of force in a number of situations both real and
hypothetical. Reasonable Use of Force by Police is intended for use in police training police
departments universities and by anyone interested in understanding the standards of
reasonable use of force by police and other law enforcement officers.
