Deadly Force

The book defines the “use of deadly force” as the officers having to make a split-second decision about whether or not to use deadly force. If they hesitate the run the risk of being killed or seriously injured themselves or allowing an innocent citizen to be killed or seriously injured.(Police Dempsey Forst 2011) “Less then lethal force” is subduing A criminal by other means then lethal for example pepper spray, baton, or a Taser. The use of “deadly force” is A sticky situation in our society, there are arguments and lines drawn in the sand because of unfortunate events that have taken place in society for many years. BUT there are occasion that deadly force is necessary and I think that officers have the right to use discretion to do so. If the situation comes down to an ARMED criminal brandishing a weapon or actually reaching for a weapon and the officer feels the that his life or other innocent citizens life are in danger then they must use deadly force. So the police may use deadly force in specific circumstances when they are trying to enforce the law. In conclusion there are a lot of things that come into play when the officer has a split second to decide which one to use deadly force or less then deadly force such as prior confrontations and fear. We must trust the officer’s gut, and there is no way to measure that feeling thus I believe that the use of deadly force is a necessary evil.