Less-than-Lethal Force Weaponry: Law Enforcement and Correctional Agency Civil Law Liability for the Use of Excessive Force
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Authors
Miller, Neal
Issue Date
1995
Volume
28
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|Police excessive force use has diminished as a public policy issue with the end of the legal proceedings in the Rodney King incident in Los Angeles. One factor retarding renewed public scrutiny is that many police agencies are instituting reforms to reduce the likelihood of police excessive force. These reforms include greater efforts to control police behavior through training, stricter reporting requirements,and improved disciplinary procedures .One of the more innovative reforms is to increase the use of the less-than-lethal force weapon ("LTL") among police officers in order to limit resource to either deadly force or injury-producing conventional force instruments. The LTL is so termed because it is much less likely to result in death when used. Nonetheless, there is always some likelihood that death will result when any level of force is used. Some LTLs have been available for decades (e.g., batons), but have never been systematically examined as LTLs. Others (e.g., Mace) have been introduced only recently to serve as alternatives to both nondeadly and deadly force. The primary LTLs used by police, typically as "stop"devices, include electronic stun devices (e.g., Tasers and other stunguns, Talon and other stun gloves, Source and other stun devices);chemical weapons (e.g., Mace); and close-range impact weapons (e.g.,flashlights and batons)...
Description
Citation
28 Creighton L. Rev. 733 (1994-1995)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law