Police brutality is the use of any force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose. When dealing with civilians, police officers tend to have problems with their timing, when addressing the law. Even though police officers are properly trained in the amount of force needed to control a civilian, police officers still tend to abuse their authority and use excessive force. Police brutality comes in many forms, but the two most common types are a physical force and racial profiling. Racial profiling refers to the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual …show more content…
According to the San Diego Police Department, police officers attend a twenty-five- week long college level training and a twelve- week field training. During this training police officers endure many rigorous courses, throughout the college and field training. Officers learn when it is necessary and unnecessary to use excessive force, as well as how to shoot a gun properly(San Diego Police Department). This may seem like it is proper training, and officers have the proper knowledge and take the proper precautions into not having to use deadly force while dealing with a civilian. However what is not ambiguous are the standards needed to use deadly force, as set forth by the Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court: An officer must reasonably believe it is necessary to shoot to kill to defend him or herself or someone else from imminent death. This causes many controversy on when it is appropriate to pull the trigger on a civilian. It’s a call made in the blink of an eye, intense and uncertain circumstances, sometimes limited by distance, distractions or darkness. And it brings to bear all of the officer’s experience, awareness and, perhaps most important, training. Georgia attorney Lance LoRusso says, “It’s probably the most critical decision an officer will ever make, and it’s also the hardest decision.” No matter what the circumstances are, officers should avoid using deadly force, and take accountability for the actions if they use this deadly force. The main reason why police officers use excessive force is because they do not know how to de-escalate situations. Throughout police training they learn many different ways to use a gun properly, but what they do not learn is how to deal with people in a proper manner, and how to make an intense situation calm down. For example, the incident between the South Carolina resource officer and the high school