Quiz 6 Study Guide

Kerner Commission Report (1968)

"Go out and study these race riots/civil disorders (200 in 1967 alone) - what's going on?"; 7 month investigation, aimed to identify root causes

Use of Force Continuum

Officer presence, verbalization, empty-hand control, less-lethal methods, lethal force

Empty-Hand Control - Use of Force Continuum

Officer use bodily force to gain control of a situation; soft technique (officers use grabs, holds and joint locks to restrain an individual) and hard technique (officers use punches and kicks to restrain an individual)

Watts Riots in Los Angeles (1965)

Officers arrested a black man; people taunted the officer so he called for backup, backup officer struck bystanders with his baton; resulted in looting and burning (arson) for 5 days; 35,000 AA participated in riot, National Guard called in; 34 people died, 1,000+ injured, millions of dollars in property damaged

Less-Lethal Methods - Use of Force Continuum

Officers use less-lethal technologies to gain control of a situation; blunt impact (officers may use a baton or projective to immobilize a combative person), chemical (officers may use chemical sprays or projectiles embedded with chemicals to restrain an individual), and/or conducted energy devices (CEDs) (officers may use CEDS to immobilize an individual; discharge a high voltage, low-amperage jolt of electricity at a distance)

Lethal Force - Use of Force Continuum

Officers use lethal weapons to gain control of a situation; should only be used if a suspect poses a serious threat to the officer or another individual; stop the threat

What were the root causes identified in the Kerner Commission Report?

Overt discrimination (not even trying to hide it), chronic poverty, high unemployment, inadequate housing, lack of access to healthcare, and systematic police bias and brutality

Police departments use _________________ to identify certain kinds of people.

Perceptual shorthand

Los Angeles (1992)

Race not following acquittal of four officers for beating Rodney King; "mini civil war"; looting, arson and murder; 53 people died in the riots; 2,300 injured; 1,100 buildings destroyed

What are the three important variables to determine who is dissatisfied with the police?

Race/ethnicity, age and place

Traffic Stops

Racial profiling (use of race as an indicator in a profile of criminal suspects with results in traffic stops based on race); Gallup poll showed 53% of all Americans believe racial profiling is "widespread"; using race alone is discrimination

Police Use of Force

Rare - lethal force is even more rare; most people killed by police are white and male; usually armed with a weapon; risk increases over the age of 20

Assault against Police

Risk of one assault for every ten officers; most likely to be young, white, inexperienced male officers

What statement is associated with the Kerner Commission Report?

The United States is "moving toward two societies - one black, one white; separate and unequal"

Why do we study police?

They have a lot of power, represent government, there have been a lot of issues, etc.

True or False: Federal judge ruled NYPD's stop and frisk practices UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

True

True or False: Force or threat of force used less than two percent of more than 40 million annual police citizen engagements.

True

True or False: Most officers are mostly white and there has not been much AA growth - largest growth was with H.

True

True or False: Racial minorities are disproportionately arrested more often than whites.

True

True or False: Results of the Stanford Open Policing Project show that the greatest racial disparities occur after initial stop and black/Latino drivers are stopped and searched based on less evidence.

True

True or False: Significant problems still exist in police relations with minority communities.

True

True or False: There is textual variation between statistics based on jurisdiction, etc. for police use of deadly force.

True

True or False: Whites more likely than blacks, Hispanics, or persons of other races to experience police contact.

True

True or False: Young black males living in central city communities express the least amount of satisfaction with police.

True

Scott v. Harris (2007)

USSC case; involved high speed pursuit of a motorist speeding and was driving recklessly who refused to stop when an officer tried to pull him over; second officer (squad) rammed the car to stop the reckless driver, causing severe, permanent injuries to the driver; USSC ruled that in police use of force cases, "all that matters is whether the officer's actions were reasonable" and that the officer's actions were reasonable since the motorist posed an imminent threat to other drivers and didn't breach 4th amendment

Graham v. Connor (1989)

USSC case; reasonable police force is an objective inquiry that should be investigated "from the perspective of a reasonable officer on scene, and its calculus must embody an allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second decisions about the amount of force necessary in a particular situation"; the reason why DA doesn't charge officers sometimes; courts still should consider severity of crime, imminent threat, suspect actively resisting, and if suspect was fleeing to resist arrest

Tennessee v. Garner (1985)

USSC rules that police may not use lethal force if a person suspected of committing a felony flees from them or resists arrest (fleeing felon policy); police may use lethal force only if "the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others" (threat must be imminent); widely known as the defense of life policy

Detroit (1967)

Vice squad raided a bar in a predominately black area where 82 people had gathered to celebrate the return of two Vietnam veterans; police attempted to arrest everyone at the bar; looting, fires, and vandalism; National Guard called in on fourth day of rioting; 43 people died, 1,189 injured, 7,000 arrested

Should the police be able to use race as one of the several factors in making a traffic stop?

Yes, as situational and contextual factors dictate (e.g., BOLO for suspect who is black)

Terry v. Ohio (1968)

"Stop, question and frisk"; based on articulable reasonable suspicion; considers officers' training and experience

10 Rules of Survival if Stopped by the Police

1) Be polite and respectful when stopped by the police; keep your mouth shut 2) Remember that your goal is to get home safely. If you feel that your rights have been violated, you and your parents have the right to file a formal complaint with your local police jurisdiction 3) Don't, under any circumstance, get into an argument with the police 4) Always remember that anything you say or do can be used against you in court 5) Keep your hands in plain sight and make sure the police can always see your hands 6) Avoid physical contact with the police; no sudden movements and keep hands out of your pockets 7) Do not run, even if you are afraid of the police 8) Even if you believe that you are innocent, do not resist arrest 9) Don't make any statements about the incident until you are able to meet with a lawyer or public defender 10) Stay calm and remain in control watch your words, body language and emotions

Cincinnati (2001)

15 African Americans shot and killed by police; police never found guilty or civilly liable; 15th shooting sparked a riot; $3.6M in property damage; major boycott of businesses = $10M+ in losses; 63 rioters indicted on felony charges

8 Can't Wait

8 policies that can decrease police violence (72% is an overstated percentage, but this is still important!)

Prior to Tennessee v. Garner, the disparity between blacks killed to whites/hispanics killed was ________.

8:1

Nearly ___ out of 10 black residents questioned said they thought the police often engaged in brutality against blacks in the New York Times Poll 1999 (after the shooting of Amadou Diallo)

9

Excessive Force

Any physical force that is more than reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful purpose; tremendous variation (situational and contextual variation); perception matters!

Newark (1967)

Cab driver arrested and beaten severely by police; bricks and bottles thrown at police precinct, breaking windows; looting and violence erupted; National Guard activated after two days of rioting; 26 people died, 725 injured, and about 1,500 arrested; scars still persist today

Fyfe (1982)

Compared shootings in Memphis and NYC; black persons in Memphis were 10% more likely to be shot at by police than in NYC; defense of life policy (NYC) vs. fleeing felon policy (Memphis); Tennessee v. Garner (1985)

2020 Gallup Poll Conclusions

Confidence in the police had fallen five points to 48% from the year before - less than half have confidence in the police (majority don't have confidence in the police); first time in the 27-year trend that this reading is below the minority; 56% white adults have confidence, only 19% of black adults (37-point gap is larger than it has been historically)

Police department behavior for excessive force is influenced by...

Context/situation, perceived criminal involvement, disrespectful demeanor of citizen, and social status/community

What is the collateral damage of racial profiling?

Emotional and behavioral consequences/damage, "racial tax" (ex: having to add an additional 30-45 minutes into their morning work commute time in case they get stopped by police), and legitimacy

In general, research demonstrates that officers are more likely to arrest when:

Evidence is strong, crime is serious, complainant/victim requests arrest, stranger relationship, suspect is disrespectful (disrespectful demeanor)

True or False: Racial groups ARE homogeneous.

False

True or False: Police shoot and kill WHITES AND HISPANICS more often than blacks (3:1 disparity).

False - blacks

True or False: A higher percentage of whites and other races than blacks and Hispanics experienced threats of use of force.

False - blacks and hispanics

What was the first instance of racial profiling?

Federal Aviation Administration (1972) - airplane hijackers

Sparger and Giacopassi (1992)

Follow-up in Memphis following Tennessee v. Garner (1985); found that policy, when enforced, can impact police behavior (reduction in police shootings)

Ferguson (2014)

Following Grand Jury's decision not to indict officer Wilson in the death of Michael Brown; over 80 arrests; 150 shots fired; 2 patrol cars set on fire; 17 businesses destroyed = $4.6M in losses; 37 additional buildings damaged

Baltimore (2015)

Following death of Freddie Gray, who died after sustaining life threatening injuries in police custody (during transport); about 250 people arrested; 20 police officers injured; 285-350 businesses damaged; 150 vehicle fires; 60 structure fires; 27 drug stores looted

Minneapolis (2020)

Following the death of George Floyd who was murdered by a police officer who knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes; three other officers stood by and didn't intervene; from May 27-May 29, damages totaled $82 million and affected 330 buildings, including 37 that were heavily damaged or entirely destroyed; National Guard called in (largest deployment of its troops since WWII); 604 arrests by mid-June and upwards of $500 million in damage to 1,500 properties (second-most destructive period of local unrest in US history); two people killed

Verbalization - Use of Force Continuum

Force is not physical; calm, nonthreatening commands; may increase volume and shorten commands in an attempt to gain compliance

Fleeing Felon Policy

If you flee and you are a suspected felon, justifies use of force; Memphis

Defense of Life Policy

Imminent threat - stricter policy, NYC

PBS Documentary 2020 Episode Policing the Police

Jelani Cobb (a reporter), Newark Police Department; changes being made at Newark, but it's very hard; The Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (allowed DOJ to investigate local PD and force them to reform, consent decrees); Donald Trump ("don't be too nice"); not just a few bad apples; Newark Community Street Team (alternative to policing)

Have the problems been fixed by police reforms such as community oriented policing?

NO

PBS Video on Implicit Bias

NYC; Fair and Impartial Police Training; costs a lot of money, is unknown how well it works in the long term as evaluations haven't been done yet; skepticism from officers themselves, etc.

Officer Presence - Use of Force Continuum

No force is used; considered the best way to resolve a situation