Assignment: Police Discretion

p Police Discretion and Personal Responsibility Abstract

Every year , dozens of officers are killed in the line of duty . Knowing when to use deadly force can save the life of the officer . Police discretion is an important part of the job , and there are several policies in place that limit and allow the use of deadly force in the field

Discretion is active decision making for police officers , and can be a decision that means the difference between life and death for both the officer and potential arrestees . Because of the

split-second decision making that is required as an officer , discretion is used by officers in the field . While following the standard regulations is a vital part of the job , discretion allows officers to use their own best judgment to make the call in situations that could be potentially life threatening

In the scenario described , the female officer had given the suspect several chances to stop behaving aggressively (2 . Since the man was fleeing , it can be assumed that he was either a fleeing felon (1 , or that he was a danger to society in another way . Also , since the suspect was attacking the officer , it can be assumed that he had intent to harm the officer . The FBI policy , however , does state that deadly force can 't be used to stop a suspect from fleeing (1

In hindsight , calling for backup may have been a more appropriate action , but chances are good that the struggle would have ensued long...