Police Use of Force

Police officers are given a significant amount of discretion simply due to the nature of the job. Officers are faced with many threatening situations forcing them to react quickly yet appropriately. They have the power to infringe upon any citizen's rights to freedom and therefore they must use this power effectively. One major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is their power to decide when to use force or when to use lethal force. The line between what is necessary and what is extreme is very thin. Use of force is no doubt one important aspect in policing; however, force should also be used with great discretion. If officers do use excessive force on every suspect they encounter they may be creating a negative environment for the community.

Deadly force continues to remain as one of the most serious and controversial issues in Canada. The excessive use of force by police officers persists because of overwhelming barriers to accountability.

The power and authority of police officer's, is set with boundaries and guidelines, which they must follow. It is up to the police officer, to determine the amount of force that should be used, to maintain stability on a given situation. .

Everyday in Canada, police officers face challenges that may cause them to lead to deadly force. Generally, when this occurs, officers apply force because it was the last or only available option. The force that is applied by the police is in the direct reply to the receiving threat. Use of deadly force by police officers has been discussed and debated for generations.

Police officers have the discretion to use deadly force when they feel its appropriate. This powerful authority sets police apart from every other profession. They are guided in their decision-making by policy, training, intelligence information, and many more that is taught in Alymer Police College.. Everyday, hundreds and perhaps, thousands of officers who face and deal with deadly force encounters and who have legal authority to take action choose whether or not to use any force at al, as much force as necessary, or to use excessive force leading to bodily and deadly harm to the suspect.

Police officers' attitude toward deadly force is shaped, in great part, by the environment in which they work and their perception toward that environment. If their beat or district has a reputation for being dangerous, officers will respond accordingly. Neighbourhoods like Jane and Finch, and Regent Park are known to be very dangerous and bad neighbourhoods. People that, have heard of Jane and Finch, but never visited avoid going to the area for the fear of what may happen to them due to the reputation it has. They will be more "ready" and prone toward using force. And, once the police designate a community as violent, the image is almost impossible to change. The image can be caused by a single deadly force encounter and can go on for years.

An example of this, is an 18 year old boy named Junior Alexander Manon, that lived on the Jane and Finch strip, that got pulled over by the police one summer evening. The police stopped Junior's car while driving, junior took off on foot and after a short chase police caught up to him and beat him up, because he was supposedly resisting arrest. A witness told reporters that the officers "beat him up, he was on the floor, he wasn't resisting. Two officers on him, punching him in the face, one kicking him in the ribs...and then five more come and jump on him...he is not that big for seven cops to be on him like that." (Joshi-Vijayan, 2011) Manon, was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital, due to the amount of force officers used on the teenage boy.

Incidents like this, are things that need to be looked into for further investigations and improvement on the police force and services

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