The Use of Force
The Use of Force
The Wichita Police Department's policy and procedures on the use of force for its employees takes every measure of precautionary to ensure that the best method of force is used in making a lawful arrest. These policies and procedures go into great detail to inform officers when the use of force is necessary and how much force is needed.
An officer of the WPD is justified in using force as long as they believe it to be necessary to effect the arrest and to defend one's self or another. Deadly force, however, is used when an officer believes such extreme force is necessary to prevent death to one's self or another person. Before an officer is engaged in the usage of force; he or she must assess whether the objective can be accomplished without the use of a weapon. There are many ways in which an officer can use force to deescalate a situation; some examples are: the use of less-lethal force (this is where lethal force is not authorized and officers should choose what less-lethal technique to use, after assessing the situation.), aerosol weapons, batons, tasers, and, as a last resort, firearms. In any situation that requires an officer to use force; the officer must use only the necessary amount of force to deescalate a situation. When using force an officer's discretion and integrity is tested to the max. Force must only be applied when the officer finds that it is necessary: to defend themselves or another person, to prevent an arrest from being defeated by resistance, to prevent an attempt to evade an arrest by flight, or on animals, for the safety of the officer or another person. In any case, the officer must choose the appropriate form of force do avoid any usage of unnecessary, or excessive, force and potential lawsuits. There are some cases in which officers must not use force, for example: officers must not use a taser when a subject is running and there is no reasonable suspicion or probable cause that can be justified, or when a subject
The Wichita Police Department's policy and procedures on the use of force for its employees takes every measure of precautionary to ensure that the best method of force is used in making a lawful arrest. These policies and procedures go into great detail to inform officers when the use of force is necessary and how much force is needed.
An officer of the WPD is justified in using force as long as they believe it to be necessary to effect the arrest and to defend one's self or another. Deadly force, however, is used when an officer believes such extreme force is necessary to prevent death to one's self or another person. Before an officer is engaged in the usage of force; he or she must assess whether the objective can be accomplished without the use of a weapon. There are many ways in which an officer can use force to deescalate a situation; some examples are: the use of less-lethal force (this is where lethal force is not authorized and officers should choose what less-lethal technique to use, after assessing the situation.), aerosol weapons, batons, tasers, and, as a last resort, firearms. In any situation that requires an officer to use force; the officer must use only the necessary amount of force to deescalate a situation. When using force an officer's discretion and integrity is tested to the max. Force must only be applied when the officer finds that it is necessary: to defend themselves or another person, to prevent an arrest from being defeated by resistance, to prevent an attempt to evade an arrest by flight, or on animals, for the safety of the officer or another person. In any case, the officer must choose the appropriate form of force do avoid any usage of unnecessary, or excessive, force and potential lawsuits. There are some cases in which officers must not use force, for example: officers must not use a taser when a subject is running and there is no reasonable suspicion or probable cause that can be justified, or when a subject