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New York City, July 17, 2014: NYPD plainclothes officers confrontedEric Garner, 43, peddling untaxed cigarettes. Garner, a petty,chronic violator, told the cops to go away, then resisted arrest.An officer applied a chokehold to help take Garner to the ground.Garner complained that he couldn’t breathe. He then died. A Stategrand jury refused to indict the officer.

Ferguson, Missouri, August 9, 2014: Michael Brown, 18, stole a boxof cigars from a store and strong-armed the clerk. A police officersoon encountered Brown walking down the middle of a road. Brown apparently reached into the police car and a struggle ensued, with the police officer firing at least once while in the car. The officer then stepped out of the car and fired several more times when Brown, who was unarmed, allegedly charged him. Brown’s death led toseveral days of looting and arson.

Discretion, while important, can allowprejudice to infect officer decisions

Discrimination may keep citizens fromreceiving adequate services, or may result in unfair targeting

Civil rights complaints against police are most frequent in minority areas Black citizens report less confidence in the police and more

unfair and abusive treatment than Hispanics. Some states have used immigration laws in unexpected ways. In

2010 Arizona enacted a State law (since overturned in Federal court) requiring that police detain and check the status of suspected illegal immigrants.

Maricopa County (AZ) Sheriff Joe Arpaio has defended profiling (paying special attention to) Hispanics as a way of combatting crime caused by persons illegally in the U.S.

Law generally allows using race as one (but not the only) component in making decisions to stop and detain

Lying is an essential tool in policing,and particularly in undercover work

Barker and Carter’s typology of lying Accepted lies, such as used in

undercover work. Must further anaccepted purpose, must helpaccomplish the purpose, and mustbetter serve the public interest thantelling the truth.

Tolerated lies, such as lying tosuspects or threatening to arresttroublemakers

Deviant lies, such as lying on reportsor in court, or to cover up wrongdoing.

OpportunityStructure

Authentic

Unauthentic

Targeting

Focused

Diffused

Targeting: Are targets preselected? Focused: Informer-initiated undercover buys Diffused: Street crime decoys

Opportunity Structure: Frameor “context” of undercoversetting Physical setting Props Offers of gain Undercover officer

appearance and behavior “From morals to practice: dilemmas of control in

undercover policing”

Informants are persons who actively help policeinvestigate crimes Provide crucial “insider” information Introduce undercover agents Participate in undercover contacts

Some issues:▪ Coercing persons to become informants▪ Getting personally or criminally involved with informants▪ Engaging in unethical or illegal behaviors on an informant’s

behalf▪ Overestimating the truth or accuracy of what informants

say▪ Overlooking informant’s behavior or criminal history▪ Allowing or encouraging informants to entrap suspects

An innocent person is “entrapped”when they are encouraged or enticed tocommit a crime by police

Two legal “tests” for entrapment: Subjective test (in current use): Evaluates suspect’s background

and predisposition to commit a crime. Dates back to U.S. v. Russell (1975).▪ Currently, persons who are “predisposed” cannot claim

entrapment Objective test (not currently used): Determines whether police

officers provided an essential element of the crime (e.g., furnished an ingredient to make illegal drugs.)

Utilitarian ethics are normally used to evaluate undercover operations. Some issues include: Seriousness of offense Alternatives to using deception Is a target on notice that their behavior would be illegal? Would the crime have otherwise occurred?

Techniques of persuasion Downplaying the seriousness of a crime Minimizing evidence in hand Creating a relaxed setting (e.g., implying that Miranda is a

formality) Making excessive promises of leniency Fabricating evidence (e.g., fictional fingerprints) “Father confessor” - lending a sympathetic ear “Good cop-bad cop”

False confessions Legal tests

▪ Voluntariness - was police conduct likely to get a false confession?

▪ “Shock the conscience” - outrageous police conduct that requires suppressing evidence

Youths and mentally handicapped particularly susceptible to pressure

Innocents may falsely confess to avoid harsh sentences

Use of force ranges from grabbing and handcuffing,to pointing a gun, to actually using a weapon such as aclub or gun.

A Bureau of Justice Statistics study revealed that 776,000 persons reported at least one police use of force in 2008. This was 1.9 percent of the 40 million persons with whom police had face-to-face contact in that year (16.9% of the population.) A majority of uses of force involved “grabbing and holding.” Police displayed firearms in about one out of every four uses of force. Males, blacks and younger persons were more likely to have a contact with

police that resulted in the use of force. Pursuits and other chases frequently lead to use of force.

“Reasonableness”: Claims of excessive force are evaluated using the “reasonableness” standard of the Fourth Amendment. According to the Supreme Court, the proper perspective is that of a “reasonable” officer at the scene (Graham v. Connor, 1989).

A small number of officers are reportedly responsible for a disproportionate number of uses of force. Their characteristics may include cynicism, lack of empathy, strong identification with the police subculture, and a tendency to deflect responsibility.

On January 1, 2009 BART officer Johannes Mehserle, 27,shot and killed a 22-year old man who was being held downby several officers following a brawl on a BART train. Theman was refusing to place his arms behind his back so thathe could be handcuffed.

The shooting, which was captured by a bystander’s cellphonecamera, seemed otherwise unprovoked. For reasons thatremain in dispute, Mehserle stood, drew his gun and firedonce into the victim’s back.

The shooting stirred strong emotions in Oakland and led todemonstrations and several nights of disturbances.

Mehserle resigned from the force. On January 14, 2009 hewas arrested in Nevada on a murder warrant. He waivedextradition and was returned to California. According to theAlameda County D.A., murder charges were filed because the killing was unlawful and done purposefully.

At his trial Mehserle testified that he accidentally drew his pistol instead of his Taser (it had been recently issued.) He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served one year.

On January 29, 2005 a 21-year old passenger was shot by a SBSOdeputy after the vehicle he was in, which was being chased forspeeding, crashed during a pursuit.

Witnesses say that a deputy ordered Elio Carrion, 21, an Air Forcesecurity officer, to the ground and that Carrion complied. There isconfusion about what happened later, but a grainy videotapemade by an onlooker suggests that Carrion was told to get up.When he did so, the deputy fired, striking Carrion three times.

Carrion recovered from his wounds. The videotape recordedCarrion’s pre-shooting comments that he was “on the deputy’sside,” expletives shouted by the deputy at the driver, and Carrion’sprotests after being shot that he had complied with the deputy.

The Corvette’s operator had an extensive driving record. Neitherhe nor Carrion were armed or wanted.

The officer, Deputy Ivory Webb, was tried for attemptedvoluntary manslaughter. He was acquitted. During trial anexpert defense witness gave examples of officers behaving oddlyduring a crisis: “Their analytical process began to collapse. They hadso much to do that, literally, they were overloaded.”

Your task: using materials from the book and classdiscussion, explain why an innocent man was shot

Separately for each example, explain why the officer used deadly force. What may have been going through the officer’s mind?

Explain why one officer was convicted, and the other was acquitted.