| Abstrakt: |
On July 14, 2018, Harith Augustus, a 37-year-oldBlack man, was walking home from his workat a barbershop on the Southside of Chicagowhen he was stopped by a police officer. Id.The court explained that "an officer's employmentof deadly force in split-second decisions when facedwith a threat of serious injury or death should not bequestioned" and found the officer's actions reasonable. These arguments are compelling--an officer'spre-use of force conduct certainly impacts whetheruse of force is reasonable and necessary--but theybeg a broader question: How can courts rely so heavilyon the presence of a split-second decision whendetermining if police use of force is reasonable whensuch a concept is not always--or even often--objectivelyreasonable itself? A court must consideran officer's use of force in the context of the broaderencounter between the officer and the victim in orderto determine if the use of force was reasonable. [Extracted from the article] |
