| Abstrakt: |
In Salem, ME on October 6, 2013 Thomas Templeton was allegedly beaten by Officer Joseph Freda during his arrest. Templeton has been charged with “reckless conduct, resisting arrest, and disobeying an officer” (Ireland, 2014). Templeton was allegedly driving between 80 mph and 90 mph on the interstate when Freda attempted to stop him for speeding. Templeton pulled of the interstate in an attempt to flee from police and was shortly after found hiding in brush, where he was finally apprehended. Templeton claims that during his arrest he was repeatedly hit with a flashlight on his head, from which he suffered lacerations, and groin area. Then, after being handcuffed Freda allegedly stepped on Templeton's hand while he was sitting on the ground. Templeton is currently being held in a county jail until his trial, while Freda has been charged with two counts of simple assault and has been terminated by the Salem Town Manager (Ireland, 2014). In this case, I believe that it is clear that excessive force by the police officer was used in arresting Templeton. Despite the fact that Templeton did resist arrest, that is still no excuse for him to be beaten with a blunt object, in this case the flashlight, to the point where he suffered lacerations. The only part of this case that could possibly be justified was when Templeton's hand was stepped on. It is reasonable to assume that if Templeton was sitting on the ground at the time it could have been accidental on Freda's part. The only time that excessive force is possibly excusable is when the suspect or person that an officer is attempting to arrest is posing an immediate threat to others. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
