- Helveck
- |
- Fabled Mythic Member
I'm about to link an article that I'm curious to hear many opinions on. Due to my history of work, and my education, I would like to think that I am somewhat knowledgable in the area of Use of Force. Use of Force is educational training that Police Officers and even many Security Officials are subject to before beginning their jobs. There is even a scale that is shown and this scale dictates which type of force is to be used or is suitable in certain situations.
This article shows a male Police Officer in the UK exercising a Use of Force technique on a minor, that had already been a nuisance to both the Community and Police before. I have been put in this position before, and it is very painful. But it is used as a compliance measure, and is used very often in the Policing world in order to hold someone or gain their compliance. It is a lot kinder than a pepper spray, or a taser, that much is certain.
And while it seems a bit much for the young lad, most might assume that the matter would end there. Well, that just isn't so... The Officer received a massive backlash, was sent to court, and in the thick of it all ended up quitting his position after a decade of policing with a clean record. These consequences are only a portion of the mess he then found himself in following this incident, so I encourage you to read the entire article.
A delinquent, who had many run-ins with the law previously, wasted the time of Officers, and was hurt while Officers attempted to gain his compliance. When an Officer acted, the Community fired back, claiming the Officer "lost his temper". The young lad them submitted a complaint, which basically turned an Officers life upside down, and now that boy is likely to brag to all of his friends about how he cost an Officer his job. Not only that, but the law is unlikely to act in the same way they might otherwise have to this individual now in the future, after having seen the mess that a single complaint from him caused.
The kid won on all fronts, and will probably even have his family sue the department and or Officer for a large settlement.
So I find myself asking... The majority of a region in a country, felt this Officer overreacted and lost his temper, and that his treatment of this boy was disgusting, but were they all wrong? I know the incident hurt the boy, but should the community not have scorned the boy instead? Or are we becoming too soft? Was the Officer out of line? Or did he act as he should?
What do you guys think?