Read Graham v. Connor case Then, use the following two articles to respond to the questions below.
Hollis, M.; Jennings, W. (2018). Racial disparities in police use-of-force: a state-of-the-art review. Policing
41(2), 178-193.
Frank, C.; Frank, J.; Liederbach, J. (2014). Understanding police use of force. Policing 37(3), 558-578.
Questions
What do the studies show concerning race as a factor in excessive use of force by police officers? How might
some of this research be characterized as problematic?
What do you think is the proper standard for determining whether an officer in a given situation used excessive
force in a stop or arrest? Should it be whether it was reasonable from the perspective of an objective observer,
as the Supreme Court determined in Graham v. Connor?
Is it possible to come up with a standard that is better defined than “objective reasonableness”? What should it
be?
Do you agree with the Court in Graham that an officer’s intentions should not be taken into consideration in
determining whether use of force was reasonable? What if those intentions appear to be based on race?
What does “de-funding” the police mean? Is this a viable solution to the excessive use of force by police
officers?