Who carries the authority – the officer or the agency? Can superiors order officers to make an arrest?

Can an officer refuse? What can happen if they do?

Are officers civilly liable for their actions? If so, in what courts?

Are their employers required to defend them?

On January 29, 2005 a 21-year old passenger wasshot by a SBSO deputy after the vehicle he wasin crashed during a pursuit.

Witnesses say that a deputy ordered Elio Carrion,21, an Air Force security officer, to the groundand that Carrion complied. There is confusionabout what happened later, but a grainy videotapemade by an onlooker suggests that Carrion wastold to get up. When he did so, the deputy fired,striking Carrion three times.

Carrion will recover. The videotape recorded Carrion’s pre-shooting comments that he was “on the deputy’s side,” expletives shouted by the deputy, and Carrion’s protests after he was shot that he was complying with the deputies.

Deputies were trying to stop the Corvette for speeding. Its driver has an extensive driving record. Neither he nor Carrion were armed or wanted.

The officer, Deputy Ivory Webb, was tried for attempted voluntary manslaughter. He was acquitted. During trial an expert defense witness gave examples of officers behaving oddly during a crisis: “Their analytical process began to collapse. They had so much to do that, literally, they were overloaded.”

The shooting stirred strong emotions in Oakland and led to demonstrations and several nights of disturbances. According to the Alameda County D.A., murder charges were filed because the killing was unlawful and done purposefully.

Mehserle quickly resigned from the force. He was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder. At his trial, which was held in Los Angeles, he testified that he had meant to draw the Taser but accidentally fired his pistol instead. Jurors convicted him of involuntary manslaughter. [Police Issues 1 2]

On January 1, 2009 BART officerJohannes Mehserle, 27, shot and killed a22-year old man who was being held down by officers following a brawl on a BART train. Although the man was reportedly resisting being handcuffed, the shooting, which was captured by bystanders on cell phone cameras, seemed clearly unnecessary.

Social contract legitimacy Exchange relationship Democratic constraints & accountability

▪ Are police tools of the dominant/ruling class? Unique role

Authority to coerce compliance Use of force Discretion – can’t arrest everyone

Public attitudes Whites and older persons look favorably on police Minorities, especially African-Americans tend to

have less favorable attitudes 2008 Gallup poll on American institutions Other polling on police

Shire-reeves supervised rural military, police and taxcollection

Constables had similar duties in urban areas Rotating, unpaid position; well-off paid others to serve

Justices of the Peace carried out local judicial functions Issued warrants to be served by Constables and set bail Criticized for being corrupt

Social change brought on by urbanization and the Industrial Revolution greatly increased crime but there was opposition to a professional police Harsh sanctions for those caught (223 crimes carried the death

penalty) In late 1700’s the Fielding brothers, London magistrates, established

the “Bow Street Runners” to fight widespread thievery and prostitution Volunteers, paid rewards by victims

In the early 1800’s Colquhoun refined the Fielding’s theories Recommended a paid, professional police force

Concept: Police were to be role models for British society

London, 1829: First professional, paid police force London divided into 17 precincts, each with a boss,

4 inspectors, 16 sergeants and 165 constables Constables wore a uniform and carried a truncheon Rules of the founder, Sir Robert Peel included:

Military organization and Government control Hiring officers on a probationary basis Careful selection and training Good appearance, moderate temper Keeping records of crime and deploying

accordingly Bobbies faced hostility and organized opposition Public support increased as officer behavior improved

Principle that poor quality policing could make disorder worse

Political framework Republicanism – govt. accountable to all, not just the privileged Preference for local control, power flows up, not just down

Imported Sheriff and constable/watchman models from England Like in England, the better citizens resisted service, hired others

who proved unreliable During the 1800’s urbanization and industrialization greatly

increased urban crime and unrest. Economic depressions struck in the mid and late 1700’s, leading to waves of crime and forcing governments to act 1751: Philadelphia organizes first paid police force January 8, 1828: Watchman Steve Heimer is the first PPD officer

killed on duty Major issues

Should police wear uniforms? Carry arms? Use force?

July 1841, New York City: Mary Rogers, anemployee of a cigar store, disappears. Mary’sbody is found floating in a river. Her death wasunsolved but is attributed to a botched abortion.

In 1844 her death spurred the establishment of apaid, full-time police force in New York City Patronage positions – selections made by

Aldermen in each Ward Chief without real authority over officers Decade before officers uniformed; only ID was copper badge

(“coppers”) Major departure from British model: officers carried side

arms because criminals were often armed

Patronage for selection and advancement Chiefs had little authority Political corruption infused decisions

Training mostly on the job “war stories” Local control: heavily decentralized, autonomous

precincts Rampant police corruption

Chiefs and precinct commanders establishedpayment systems to allow vice and prostitution

Individual officers shook down peddlers and thieves Heavily involved in strikebreaking Community roles – officers worked soup lines,

helped immigrants Closeness a double-edge sword Promoted corruption, interfered with supervision

During 1890-1920 the “Progressives”tried to reform the police & remove itfrom political control Centralized command Better quality officers Narrower mission Civil service

Sought to distance officers from citizens to reduce corruption Focus policing on law enforcement Scientific administration (Taylor’s management principles)

Develop standard procedures: “routinize” police work Reduce discretion where possible Task specialization: special assignments and units Measure output: quantifiable results (arrests and crime rate)

Bicycle, then motorized patrol Records system Scientific investigation

1920: lie detector 1924: fingerprint system

Modus Operandi system (track criminals by their methods) Formal police training

1916: Established UC Berkeley School of Criminology Applicant psychological and aptitude testing Recruit college graduates Against the tide: encouraged police to do social work

Society beset by crime, gang wars Policing suffers from abuses, excessive

force (“third degree”) and corruption Recommendations

Get politics out of law enforcement Select Chiefs and officers on merit Physical standards Improve salaries and working conditions Good training Professionalize, specialize

▪ Hire women▪ Crime prevention and crime investigation bureaus

Hired as a patrol officer in 1927 1930’s L.A. was beset by municipal

corruption under the regime of MayorFrank L. Shaw, who was recalled in 1938

Parker became Chief in 1950, revamped theDepartment into the epitome of the “professional model” Dismissed many abusive and incompetent officers Implemented modern organizational principles Imposed rigorous civil-service driven officer selection

process Greatly improved training Instilled discipline and esprit de corps

Urban unrest, including the Watts riot ofAugust 1965 led many to question theassumptions of the professional model

A series of Government studies suggested that poor police practicescontributed to disorder

Recommended changes More minority officers Higher educational standards Enhance officer training Improve oversight and discipline Focus on community relations

Criticism of the professional model Police agencies are isolated and unresponsive Police have overlooked other obligations to the community Officers have become detached from the citizens they serve Officers stereotype persons and are careless about using force

To-do list Defuse tensions in inner cities Narrow the distance between police and the public to improve relations and

build trust Share information to learn more about local problems

1970’s – Team policing Officers as generalists, provide all services in a fixed area

1980’s – Community policing Community meetings – give citizens a role in police decisions and deployment Neighborhood police stations, foot and bicycle patrols

1990’s – Problem-oriented policing Fight crime with a problem-solving approach

COPS – combine community-oriented and problem-solving policing

Guns Other Total

1995. 2 0 2

1996. 0 0 0

1997. 3 2 5

1998. 0 1 1

1999. 0 2 2

2000. 0 2 2

2001. 0 2 2

2002. 0 1 1

2003. 1 2 3

2004. 0 1 1

2005. 1 0 1

2006. 0 0 0

2007. 1 2 3

2008. 0 0 0

2009. 1 1 2

2010. 0 0 0

9 16 25

U.K. pop. 62 millionU.S. pop. 309 million 5 X

36 X

Guns Other Total

1995. 62 12 74

1996. 57 4 61

1997. 68 2 70

1998. 58 3 61

1999. 41 1 42

2000. 47 4 51

2001. 61 9 70

2002. 51 5 56

2003. 45 7 52

2004. 54 3 57

2005. 50 5 55

2006. 46 2 48

2007. 55 2 57

2008. 35 6 41

2009. 45 3 48

2010. 55 1 56

830 69 899

92 X

Guns Total