Use of force must be:

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Multiple Choice

Use of force must be:

Use of force must be legal and ethical. That means any force a officer uses has to be authorized by law, department policy, and established guidelines, and it must be justified by the situation. Ethically, it should respect rights and values, aiming to protect life and use only the amount of force necessary to achieve a legitimate objective. In practice, this requires necessity and proportionality—the threat or resistance dictates the level of force, and de-escalation or alternatives should be considered whenever possible. Force described as merely effective and aggressive misses the essential safeguards of legality and ethics, and force that is sporadic and opportunistic isn’t guided by policy or the overall objective. And force is not optional; it must be authorized and used within policy, not at the officer’s discretion to ignore rules.

Use of force must be legal and ethical. That means any force a officer uses has to be authorized by law, department policy, and established guidelines, and it must be justified by the situation. Ethically, it should respect rights and values, aiming to protect life and use only the amount of force necessary to achieve a legitimate objective. In practice, this requires necessity and proportionality—the threat or resistance dictates the level of force, and de-escalation or alternatives should be considered whenever possible.

Force described as merely effective and aggressive misses the essential safeguards of legality and ethics, and force that is sporadic and opportunistic isn’t guided by policy or the overall objective. And force is not optional; it must be authorized and used within policy, not at the officer’s discretion to ignore rules.

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