Use of Force

Estate of Corey Hill v. Miracle, 2017 WL 1228553 (6th Cir. 2017) Decided April 4, 2017 FACTS: In June 2013, Hill suffered from low blood sugar and went into a diabetic emergency. His girlfriend, Worrall, called EMS. Two EMS units, with four paramedics, arrived. Finding him disoriented, Paramedic Streeter tried to talk to him, explaining what he needed to do, but Hill was “agitated

Roell v. Hamilton County, Ohio, _________ (6th Cir. 2017) In the late evening hours of August 12, Gary Roell, who suffered from a mental illness, entered into a state of excited delirium, and created a disturbance at his neighbor’s condominium, including throwing a flower pot through her window. The neighbor was awakened by the noise and attempted to talk to Roell. After Roell threw

During Use of Force Policy discussions and Training across the Country the topic often leads to a discussion of using force against an animal that is a pet. While litigation history has shown officers who have used force against the family pet are often faced with an internal affairs complaint or civil action for the unnecessary harm caused to the pet. While often these

One of the questions I am often asked when implementing a Use of Force Reporting system that requires completion of a use of Force report is whether the required completion of a use of force report is a compelled statement for purposes of Garrity. I am also often asked if in investigations where officers have refused to complete a required incident report or use

Written By: James Marker and Eric Daigle, Esq. Across the Country, in response to use of force incidents, there is a knee jerk reaction of different organizations to adapt the United Kingdom’s National Decision Making Model into American law enforcement. This article will discuss why this decision is unacceptable, and why it does not represent current case law and constitutional standards. Law enforcement has

On January 11, 2016, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the case of Armstrong v. Pinehurst, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 380. The Court’s decision has astounded much of the law enforcement community on the east coast and, since that day, we have not stopped talking about the use of the electronic control weapon. I must say, however, that I was not surprised by

On May 13, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit came down with a favorable opinion for law enforcement involved in a fatal “officer involved shooting” incident. The Court’s opinion is well thought out and analyzes and evaluates each step of the incident as it progressed, ultimately leading to the fatal shooting of the suspect. A case such as this