(Cole) This gives the police leeway as to when force is necessary and when it is not, within certain guidelines. For instance, a policeman can not beat up a man for robbing a store. But, if the robber battered someone in the process of the robbery the policeman could. He could do this because there was a clear threat of danger to himself of to another officer or human being. .
Though police are trained in using discretion and use of force, sometimes mistakes are made where too little or too much force is applied. A policeman may deem a person totally incapable of hurting someone, only to find out just how dangerous that person in when he/she does something to injure a person around him whether it be a civilian or police officer. Though this lack of force is rarely seen, it can have serious consequences. Because of the officer's discretion, his decision to not use force, this act resulted in someone being beaten or killed. More prevalent than lack of force, is the excessive use of force by police. Police often mistake circumstances and because of this use more force than in necessary. This is very obvious in the Rodney King beatings. Rodney King was seriously beaten, by four officers, with risk of death, on the night of March 2, 1991. King and two of his friends were pulled over for traveling over 110 mph on the freeway. His two friends cooperative with the police and responded to everything the police asked them to do. King, on the other hand, did not. His manner made the police suspect he was under the influence of PCP, which gives a person incredible strength and made them immune to pain, even though he was not. He was only drunk. Because King tried to get up from the ground during his arrest, he was beaten nearly to death by the cops for over a minute and a half. He received over 50 blows from their metal batons and many kicks, some to the head. The only reason given for this beating was that he could have been under the influence of PCP and he resisted arrest.
