Legal and moral issues surrounding the use of force by criminal justice personnel

Force is defined as a physical contact occasioned by the member of CPD which may be directly or indirectly by use of equipment with the intention of compelling a subject to comply (Chicago Police Department Use of Force Policy, 2017). It is a requirement that reasonable force should be subjected to people at any necessary point before someone is brought to custody. The Chicago Police Department use of policy states that the use of force by law enforcement officers should be “objectively reasonable, necessary and proportional” to the safety of a suspect and any other person that may have a direct or indirect involvement. Therefore, the sanctity of human life is the key issue of concern under the CPD use of force policy.

However, the CPD provides clear prohibition of force especially when it is inflicted with biasedness on basis of race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation among others. However, fleeing persons should not be subjected to any deadly force unless they as well posed an imminent threat. Criminal charges were filed against the police officer who was involved in the murder of Laquan McDonald. The court, later on, charged the police officer with six counts of first-degree murder. In June 2017, the court indicted Jason with new charges (16) in addition to the previous six counts to the first-degree murder charges (Sanchez, 2017). However, despite the evidence produced in court such as dashboard footage of the incident, Jason pleaded guilty and is currently awaiting trial.