Developing Effective Interactions

Each year, law enforcement agencies across the nation become involved in thousands of use-of-force incidents, with many resulting in serious injury or loss of life. Just as the use of lethal and lesslethal force is an absolute necessity to control certain situations, so is the accompanying requirement to conduct an extremely thorough investigation to evaluate the officer’s or deputy’s actions and the appropriateness of the force used. It is that investigation that will generally receive close scrutiny and review, both internally and externally, because there is a widely held principle that the community has a right to know whether or not the officer or deputy acted lawfully and appropriately in the application of force