Use of Force and Defensive Tactics
What this domain tests
Whether force was lawful, proportionate, and documented, judged from the officer's perspective at the moment force was used.
Core rules
- Graham v. Connor: objective reasonableness considers the severity of the crime, whether the subject posed an immediate threat, and whether the subject was actively resisting or attempting to escape. Hindsight is excluded.
- 18 Pa.C.S. §508 authorizes force to prevent escape, effect arrest, and defend oneself or others. Deadly force is limited to situations where the officer has probable cause that the subject poses a threat of death or serious bodily injury.
- Tennessee v. Garner bars deadly force against a fleeing suspect who poses no such threat.
- Deadly force to protect property alone is not justified.
- De-escalation is part of the force calculus: time, distance, cover, and communication, when feasible.
- Force stops when the threat stops. Continued force after control is achieved turns a lawful application into a violation.
- Report each application, each instrument, and the medical aid provided.
Worked example
A subject actively resisting handcuffing and reaching toward a waistband. An officer delivers an ECW cycle, the subject is controlled, and the officer immediately stops, handcuffs, and requests EMS to evaluate the probe sites. The report documents the reach, the commands, the single cycle, and the medical follow-up.
Traps
- Treating any resistance as a license for any level of force.
- Missing the totality: smaller subjects, disabilities, or multiple officers can change the analysis.
- Repeated ECW cycles without reassessing the threat.
- Omitting de-escalation attempts or the reason they were not feasible.
- Leaving out medical aid, which is part of the force event, not an afterthought.