Use of Force Incident in the USA Essay

Use of Force Incident in the USA
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Use of Force Incident in the USA
The Issue that Necessitated the Presence of Law Enforcement Officers
One of the recent incidents of police officers’ use of excessive force while arresting a suspect is that of George Floyd, which took place on 25th May 2020. Minneapolis police officers arrived at the crime scene a few minutes after a convenience store worker called 911. The caller indicated that Floyd had bought cigarettes from the store and paid using a counterfeit $20 bill (Hill et al., 2020). Besides, the law prohibits the use of counterfeit money and anyone with such notes should be apprehended. Instead of Minneapolis law enforcers investigating the allegations, collecting the evidence, and arresting the suspect, one of them was aggressive toward Floyd even after he complied with police officers’ orders.
The Type and Amount of Force Used by Law Enforcement
Derek Chauvin was the police officer who used excessive force toward Floyd that caused the suspect’s death. The type of force used was chokehold or neck restraint. Despite Floyd adhering to the law enforcer’s orders, Chauvin was aggressive. At first, the suspect was handcuffed and laid down with his face down. Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for about eight minutes and fifteen seconds (Hill et al., 2020). Regardless of Floyd’s outcry that he was not breathing, Chauvin did not take his knee away from his neck. Other police officers at the crime scene did nothing to stop their colleague from using excessive force. They just witnessed the entire incident.
The Public's Reaction to the Actions Taken by Law Enforcement
Floyd's death caused a public outcry both in the United States of America (USA) and globally. People were unhappy and criticized Minneapolis police officers for violating the law. They even questioned the responsibilities of law enforcers, particularly when arresting suspects. Since Chauvin was white and Floyd was an African American, the incident revived the unhealed wounds of racism and racial discrimination. The...