Deadly Force: Police Use of Lethal Force In The United States
Excerpts from June 18, 2015 Report

Key findings of the report include:

All 50 states and DC fail to comply with international standards on the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers, which require that lethal force should only be used as a last resort when strictly necessary to protect themselves or others against imminent threat of death or serious injury.

None of the state statutes require that the use of lethal  force may only be used as a last resort with non-violent and less harmful means to be tried first.

No state limits the use of lethal force to only those situations where there is an imminent threat to life of serious injury to the officer or to others.

Nine states and the District of Columbia have no laws on the use of lethal force ( Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming)

Thirteen states have laws that do not comply with U.S. constitutional standards on use of lethal force. ( Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont.)

Nine states allow lethal force to suppress a riot. ( Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington.)

Twenty-two states allow for law enforcement officers to kill someone trying to escape from prison or jail, regardless of whether or not they pose a threat. (Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Washington.)

Only eight states require a verbal warning be given before law enforcement uses lethal force (Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.)

Only three states mandates officers be careful of bystanders when using law enforcement. (Delaware, Hawaii and New Jersey)

Twenty states allow citizens to use lethal force if they carry out law enforcement activities, such as assisting an officer with an arrest. (Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington.)

Zero states have a provision in the state law on police use of lethal force that establishes specific accountability mechanisms for the use of lethal force by officers, such as obligatory reporting that a firearm has been used of that there be a prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigation with a view to prosecution.

#Loray Muhammad, Author
#Black Integration a Failed Social Experiment