Violence and crime are among the most important reasons we must have
a police department. When people misbehave, they disrupt society, and
the government must protect itself, usually by using the police, the
instrument of the state. Sometimes, though, the police may overstep their
limits. This chapter deals with such situations where police officers were
charged with using excessive force in reacting to crime.

In theory, people who break the law are arrested, then they are taken to
a precinct house and booked until court action can be arranged. The police
officer who responds to a reported crime is expected to exercise discretion
and to react on the spot, often without knowing all the facts.

Decisions frequently have to be made under pressure. An officer may
be worried about losing control or may be diverted by what is going on,
or the officer's situation may be hazardous. Nevertheless, action must be
taken, and any decision made under these conditions may be reviewed by
the officer's supervisors, by the public, or perhaps by the press. Police
officers work in a fish bowl.

In this chapter, police officers had to justify their behavior before an
arbitrator.

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