Page 18 - April 2017 Newsletter

The rules are changing
The intense scrutiny that has blanketed law enforcement throughout the coun- try has gotten everyone’s attention, in- cluding legislators and policymakers. Politicians and department heads
Going forward, officers will be required to exhaust ev- ery de-escalation option available before using deadly force. The most obvious concern is that an officer will hesitate to use force in a situation requiring it for fear that all the boxes had not been checked on their mental de-escalation list. Increased training will be critical, and thankfully the act calls for this. What is also concerning is that the act, as currently drafted, contradicts certain existing laws, which will make police officers even more con- fused. The act does not rescind current statutes such as Section 5/7-5 (“Peace Officer’s Use of Force in Making Arrest”) and Section 5/7-9 (“Use of Force to Prevent Es- cape”). According to these laws, which have been on the books for decades, police officers are provided a much
more liberal application in using force.
The law provides that police officers need not retreat
or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because of resistance to the arrest; they are justified in using deadly force to protect human life or when...
1. Such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape; and
2. The person to be arrested has committed or at- tempted a forcible felony that involves the inflic-
are fervently changing the rules that, ironically, were originally drafted and enacted by them.
FOP
Legal Rep t
DANIEL HERBERT
The decision-makers have decided that it is better (for themselves, no doubt) to surrender to the political pressure and change certain policies rather than try to defend them. As a result, pol- icies and laws that have been in effect for decades are now being reformed to appease the detractors. This phenomenon is most prolific in the area of use of force. The Illinois General Assembly has drafted a bill for the Use of Force Act. The act will require all law enforcement agencies to adopt a written use-of-force policy, which significantly limits the situations in which officers will be allowed to use force, including deadly force. The act places the highest priority on the “sanctity of human life.” A simple read of the act makes it readily apparent that the life requiring sanctity is that of the person en- countered by law enforcement, not the life of the officer.
18 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2017