Page 32 - Speciality Impact Munitions-Less Lethal Intro
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Liability Issues
• Case Law
– Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989)
• The U.S. Supreme Court case that defined the
standard under which excessive force claims would
be judged.
• The standard established was that of
“objective Reasonableness”.
• Prior to this, the standard was “police
behavior that shocks the conscience.”
• In this case the court redefined and set forth a less
subjective standard.
Liability Issues
• Plakas v. Drinski, 19 F.3rd 1143 (7th Cir.
1994) cert. Denied 115 S.Ct. 81 (1994)
• This case involved the shooting of a suspect
who was wielding a fire poker. When the
officer attempted to arrest him, he charged the
officer with the fire poker and was shot by
police.
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