When are NC police officers permitted to use force? These are the circumstances
On Wednesday, Concord police shot an alleged credit card theft at Concord Mills mall, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Concord police later asked the State Bureau of Investigation to take over the case, as is standard when an officer shoots someone.
Though the practice has been widely criticized by police reform advocates, law enforcement officers in North Carolina are permitted to use force under certain circumstances.
Use of force is defined as “the among of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject,” according to The International Association of Chiefs of Police.
The National Institute of Justice says law enforcement officers should only use force when other methods to regain control of a situation are ineffective – but data show that police don’t always abide by this rule.
When are NC officers authorized to use force?
According to state law, law enforcement officers can use force on another person to:
Prevent someone from escaping custody who has committed a criminal offense
Defend themselves or another person from the use of force while attempting to arrest someone or prevent an escape
Law enforcement officers are permitted to use deadly force to:
Defend themselves or another person from the use of imminent deadly physical force
To arrest or prevent the escape of a person who is attempting to escape with a deadly weapon, or presents an imminent threat of death or physical force to others
To prevent the escape of a person from custody who has been convicted of a felony
State law requires law enforcement officers to intervene, if possible, when they observe another officer using excessive force, and report the incidents internally.
How often do NC officers use force?
The FBI began accepting data on use-of-force incidents from law enforcement agencies that chose to participate in the program in 2019.
In 2022, 36 of North Carolina’s 580 law enforcement agencies provided use-of-force data to the FBI, representing 32% of sworn officers in the state, according to the bureau’s Crime Data Explorer. Data from each agency is displayed only when the statistics from a state represent more than 40% of its total officer population.
With only 6% of agencies participating in the FBI’s data collection program, criminal justice advocates have argued that North Carolina lawmakers should make those reports mandatory to hold officers accountable.
In 2021, the N.C. General Assembly authorized a statewide database where records of officers killing or injuring someone are kept, but the information is not available to the public, The Associated Press reported.
