From the Austin American Statesman: are police too quick to kill? Is this a civil rights issue?
Preservation of life is not just a matter of policy. It is a
constitutional mandate. The U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1989's Graham
v. Conner ruling that the proper way to determine whether a law
enforcement officer's use of force is excessive is the "objective
reasonableness" test under the Fourth Amendment. The Austin Police
Department routinely violates this requirement through its current
use-of-force policy called the "reasonable officer standard."
This
standard is highly subjective and relies on the officer's "state of
mind" at the time of the incident. The primary reason given for using
deadly force in most incidents is that the officer feared for his life
or the life of his partner. This is considered "reasonable" use of
deadly force under the policy. This standard is nothing less than a "get
out of jail free" card as evidenced by no grand jury indictments of
police.
Most of the extrajudicial killings by APD have been of
minorities. Since 2000, 16 minorities have been killed, the majority in
East Austin.
