Police Use of Force

Law enforcement officers have an inherent right to use a certain amount of force in the performance of their duties. This right is limited, however, by various laws at the local, state, and national levels based on the U.S. Constitution.

The amount of force used by law enforcement occurs along a graduated spectrum; officers can only proceed along the spectrum if there is a threat sufficient to justify the escalation. These are the levels of threat or force that may be used.

Physical presence: The mere presence of a police officer is often enough to deter a crime or de-escalate a situation.
Speech: Verbal commands are used to provide clear instructions or calm individuals and bring about the needed compliance. Refusal to obey a command would justify arrest.
Force without weapons: Police officers are trained to use empty-hand techniques such as holds, punches, and kicks to render a suspect under control.
Non-deadly use of weapons: Certain tools and devices such as batons, mace, tasers, and police dogs can be used by trained police officers to subdue the suspect without significant risk of causing death or severe injury.
Deadly force: The use of a lethal weapon such as a gun – or the use of a normally non-lethal tactic in a lethal manner, such as a chokehold by someone trained to kill with their bare hands) – is only used when the officer perceives an imminent threat of death or serious injury to themselves or others. This level is considered a last resort.

The amount of force that an officer is justified in using is the minimum amount necessary to de-escalate an incident (i.e. tackling a fleeing suspect who has been placed under arrest) or to protect themselves or others, and must stop as soon as the need for it stops. No retaliation is allowed. Any escalation beyond the minimum is considered excessive.

Special rules apply to the use of deadly force: it can only be used to prevent a suspect from escaping if it is necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a risk of serious injury or death to the officer or others if allowed to escape

Successful Cases of Justice Served

Hacker Murphy has helped many victims of police misconduct – these are a few of their stories.

Vebra Moore Case

In November 2020, Vebra Moore filed claims of excessive force, false arrest, illegal imprisonment and failure to intervene against the two Schenectady police officers she alleged assaulted her as well as a supervisor. The altercation began when Moore tried to re-enter a bar that the police had cleared due to a report of a stabbing. The police initially charged Moore with felony assault, but the court instead convicted her of two misdemeanors: disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Moore claimed that the police: slammed her into the hood of a police car; slammed her into the pavement; threw her into a police car, injuring her knee; lifted her up by her handcuffs; punched her and kneed her several times; slammed her onto the floor; and brought her into the police station through the back door, an area not monitored by cameras. Although the City of Schenectady did not admit liability, they settled with Moore for $250,000

Mario Gorostiza and Armando Sanchez Case

In March 2019, a video taken by a police body camera showed Albany police officers, called because of a loud party, beating three black men. In response, a confrontation took place between the officers and several residents of First Street. Albany police initially charged the men with resisting arrest, but the Albany D.A. later reversed course by dropping all charges against the men and charging one of the police officers with felony assault and official misconduct.
That officer and two others were suspended with pay pending an investigation into the matter.
The video showed police repeatedly striking Sanchez, Gorostiza and Lee Childs. An internal Albany Police Department report concluded that its officers had been guilty of misconduct, and the City of Albany settled with Sanchez and Gorostiza for$100,000 and $65,000, respectively.

Brody Shea Case

In February 2016, the City of Schenectady settled with Union College student Brody Shea for $440,000. Although the city did not admit liability, Shea claims that the Schenectady Police tackled him and slammed his face into the pavement while he was celebrating a Union College hockey victory in April 2014. Photographs graphically illustrate the extent of Shea’s injuries. He claimed that he was not committing a crime and that he posed no threat to the police who assaulted him. The police filed charges against Shea over the incident, but the prosecutor dismissed them before the settlement.