Excessive Force while arresting?

[cccmason39]

i got arrested on friday night and i'm wondering whether or not the arresting officer used appropriate force on me or not or how you would have handled the situation.

I saw the flashing lights and pulled over instantly. i cooperated and gave the cop my license and registration and he went back to run a check on it. my license was suspended for a failure to appear and i had another warrant out for my arrest. these are all misdemeanors. this is where i think it got out of hand.

the police officer yelled at me to open the door from the outside and step out with my hands on my head. i did as he said, and then he told me to walk backwards and then get on my knees. i did this also. he came up (i think he had his gun drawn, but i couldn't see because my back was facing him) and forced my chest down to the pavement of the road. i was shirtless and my chest was obviously kind of scratched up after the incident. anyway, he cuffed me up and dragged me back to his cruiser where i was thoroughly searched and then put in the backseat.

i'm not sure whether he thought i had a weapon or not or he was just taking precautions because i'm a young man and he thought i may have been volatile or drunk after a night of partying (which i wasn't), but i think this may have been extremely excessive force. what do you think? do you think i could take legal action against the officer? how would you have handled my arrest?
thanks for answering my question, officers. i respect everything you do. i'm in arizona, by the way.

[Jay7376]

I would have done the exact same thing...Evidently the officer thought that it was appropriate to have you go to the ground to effect the arrest.

Is it the officers fault that you were not wearing a shirt? No, it is your own fault...its called personal responsibility, try it some time.

[Bearcat06]

what do you think? do you think i could take legal action against the officer? how would you have handled my arrest?
thanks for answering my question, officers. i respect everything you do. i'm in arizona, by the way.

We (the LEOs on this Site) will not help you out because there are two sides to every story......

Be a man, pay your fines for not showing up in court (and whatever the oringal tickets were for) and be done with it......

[Piggy]

Sounds to me like he did everything by the book. The Supreme Court has ruled numerous times that Police Officers can use whatever force necessary to effect an arrest. He gave you loud verbal commands as required, used standard high risk tactics like we are trained, searched you as he is required and allowed do to, and you made it to jail in one piece.

As to the weapon, we are trained to assume everyone has a weapon. We don't wait to find out the hard way, it's our lives on the line.

Getting arrested isn't meant to be fun....only for the arresting Officer.

[mcsap]

You had CRIMINAL warrants for failure to appear.

You immediately became an officer safety issue for the ( as near as I can tell ) lone officer.

YOU put yourself in this situation.

You didn't have warrants for unpaid parking tickets.

Having never been a police officer , just how do you think officers get hurt or killed ?

ANSWER, by sometimes being complacent or assuming that a person with warrants ( who KNOWS they are going to jail) is just going to peacefully submit and surrender.

Taking a person into custody is with great risk. It is the single time when I am CLOSE to you and that you have the BEST opportunity to harm me. I don't like to be harmed but I have been.

You may feel like it was a rough experience , but a criminal ( you) was apprehended , the worst you have is some scratches ( next time you have warrants, try to be arrested in a carpet store with foam padding all over) and some red wrists from being handcuffed.

We may not get a 2nd chance to be a " nice" guy to someone who knows their freedom is about to be taken away. I don't know you and don't know what you are capable of and neither did the officer who arrested you and that is why and how you ended up being treated the way you did.

[Bryan]

I'd have handled it exactly the same way... The LEO used the intervention that was proper in the situation..

[tomahawk134]

Officers actions were proper ...... pay the fine and chalk this up as having to pay the "STUPID TAX" ..... Quit looking for the easy $$$ like most of your generation does!!

[Valor55]

Sounds to me like he did everything by the book. The Supreme Court has ruled numerous times that Police Officers can use whatever force necessary to effect an arrest. He gave you loud verbal commands as required, used standard high risk tactics like we are trained, searched you as he is required and allowed do to, and you made it to jail in one piece.

As to the weapon, we are trained to assume everyone has a weapon. We don't wait to find out the hard way, it's our lives on the line.

Getting arrested isn't meant to be fun....only for the arresting Officer.

Ain't that the truth! :D

[DeltaV]

If I was alone, I would have probably done the same thing. BTW, what was the misd. warrant for? Just because the crime is a misdemeanor doesn't mean the offender can't be violent. Carrying a concealed deady weapon is a misdemeanor, so is assault and battery. Do you have a lengthy history of arrest?

The officer barely applied ANY force in this situation and it was far from excessive. It would have been excessive had he handcuffed you, then proceeded to beat you with his baton while you were on the ground crying about being arrested.

[Seand442]

I am confused. I don't see any force applied at all. He performed a tactical arrest on a criminal. Officers have gotten shot and killed by people who just have a suspended license and a misdemeanor warrant because aforementioned dirtbag doesn't want to go to jail. He ensured that he was going home that night. If you don't want to be placed in handcuffs facedown on the pavement, I suggest you take responsibilty for your actions and pay your fines/tickets.

[Old Trooper]

Young man, you are fortunate the officer used restraint in taking you into custody, while protecting himself. Quit whining, and next time you are supposed to appear in court or you commit a crime just turn yourself in, and we won't have this dialogue ever again! GO TO YOUR ROOM!!!!

[mobrien316]

What exactly do think was excessive? That he yelled at you? That you had to get on the ground?

The events in your story would not even require the officer to fill out a use of force report in my department. Ordering someone to the ground, cuffing and searching them isn't even considered a reportable use of force.

[chris2001]

I have the same question, were was the force that was applied? He told you to do those things because the situation called for those things to happen. You are a criminal who has warrants and he felt that it was the best thing to do at the time. He never did anything from your story that would signify anything was done wrong. For the record though I would assume the second warrant was something that caused him to do what he did. As well as dispatch may have come back with a statement to the officer about failure to comply on you. Either way PAY THE FINES.

[acreature]

Blah.... we're not getting the whole story.

[RO56]

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