This post is in response to the question "Should police departments in the United States focus on using force as a last resort?" posed by @alexmay2022 !
I think that the answer to this question all depends on what you define as force. I think that most people can agree that a police officer shoving away a raging protestor and a police officer fatally shooting someone are both considered force, but one is obviously more severe than the other. For the purposes of clarity, I will be considering force as “non lethal force”, which falls under the first scenario. In that case, no, police departments in the United States should not use non lethal force as a last resort.
I believe that this question can be answered in many different ways dependent on the scenario. Obviously if a police officer stops a car on a routine traffic stop force should be used as a last resort. However when it comes to high stakes standoffs between active gunman, hostage situations, or other dangerous situations force should be a more than acceptable solution that should not be the last resort. There have been countless times that hostages have been killed in murder-suicide situations that could have been prevented if police officers and swat teams did not try and negotiate.
Another situation that comes to mind are violent protests. Police officers responding to these need to take forceful action as soon as possible, preventing property damage and potentially worse crimes. Yes the constitution protects peaceful protests, but when it gets to the severe point like it did in Minnesota, forceful action needs to be taken to counter the mobs. Sometimes the best way to fight a fire is by bringing a bigger fire, which the United States can definitely do. Overall, when a threat is not presented force should be used, but when a person or group of people is in immediate danger, I am in full support of the police using whatever force required to neutralize the threat.