The vast majority of the law enforcement officers in this country perform their very difficult jobs with respect for their communities and in compliance with the law. Even so, there have been incidents in which this was not the case. Police brutality and misconduct has been under the microscope for the last several years, and Loretta Prater brings these issues to light through research reports and numerous examples of cases, including the personal case of her son. On January 2, 2004, Leslie Vaughn Prater, Loretta Prater’s unarmed son, was a homicide victim in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His death resulted from an altercation with four police officers. Excessive Use of Force: One Mother's Struggle Against Police Brutality and Misconduct is the account of an African American family’s personal experience with police brutality and misconduct, the behind the scene dynamics, as well as the personal emotional trauma experienced by victims’ families. While written from the perspective of a mother, Prater brings a good balance of personal and outside information. She allows the reader to see inside her story but successfully includes secondary analysis of research and related stories of others who have experienced similar situations resulting from police officer misconduct. Excessive Use of Force engages the reader in this serious and important topic of police brutality and misconduct.

The now-famous videotape of the beating of Rodney King precipitated a national outcry against police violence. Skolnick and Fyfe, two of the nation's top experts on law enforcement, use the incident to introduce a revealing historical analysis of such violence and the extent of its survival in law enforcement today.

A team of expert contributors provides an in-depth exploration of police use of force, firearms, and less-than-lethal weapons from a dozen countries across five continents. Police Use of Force: A Global Perspective is a fascinating, international exploration of police use of force, firearms, and less-than-lethal weapons in nations around the world. The book is comprised of three sections: the first focuses on the use of force generally, the second explores firearms and deadly force, and the final section considers less-than-lethal weapons, including pepper spray, TASERs, and other emerging technologies currently on the horizon. The essays gathered here will provide readers with an understanding of the vast differences in how police use force in various countries, as well as why police use force differently under different forms of government. Topics covered include use-of-force definitions, training procedures, policy issues, abuse of police authority, use of force during interrogations, and the use of firearms by armed and unarmed police forces. Finally, there is an essay focusing on how shooting and killing a suspect impacts an officer in the months and years that follow.

Data is from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods.

Provides a critical understanding and evaluation of police tactics and the use of force Police violence has historically played an important role in shaping public attitudes toward the government. Community trust and confidence in policing have been undermined by the perception that officers are using force unnecessarily, too frequently, or in problematic ways. The use of force, or harm suffered by a community as a result of such force, can also serve as a flashpoint, a spark that ignites long-simmering community hostility. In Evaluating Police Uses of Force, legal scholar Seth W. Stoughton, former deputy chief of police Jeffrey J. Noble, and distinguished criminologist Geoffrey P. Alpert explore a critical but largely overlooked facet of the difficult and controversial issues of police violence and accountability: how does society evaluate use-of-force incidents? By leading readers through answers to this question from four different perspectives—constitutional law, state law, administrative regulation, and community expectations—and by providing critical information about police tactics and force options that are implicated within those frameworks, Evaluating Police Uses of Force helps situate readers within broader conversations about governmental accountability, the role that police play in modern society, and how officers should go about fulfilling their duties.

Robertson and Chaney examine how the early antecedents of police brutality like plantation overseers, the lynching of African American males, early race riots, the Rodney King incident, and the Los Angeles Rampart Scandal have directly impacted the current relationship between communities of color and police. Using a phenomenological framework, they analyze how African American college students perceive police to determine how race, gender, and education create different realities among a demographic. Based on their qualitative and quantitative findings, Robertson and Chaney offer recommended policies and strategies for police and communities to improve relationships and perceptions between the two.