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.

The town of Stoughton was an agricultural community that transformed in the early 19th century into a booming shoe industry. Later known for high-quality rubber-made goods, ladies shoes, sporting goods, and screw machine products, this community has continued to evolve with growing industry and technology into the 21st century. The images in Stoughton show many familiar town landscapes and buildings and some that have passed on into the pages of history. The dirt roads and trolley tracks of the townas past come alive in penny postcards, and images of factories, schools, churches, Stoughton square, and historic Glen Echo Park illustrate Stoughtonas rich history. Many of these postcards have been selected from the authoras personal postcard collection.

The town of Stoughton has seen many changes since its incorporation in 1726. Stoughton families and fortunes were transformed in the mid-19th century as they prospered from the production of shoes, boots, wooden shoe lasts, and rubber goods. Farming dwindled, and industry was in full swing by the opening decades of the 20th century. Immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, and the Azores changed the cultural community as they started their own businesses and became a driving part of the workforce. The town also saw its share of tragedy, mourning the loss of resident George Quincy Clifford, who perished on the RMS Titanic, and sending its residents from the farms and the factories to World Wars I and II. Stoughton would celebrate its bicentennial in 1926 as a community united in building a better town, a vision still carried out by residents today.