By Briana Vannozzi
Correspondent
Law enforcement’s use of deadly force has been under scrutiny in recent months. When is it warranted? What other methods are available to officers in dangerous situations? And are the actions of a few bad men overshadowing those of the good?
“The more light that is shed on this issue, the better,” said Rutgers School of Criminal Justice Senior Policy Advisor Wayne Fisher.
Fisher helped write New Jersey’s statewide policy on the use of force. He served as a Newark police officer and detective for 10 years back in the ’80s and now he’s a professor at Rutgers School of Criminal Justice.
“In New Jersey, a police officer can use deadly force when he or she thinks it’s reasonably necessary at that instant to protect their life or the life of another person,” Fisher said.
That authorization is based upon an officer’s assessment of the facts known at the time — not, Fisher says, in the hours and days after the incident, when an investigation is being conducted.
“Our policy here in New Jersey stresses the importance of restraint. The use of force is to be looked at as a last resort. It’s only to be used when there are no reasonable alternatives at hand for the officer,” Fisher said.
According to state data obtained and tallied by NJTV News, there were 57 fatalities by use of deadly force from 2010 through 2014. That’s up from previous five years which totaled 42 fatalities.
The most recent was at a public library in Lyndhurst, Bergen County. The total figure came out of 194 police-involved shootings reported to the Attorney General’s Office. Though a spokesperson concedes the number may be slightly higher.
“We try to reinforce this reporting requirement with the counties and will follow up on specific cases that come to our attention, but the fact remains that some cases are not reported,” said Peter Aseltine.
“New Jersey has reporting requirements for the use of force that, to my knowledge, are the most extensive in the U.S.,” Fisher said.
New Jersey prohibits using a fire arm as a warning shot or to stop a moving vehicle. Many other states don’t.
A detailed report by the Washington Post tracked 385 fatal shootings by police in the first five months of 2015. That’s roughly two per day and two times the rate documented by the federal government in the last decade.
What makes it even more difficult to track the use of deadly force? Across the nation, each state and the departments within are not required to report a fatal shooting. Even here in New Jersey, with some of the toughest guidelines, there’s no single database tracing this information.”
“Police leaders, in my view, they need to unmask the way they talk about use of force,” said Fisher.
If they don’t, Fisher says the anti-law sentiments will only continue to spiral. Making it easier for the heroic acts to go unnoticed.
“For every incident in which a police officer actually uses deadly force, there are probably 100 or more incidents in which police officers were authorized by the law to use deadly force, but chose not to,” said Fisher.
Fisher says the dialogue needs to continue because the mounting distrust between law enforcement and the citizens they serve won’t do either party any good.