by 
The Curious Bag
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Cases where the legitimacy of the use of force come into question tend to receive a lot of media attention. However, defining "unlawful use of force" is not simple.
Identification
Unlawful use force means a policing or military authority has used more physical intimidation to subdue a situation than is warranted.
Types
There are two types of force that people often confuse: excessive and necessary. Excessive means the situation calls for a show of force, but the authority goes above what is needed to diffuse the situation. Unlawful use of necessary force means the situation does not call for any intimidation to subdue the offender by any reasonable standard.
Considerations
In general, unlawful uses of force are hard to prove because dangerous situations require quick judgments calls by the individual.
Misconceptions
In 1999, the US Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that only one percent of US citizens experienced the use of force by a police officer.
Tips
The US DOJ instituted a program in 1964 to deal with unlawful use of force, called the "Community Relations Service". The CRS attempts to mediate unlawful use of force disputes, as well as fostering better interactions between police and citizens overall.
Source:
US Department of Justice; Use of Force
US DOJ Community Relations Service; Police Use of Excessive Force
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