The deadly force script : how the police in America defend the use of excessive force / William Harmening.

"The job of the expert witness is to offer opinions about a case based on a subjective understanding and analysis of the evidence. It is the nature of litigation that the opposing side will always dispute those opinions and offer their own counter-opinions. The opinions offered in this book about the cases discussed have all previously been disclosed in publicly available expert witness reports and court documents. They are just that, opinions. Only a judge or jury can rule on the ultimate issue of guilt or innocence"-- Provided by publisher.

"How many times have you read a news story about someone being shot by the police while reaching for their waistband? Or about an officer who testified at trial that the person he shot during a physical struggle had superhuman strength or a thousand-yard stare in his eyes? and how many times have you watched a police chief or sheriff during a press conference invoke the "21-foot rule" to justify their officer's killing of a mentally ill person whith a knife? These and a host of other verbal devices are what author William Harmening calls the "deadly force scrip." it is a strategy that has been empolyed with great success by the law enforcement community in the decades following the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Tennessee v. Garner (1985), the case that for the first time placed significant restrictions on a police officer's use of deadly force. It is a strategy that has gove relatively unnoticed by the general public, the media, elected prosecutors, and the judges and juries who must rule on the reasonableness of an officer's actions. Now, perhaps for the very first time, William Harmening pulls back the veil to expose the deadly force script for all to see. He does this in a unique and informative way by presenting actual case studies where the script was employed following a deadly police encouter, typically right under the unsuspecting noses of local media and the prosecutor tasked with deciding whether to criminally charge the officers involved. Anyone with an interest in the twin ideals of an equitable system of justice and a professional and bias-free police force with find William Harmening's presentation both fascinating and enlightening."-- Unedited summary from book.