Ambrose Bierce, a social critic known for his sarcasm and wit, once described the police as "an armed force for protection and participation." In this pithy statement, Bierce identifies three critical elements of the police role. First, by describing the policeas "armed," their ability to coerce recalcitrant persons to comply with the law isemphasized. Because police carry weapons, it follows that the force they use may havelethal consequences. The capacity to use coercive, deadly force is so central tounderstanding police functions, one could say that it characterizes a key element of thepolice role.Second, the primary purpose of police is protection, and so force can be used only topromote the safety of the community. Police have a responsibility for safeguarding thedomestic well-being of the public, and this obligation even extends in qualified ways toprotecting those who violate the law, who are antagonistic or violent toward the police,or who are intent on hurting themselves. In dealing with such individuals, police mayuse force in reasonable and prudent ways to protect themselves and others. However,the amount of force used should be proportional to the threat and limited to the leastamount required to accomplish legitimate police action.Third, the concept of participation emphasizes that police and community are closelyinterrelated. Police are drawn from the community, and as police they continue tooperate as members of the community they serve. The community, in turn, enters into asolemn and consequential relationship with the police, ceding to them the power todeprive persons of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" at a moment's notice anddepending on them for public safety. Without police, the safety of the community isjeopardized. Without community support, police are dispossessed of their legitimacyand robbed of their effectiveness.This three-element definition of police makes it easy to understand why abuse of fo...
