Walk It Through: The Takedown
De-escalation first, force only as necessary and proportionate, no chokehold, and resisting even an unlawful arrest.
Officers move to arrest a man outside a store.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One arrest outside a store. Whether any particular force was necessary and proportionate, and what claim may follow, are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Resisting arrestKnowingly preventing or trying to prevent a police officer acting under color of official authority from arresting oneself or another, by using or threatening force, or by means creating a substantial risk of bodily injury.
- ChokeholdA restraint a law enforcement officer does not use; officers are also not trained in neck restraints that limit a person's breathing or blood flow.
- De-escalation tacticsWhat a law enforcement officer attempts before using physical or deadly force, unless they have failed or are not feasible on the totality of the circumstances.