Reasonableness in Real Time: Understanding Use of Force Beyond the Headlines

Law enforcement use of force is one of the most scrutinized issues in modern policing.
Public debate often moves faster than the law, and officers are frequently judged in real time through news clips, social media commentary, and incomplete video footage. In many cases, the “court of public opinion” reaches a verdict long before investigators, prosecutors, or courts do.

From a legal standpoint, use-of-force analysis is complex. It requires careful consideration of facts, timing, perceived threats, officer training, and governing legal standards. Yet public criticism almost always centers on one thing: video. There is a widespread belief that body-worn and dash-camera footage will either fully vindicate an officer or conclusively prove misconduct. Anyone familiar with these tools knows that neither assumption is reliable. Cameras capture what is in front of them — not what is behind, beside, or perceived internally by the officer at the moment force is used.

Even when video exists, many viewers lack a basic understanding of reasonable suspicion and probable cause, and it is common to hear claims that officers had “neither,” even where the law clearly says otherwise.

Lawyers often rely on principles like in pari materia and stare decisis — the idea that similar cases should be treated similarly. In theory, that principle promotes fairness and consistency. In practice, however, outcomes in use-of-force cases vary dramatically.

Consider three cases involving prone restraint.

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died during an encounter with NYPD officers in Staten Island after being suspected of selling untaxed cigarettes. During the arrest, Officer Daniel Pantaleo applied a chokehold — prohibited by NYPD policy — and Garner was restrained face-down. Garner repeatedly stated, “I can’t breathe.” A grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo, and in 2015, New York City settled a wrongful-death lawsuit with Garner’s family for $5.9 million.

On August 10, 2016, Tony Timpa called Dallas police for help during a mental-health crisis. Officers restrained him, handcuffed him behind his back, placed him face-down, and applied body weight to his back for approximately fourteen minutes. Timpa died at the scene. Officers were initially charged with misdemeanors, but those charges were dismissed in 2019. In 2023, a federal civil jury found constitutional violations and awarded Timpa’s family $1 million.

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was restrained face-down while Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes. Chauvin was convicted of murder in April 2021 and sentenced to 22½ years in prison. He later pleaded guilty to federal civil-rights violations and received a concurrent 21-year sentence. Before Chauvin’s trial concluded, the City of Minneapolis settled the Floyd family’s civil lawsuit for $27 million.

Each of these cases involved prone restraint. Two involved prolonged application of officer body weight. Yet the legal outcomes differed substantially — from no indictment, to dismissed charges with civil liability, to criminal convictions and historic sentencing.

Other high-profile cases reflect similar inconsistency. Breonna Taylor was killed during the execution of a search warrant in Louisville, Kentucky. While no officers were convicted for causing her death, former officer Brett Hankison was later convicted of federal civil-rights violations and sentenced to 33 months in prison.

In Ohio, Officer Connor Grubb was indicted for the August 24, 2023 shooting death of Ta’Kiya Young, who was pregnant and seated in her vehicle. Grubb was tried and acquitted in 2025.

In Illinois, Sonya Massey was shot inside her home on July 6, 2024 by Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson. Grayson was fired, indicted, and in October 2025 was convicted of second-degree murder. He now faces up to twenty years in prison.

Alabama has not been immune from these issues. In 2016, Montgomery Police Officer Aaron Cody Smith shot and killed Greg Gunn. Smith became one of the very few officers in Alabama convicted for an on-duty shooting. He was sentenced to fourteen years in prison in 2020 but remained free on bond during the appellate process. After the Alabama Supreme Court raised concerns about trial posture and representation, the Attorney General assumed control of the case and agreed to a plea resolution allowing Smith’s release on time served.

Similarly, former Huntsville officer William Ben Darby was convicted of murder following a 2018 encounter with a suicidal subject. That conviction was reversed on appeal in 2023, and the case was resolved without additional incarceration.

Most recently, former Decatur officer Mac Marquette has been charged with murder in the September 29, 2023 death of Steve Perkins. Marquette’s claim of immunity was denied at the trial level and upheld on appeal. His case is now pending before the Alabama Supreme Court.

Across all of these cases, the common thread is not politics — it is use-of-force justification. Courts are increasingly asked to evaluate officer actions through competing frameworks: constitutional standards, agency policy, evolving training models, and emerging “science” related to human performance.

Federal courts have long recognized that officers make split-second decisions under extreme stress, without the benefit of hindsight. Yet we still know very little about what an officer actually experiences physiologically and psychologically during a critical incident. Post-incident interviews and research consistently show memory distortion, auditory exclusion, and time compression.

Organizations such as the Force Science Institute (FSI) have attempted to study these phenomena and apply them to policing. FSI emphasizes split-second decision-making and post-incident memory distortion, but it has also faced criticism. Academic reviewers have questioned whether some FSI studies meet accepted scientific standards, citing concerns over peer review, methodology, and conflicts of interest.

I have attended Force Science-based training and learned from its principles. I have also reviewed its criticisms. Taken together, they leave more questions than answers. No expert can fully recreate what an officer felt, perceived, or processed in the moment force was used. That reality should temper both blind condemnation and blind justification.

What we can do is invest in better preparation. Scenario-based training, grounded in peer-reviewed science, helps officers recognize threats, manage stress, and make better pre-incident decisions. De-escalation should not be a specialty skill — it should be foundational. Post-incident analysis should be conducted by trained analysts using multiple frameworks, not to assign blame, but to improve performance and safety.

We may never fully explain every use-of-force decision. But we can train better, analyze better, and approach these cases with intellectual honesty — for officers, for the public, and for the integrity of the profession.

The Bottom Line for Patrol Officers

You will be judged — by supervisors, investigators, courts, and the public — whether you want to be or not. The best protection is not slogans, not blind defense, and not public outrage.

No video tells the full story. No science explains every decision. But good preparation, good tactics, and good judgment travel well — in court and in the real world.

FOOTNOTE / REFERENCE LIST

1. Killing of Eric Garner, Staten Island, NY (July 17, 2014); NYC Medical Examiner homicide ruling; $5.9M civil settlement (2015).
   – New York Times; Wikipedia; NYC Comptroller records.
2. Death of Anthony “Tony” Timpa, Dallas, TX (Aug. 10, 2016); misdemeanor charges dismissed (2019); $1M federal civil verdict (2023).
   – NBC DFW; MacArthur Justice Center; federal court verdict coverage.
3. Murder of George Floyd, Minneapolis, MN (May 25, 2020); Chauvin conviction (2021); $27M civil settlement (2021); federal plea and sentence (2022).
   – Minnesota court records; DOJ press releases; City of Minneapolis settlement documents.
4. Breonna Taylor shooting, Louisville, KY (Mar. 13, 2020); Brett Hankison federal civil-rights conviction (2023).
   – DOJ press releases; Associated Press; federal sentencing records.
5. Killing of Ta’Kiya Young, Blendon Township, OH (Aug. 24, 2023); indictment (2024); acquittal (2025).
   – Reuters; AP News; Franklin County court coverage.
6. Sonya Massey shooting, Springfield, IL (July 6, 2024); conviction of Sean Grayson (Oct. 29, 2025).
   – PBS NewsHour; Capitol News Illinois; trial verdict reports.
7. Killing of Greg Gunn, Montgomery, AL (Feb. 2016); Aaron Cody Smith conviction and later plea resolution.
   – Alabama appellate opinions; WSFA; Montgomery Advertiser.
8. William Ben Darby case, Huntsville, AL (2018); conviction reversed (2023).
   – Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals opinions; Police1 legal analysis.
9. Steve Perkins shooting, Decatur, AL (Sept. 29, 2023); pending murder prosecution of Mac Marquette.
   – AP News; Alabama appellate rulings; Alabama Supreme Court docket.
10. Force Science Institute materials and critiques; University of South Carolina research review regarding Daubert concerns.
    – Force Science Institute publications; academic reviews and law-review commentary.