First Aid After Force

This post is only offered as a discussion topic only and does not represent legal advice. Officers must refer to the laws in their own State as well as their agency's policies, which can be more restrictive on officers that the law requires.

Scenario: A police officer working patrol has responded to a subject trespassing call.  Unfortunately, the suspect was not cooperative and the officer had to use your baton to effect the arrest. 

After gaining control over the situation, what should the officers next step be?

Answer: When officers use force on someone, they often think only about getting the suspect under control and into handcuffs as quickly and efficiently as possible. One thing that must be considered after that is medical attention, not only for you but the suspect as well. Remember that when officers take someone into custody, they are now the responsibility of the officer no matter what they did to cause the use of force. So even if they are calling the officer every nasty name under the sun, depending on the level of force that is used, they will most likely need medical attention of some type.

Most Agencies have requirements in place as to when medical attention is needed. Usually, if there are visible injuries or if an officer uses some type of intermediate force that is likely to cause injuries medical attention is required. But, medical attention should also be provided even if there is only a complaint of pain. Even if an officer knows that they didn’t hurt the person, if the person is complaining of pain anywhere, its best practice to have them examined by medical professionals prior to transport or at a minimum, prior to booking.