After the police department revised the rules detailing exactly when excessive force is allowed, 125 Seattle cops have filed a lawsuit challenging those rules. The cops argue that the new policies infringe on their constitutional rights to use as much force as they deem necessary in self-protection. The officers claim the police department’s rules infringe on their Second Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights, and defending themselves gives them the right to use excessive force.
Chief U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman disputed the claims, pointing out that the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms, not the right to use them. She added that the officers were “grossly misconstrued” regarding the Fourth Amendment when they claimed that it protects them, and not individuals who would be the subjects of police force or seizures.
In addition, the police union, the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild, declined to endorse the lawsuit.
The Justice Department investigated the Seattle police force after numerous high-profile incidents of excessive force were reported. In 2011, it was determined that officers use excessive force about 20 percent of the time. In several instances, some officers pushed and beat suspects simply because they talked back, even when they had no plans to arrest them, or already had them restrained in handcuffs.