Considering how quick to the trigger our boys are down here and how readily they're able to avoid any skepticism about it, I remain cynical of "justified" or "lawful use of force."
Well, that's a gap in our respective perspectives that we just aren't going to be able to bridge.
I am all in favour of punishing bad police behaviour. And I cringe every time a youtube video or news article appears with a clear-cut incident of a bad cop fucking things up for the rest of us.
But I will not get on board with the blanket previous sentiment.
The proper, lawful use of force is not a case of "police justice." It is simply a response to a subject's behaviour and threat level, to the responding officer or a member of the public, given the totality of circumstances.
It is no more a "failure" of one's duties when I chase and tackle a suspect I am attempting to arrest who runs away, than it is for an officer who ducks under the punch of a drunk bar patron who takes a swing at him and give a short elbow to the face in response, than it is for an officer who shoots a suspect who charges at him with a knife or pulls a gun on him.
Improper,
unjustified use of force, on the other hand, deserves an entirely different treatment, of course.