• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

A question of ethics and legality

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
First, as a disclaimer, I am not in any way advocating anything violent or illegal. This is more a matter of trying to determine what is legal under our Constitution and system of laws.

This is completely hypothetical.

Let's say you're walking down the street and you happen across an apparent arrest in progress. You see the police with someone on the ground in handcuffs, with an officer pressing his knee against the neck of the arrestee. You see that the arrestee is cuffed and completely subdued, yet showing visible distress and saying he can't breathe.

As a citizen and a taxpayer, do you have the legal and Constitutional right to approach the officer in this situation and politely ask him to let the man up so he can breathe?

If the officer refuses, do you have the legal and Constitutional right to use whatever force is necessary against the officer in order to save the arrestee's life? If it's not legal, would it be an ethical and moral thing to do?
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
First, as a disclaimer, I am not in any way advocating anything violent or illegal. This is more a matter of trying to determine what is legal under our Constitution and system of laws.

This is completely hypothetical.

Let's say you're walking down the street and you happen across an apparent arrest in progress. You see the police with someone on the ground in handcuffs, with an officer pressing his knee against the neck of the arrestee. You see that the arrestee is cuffed and completely subdued, yet showing visible distress and saying he can't breathe.

As a citizen and a taxpayer, do you have the legal and Constitutional right to approach the officer in this situation and politely ask him to let the man up so he can breathe?

If the officer refuses, do you have the legal and Constitutional right to use whatever force is necessary against the officer in order to save the arrestee's life? If it's not legal, would it be an ethical and moral thing to do?
The best I can say is what the laws might say on this, it wont be reflected in your treatment in and out of court. You may legally have those protections. But, win or (very most likely) lose, it won't be the last of it, they will harass you, it is a nasty can of worms you'd have to carefully weigh.
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
First, as a disclaimer, I am not in any way advocating anything violent or illegal. This is more a matter of trying to determine what is legal under our Constitution and system of laws.

This is completely hypothetical.

Let's say you're walking down the street and you happen across an apparent arrest in progress. You see the police with someone on the ground in handcuffs, with an officer pressing his knee against the neck of the arrestee. You see that the arrestee is cuffed and completely subdued, yet showing visible distress and saying he can't breathe.

As a citizen and a taxpayer, do you have the legal and Constitutional right to approach the officer in this situation and politely ask him to let the man up so he can breathe?

If the officer refuses, do you have the legal and Constitutional right to use whatever force is necessary against the officer in order to save the arrestee's life? If it's not legal, would it be an ethical and moral thing to do?
I guess you're asking from a US perspective?
I don't know the laws of the US well enough but I know that in Germany I wouldn't only have the right but the duty to intervene (within my capacity and without endangering me or a third party).
 

Curious George

Veteran Member
First, as a disclaimer, I am not in any way advocating anything violent or illegal. This is more a matter of trying to determine what is legal under our Constitution and system of laws.

This is completely hypothetical.

Let's say you're walking down the street and you happen across an apparent arrest in progress. You see the police with someone on the ground in handcuffs, with an officer pressing his knee against the neck of the arrestee. You see that the arrestee is cuffed and completely subdued, yet showing visible distress and saying he can't breathe.

As a citizen and a taxpayer, do you have the legal and Constitutional right to approach the officer in this situation and politely ask him to let the man up so he can breathe?

If the officer refuses, do you have the legal and Constitutional right to use whatever force is necessary against the officer in order to save the arrestee's life? If it's not legal, would it be an ethical and moral thing to do?
Yes, you have the legal right to intervene. However, you will likely lose in court trying to assert that legal right. The burden will be on you to prove that the man's life was in danger, and the officer was using unreasonable force.

Keep in mind that in most jurisdictions the officer can arrest you for merely approaching and asking him to let the guy up. Granted they will have to then prove that you were interfering with a police officer/investigation/resisting arrest/obstruction.

You certainly have legal defenses such as self defense or defense of others. The problem is you not only have to be right, but also be able to prove you are right.

Finally, it is inadvisable to try to escalate force with an officer because as you escalate so too is he/she allowed to escalate. This can quickly lead to the officer using deadly force because they were forced to make a "snap' decision.

But there is nothing in theory illegal about resisting an unlawful arrest.
 
Top