Posted: February 16th, 2022

Unit 3 Assignment: Scenario: Criminal Law

Unit 3 Assignment: Scenario: Criminal Law

In the scenario listed below there are at least four alleged crimes and at least one possible civil action. Review the scenario and identify these crimes and civil action.

 In a 3 – 4 page paper (excluding title and reference pages), apply principles of criminal law to criminal justice practice.

 Show an understanding of the civil liabilities of criminal justice agencies and practitioners.

 Cite case law regarding the possible civil action that could be taken against the police officer, the department, and the city.

Scenario:

Police Officer Jones, in full uniform, was walking the midnight shift in a high-crime area at approximately 2:00 AM and is approached by a civilian who told Officer Jones she had been robbed and beaten by someone wearing a red shirt and white pants. The victim’s shirt was blood soaked from a severe laceration to her head and lip. She said the perpetrator was wearing a ski mask so she was unable to determine the gender/sex of the individual, as well as the race/ethnicity. However, she was able to inform Officer Jones that the perpetrator was approximately 5’8” tall and had a gun. The perpetrator stole her wallet and was holding it when he/she fled the scene, which was only a minute or two earlier. Officer Jones called for medical assistance and for backup as well.

While waiting with the victim for medical personnel to arrive, Officer Jones spotted an individual that partially fit the description about a block away from the scene. Though it was very dark, Officer Jones observed the white pants and dark shirt. Officer Jones walked toward the individual, leaving the victim unattended. Medical and backup had not arrived. When Officer Jones was approximately 20 feet away he identified himself as a police officer and told him in a loud, clear voice, “Stop, Police! However, the individual refused to comply with Officer Jones’s commands and continued to walk away from Officer Jones. Officer Jones again shouted. “Stop, Police,” and the individual stopped. As the individual stopped, he turned and faced Officer Jones, at which point saw a large bulge in the subject’s right front pocket. The subject, who was now approximately 7 feet from Officer Jones, refused to keep hands where Officer Jones could see them. The subject reached into his right front pocket and began to draw his hand out of his right front pocket. Officer Jones drew his weapon and fired at the individual, hitting him in the left shoulder.

The individual fell to the ground and Officer Jones approached him and called for additional medical personnel. Officer Jones located a baggie filled with smaller baggies each filled with what appeared to be Cocaine and a cell phone. The individual was taken to the hospital and was labeled as stable.

Detectives investigating the incident discovered that the person shot was not the perpetrator in the alleged strong-armed robbery. They also discovered that the victim lied and was actually involved in a domestic violence incident and did not want her husband to be arrested.

Unit 3
(PLEASE NOTE: This assignment will require outside research. Use at least three credible sources.) You may consult the Library, the internet, the textbook, other course material, and any other outside resources in supporting your task, using proper citations in Ace homework tutors – APA style.

Unit 3 Assignment: Scenario: Criminal Law
Criminal law entails handling crime legally by apprehending criminals then punishing and rehabilitating them. The criminal law is founded on the basic principles of criminal law. In this respect, the principles of criminal law include legality, human conduct, causation, harm caused, concurrence, state of mind, and the punishments for offenders. Equally important, the criminal law is created through a statute meaning that it is enacted by the legislature to ensure that criminals are rehabilitated and punished for violating the laws within the criminal law. More so, criminal law is put in practice and actualized by adherence to the principle of criminal law to ensure that justice is served to all the affected parties. In the case, of the police officer, Jones handling the assault case from a civilian and other interaction have displayed several crimes and a civil action within the criminal law.
Crimes in the scenario
To begin with, the civilian that the Police Officer met had allegedly been assaulted by an unidentified person. An assault constitutes a crime on the victim and can be addressed under criminal law (Brown et al., 2011). Assault with intent to commit a crime is an indictable felony under the Crimes Act. In this respect, the law records that an assault takes place when an individual commits a battery on another individual. Also, the law states that an assault occurs when an individual recklessly and intentionally makes another to apprehend the instant infliction of illegal force. The victim, in this case, told the officer that she had been assaulted and robbed of her belonging by a masked person. In this regard, the police officer proceeded to find the alleged criminal to bring him to book. However, it was established that the lady had been assaulted by the husband, and this was a case of domestic violence. The husband of the victim was liable for assault. In this respect, domestic violence takes place when there is violence between people that are in cohabitation or marriages (Copelon, 2000). Therefore, the criminal laws addressing the issue of domestic violence, in this case, are the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The law ensures that victims’ cases are handled appropriately as well as apprehending the batterers and prosecuting them. The law protects women against assault by their partners through punishing the batterers.
Consequently, the act of the civilian (woman) misleading and lying to the policeman that she had been assaulted and robbed by an unknown person in a crime punishable under the criminal law (Decker, 2004). In this case, false reporting is a crime punishable under criminal law. False reporting entails giving false statements to law enforcers, and this amounts to a misdemeanor of the third degree, and this is punished by a fine of $, 2,500 or one-year imprisonment. Equally important, lying to the police is regarded as an obstruction to justice. One commits an obstruction of justice when they prevent, delay, or obstruct law enforcers from performing their official duties appropriately. Therefore, the obstruction of justice and making false statements can be ascertained by giving incorrect information, destroying evidence, and making false communication. In this case, the victim said that she had been assaulted and robbed by a random person in the street while in the real sense, she was had been attacked by her husband. This information was misleading to the police officer as he proceeded to the street to apprehend a victim that he thought could have participated in assaulting the victim. The woman lied that a different person assaulted her in the name of protecting her husband from being arrested and prosecuted on account of assaulting her. Therefore, the assaulted victim was liable for giving force information to a law enforcer and thus obstructing justice.
Furthermore, disobeying orders from a law enforcer amount to a crime punishable under criminal law. Lack of obeying a law enforcer in the United States is regarded as a misdemeanor (Gau, 2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service). The misdemeanor entails refusing to assist a law enforcer in executing their official duties or not helping police in response to an instance of breach of peace. However, the police must give reasonable orders that are within the law for the victim to obey such orders. In this regard, the police need to be assisted in the course of maintaining law and orders. In this case, when the police officer approached an individual who he thought could have participated in assaulting and robbing the woman, the individual refused to adhere to orders of the polices. On top of disobeying the orders of the police, the individual went ahead to draw something from the pocket prompting the law enforcer to use his weapon. The individual could not adhere to the order of stopping and went ahead to resist prompting the police officer to force him to comply.
Additionally, the individual perceived to be the suspect in assaulting was found in possession of cocaine (Bronitt, Simon and Bernadette, 2005). Possession of drug is regarded as a misdemeanor crime that restricts the handling of all the controlled substances such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, and club drugs. The drug control operates under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) as a policy to control distribution, importation, manufacture, use, and possession. There are penalties and punishments associated with handling illegal drugs. The individual apprehended with the cocaine was liable within the CSA.
Civil Action
There is a civil action taking place in the scenario of Police officer Jones. A civil action, in this case, entails all the relevant actions taken to redress, enforce, and protect a civil or private right (Wood, 2003). In this case, the police had to enforce his orders when the suspects refused to comply with the orders. In this case, the suspect failed to adhere to the orders of the police officer even after the law enforcer introduced himself. The suspect refused to stop and answer to the police officer and went ahead to withdraw something from the pocket as an act of retaliation. These events inclined the police officer to draw his weapon and shoot the suspect on the shoulder, thus subduing him. Later, the police established that the suspect was not involved in assaulting and stealing the woman but was instead in possession of contraband in the form of cocaine.
In conclusion, criminal law addresses and handles all the crimes to ensure that justice is served and offenders are punished or rehabilitated. In the scenario, there are various crimes committed by the parties to it. In this respect, there is the crime of assault where a woman is assaulted and robbed, and under the criminal law, such case is addressed under the Crimes Act. Consequently, there is the crime of false information and obstruction of justice that regarded as misdemeanor crimes. The woman is liable for giving incorrect information to the police regarding the person who had assaulted her. Furthermore, the failure to reasonable orders from law enforce is regarded to be a misdemeanor crime. Additionally, having drugs is a crime that is punishable under the Controlled Substance Act. The suspect in the scenario was found in possession of cocaine. Lastly, there is a civil action where the police compel the suspect to adhere to his orders by shooting him on the shoulder

References

Bronitt, S., & McSherry, B., (2005). Principles of Criminal Law 4e.
Brown, D., Farrier, D., Egger, S., McNamara, L., Grewcock, M., & Spears, D. (2011). Criminal Laws: Materials and commentary on criminal law and process in NSW. Federation Press.
Copelon, R., (2000). Gender crimes as war crimes: Integrating crimes against women into international criminal law. McGill LJ, 46, 217.
Decker, J. F., (2004). The Varying Parameters of Obstruction of Justice in American Criminal Law. La. L. Rev., 65, 49.
Gau, J. M., (2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service). Procedural justice, police legitimacy, and legal cynicism: A test for mediation effects. Police Practice and Research, 16(5), 402-415.
Wood, E. J., (2003). Insurgent collective action and civil war in El Salvador. Cambridge University Press.

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