The application by a law enforcement officer or other state agent of physical force against a person beyond what is objectively reasonable and necessary under the circumstances to make an arrest, prevent an escape, or protect the officer or others from harm, a documented category of police misconduct distinguished from a lawful use of force by the absence of a genuine, proportionate necessity for the level of force applied. In the United States the constitutional standard for evaluating a police officer's use of force is drawn from the Supreme Court's 1989 decision in Graham v. Connor, which requires courts to judge reasonableness from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene rather than with hindsight, and internationally the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials sets out a comparable proportionality and necessity standard for evaluating whether police force was excessive.
Facts
Partially Attested
Classification CodeThe statute covers deprivation of rights under color of law generally; the source does not name excessive force. Typical PenaltyFine or imprisonment of not more than one year, or both (base offense under 18 U.S.C. 242) 1 Base penalty only; the statute raises the maximum to ten years if bodily injury results and to any term of years, life or death if death results. Elements of OffenseActing under color of law, willfully subjecting a person to the deprivation of rights secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States 1 Statutory elements of the color-of-law offense under which excessive force is charged; the source does not name excessive force. Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 Notable Example1991 beating of Rodney King 2 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
Sources
1. 18 U.S. Code 242, Deprivation of rights under color of law (Cornell LII)
Section title
Deprivation of rights under color of law
Penalty clause, base offense
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both
Opening clause
under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person
View the Source2. Police brutality (Wikipedia)
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