Graham V. Connor Case Study

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A little over two and a half decades ago, a North Carolina Department of Transportation maintenance worker (Dethorne Graham) changed the way officers across the country can legally apply the correct use-of-force in any incident. The Graham v. Connor case adjusted the way the courts and the people look at use-of-force cases and properly determine the legality of them. The ruling has held up this long, and has proven its effectiveness. I have confidence that it will stand for the foreseeable future. On the 12th November 1984 Mr. Graham was in dire need for some sugar, he was a diabetic. Searching in a convenient store didn't quite help as there was a long line. He stopped to go to a friends house instead. As he retreated from the store police officer Connor noticed his frantic movements and believed him to just of robbed the store. They thought an inquiry of his actions was appropriate and pulled him over. The pair (the driver being William Barry) were told to wait there while the police were contacting the store. While Mr. Connor …show more content…
Graham even when he told them about his diabetic needs. The police officer just responded with a “Shut up” and another with "I've seen a lot of people with sugar diabetes that never acted like this. Ain't nothing wrong with the M. F. but drunk. Lock the S. B. up." Then the police officers strongly placed him in their patrol car. During this arrest Mr. Graham obtained some injuries including: cuts on his wrist, a bruised forehead, a broken bone in his foot, an injured shoulder, and a constant ringing in his ears. A friend of Mr. Graham tried to bring him some orange juice to sustain him while in custody, but a police officer did not let him have it. The officers conducted all of these allegations even without having all of the facts. The police officer that went to the store was not back with the information that it was indeed not robbed, and the police kindly drove him home and released