Delroy Chuck Says Police May Use Reasonable Force During Arrests

Police officers have legal authority to apply "reasonable force" when taking suspects into custody, and that power can extend to lethal force in certain circumstances, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Delroy Chuck has said.

Chuck made the comments last Friday during the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Policy Development and Estate Planning Forum at the Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny. He backed the police's responsibility to preserve public order, while telling Jamaicans that if an arrest is lawful, they should obey and then use the courts if they believe their rights were breached.

"When the police say you’re under arrest, you must surrender," Chuck said. "You cannot fight. If you resist, you will be charged for a second offence — resisting arrest. So from the moment the police tell you that you are under arrest, surrender right away and say, ‘I surrender, but I will see you in court.’"

He said a person who feels police detained them without proper basis is not without recourse. "If the police have arrested you wrongly, you can sue the police for false imprisonment," he explained.

Chuck said the authority given to police to detain suspects is wide, and he pointed out that the meaning of "reasonable force" can include deadly force depending on the facts before an officer. "That is not my law. It is the common law, reaffirmed in many cases over the decades, that if the police think you’re a felon and you’re escaping, they must use reasonable force to arrest you. That is a judgement the police officer must exercise."

The minister said any force used must match the danger confronting the police. "If the man attacks the police with a toothpick, there’s no reason to shoot him. But if he attacks with a deadly weapon, then you use such reasonable force as is needed."

Chuck also took issue with situations where residents step into police operations and obstruct officers carrying out arrests. "When the police are trying to arrest someone, and the community comes to fight the police, every single one of them could be charged for conspiracy and failing to obey police orders," he said. He added that too many encounters become more serious than necessary because people do not follow lawful police directions.

The forum was organised by the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and marked the opening stop in a series of islandwide consultations. The exercise is part of a public-education push to advance new approaches to settling conflicts, receive views on the policy, and encourage Jamaicans to make greater use of alternative legal options for resolving disputes peacefully outside court.