By Amin Kef Sesay
Last week Thursday 15th April 2021, at Hastings village, armed OSD personnel shot dead an unarmed civilian during a land dispute.
In an unrelated matter, during the notorious Makeni riot, the opinion of many citizens was that the police, in putting down the unrest, used disproportionate force that resulted in the death of several unarmed rioters.
With dozens of unarmed civilians having been killed in cold blood by armed police officers in the past three years, it becomes necessary for the police force to be refreshed in the basic principles on the use of force and firearms.
Without denying that the work of law enforcement officials is a social service of great importance, they should, in the performance of their duty of protecting lives and properties, be always conscious that they also have a vital role in the protection of the right to life, liberty and security of the person, as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirmed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials provides that they may use force only when strictly necessary, and to the extent required for the performance of their duty. Thus, the police must adopt and implement rules and regulations on the use of force and firearms against persons.
The police should develop a broad range of means, and equip their OSDs with various types of weapons and ammunition that would allow for a differentiated use of force and firearms. These should include the provision of non-lethal incapacitating weapons for use in appropriate situations, with a view to restraining the application of means capable of causing death or injury to persons.
For the same purpose, OSDs must be equipped with self-defensive equipment such as shields, helmets, bullet-proof vests and bullet-proof means of transportation, in order to decrease the need to use weapon of any kind.
The development and deployment of non-lethal incapacitating weapons such as tear gas and rubber bullets should be carefully evaluated in order to minimize the risk of endangering uninvolved persons, and the use of such weapons should be carefully controlled.
OSDs, in carrying out their duties, shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. They may use force and firearms only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result. Whenever the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, law enforcement officials shall:
(a) Exercise restraint in such use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and the legitimate objective to be achieved;
(b) Minimize damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life;
(c) Ensure that assistance and medical aid are rendered to any injured or affected persons at the earliest possible moment;
(d) Ensure that relatives or close friends of the injured or affected person are notified at the earliest possible moment.
Where injury or death is caused by the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials, they shall report the incident promptly to their superiors, in accordance with statutory rules.
Government must ensure that arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials is punished as a criminal offence under their law.
Exceptional circumstances such as internal political instability or any other public emergency may not be invoked to justify any departure from these basic principles.
OSDs must not use firearms against persons except in self-defense or in defense of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury.
They can use force to prevent the perpetration of a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to prevent his or her escape, and only when less extreme means are insufficient to achieve these objectives. In any event, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.
In the circumstances provided for, OSDs must identify themselves and give a clear warning of their intent to use firearms, with sufficient time for the warning to be observed, unless if to do so would unduly place the law enforcement officials at risk or would create a risk of death or serious harm to other persons, or would be clearly inappropriate or pointless in the circumstances of the incident.
