Fourth Amendment law provides that police use of force during an arrest, stop or other seizure must be reasonable. In Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989), the court ruled that whether police use of force violates the Fourth Amendment depends on whether it is the type of force that a reasonable officer could have used in the circumstances.
But Graham is just the starting point. Despite the seemingly straightforward nature of the reasonableness standard, §1983 excessive force claims often generate many difficult issues.
