HARD CASES

Police Use of Force in America

By: Captain Greg Meyer

Narrated by: Greg Meyer

This book is for listeners inside and outside law enforcement who are interested in a close examination of police uses of force. My purposes in writing it are (1) to provide factual information that contrasts with media-driven myths and misinformation for three famous cases; (2) to examine several controversial but common police tools and tactics with an eye toward improving outcomes; and (3) to enhance public understanding of the role of police officers when they confront resisting suspects.

For more than three decades during and after my career with the Los Angeles Police Department, I have been involved as an expert witness or consultant in hundreds of police use-of-force cases across America. The vast majority involved police shootings, TASER uses, other uses of force, and arrest-related deaths. Among my most complex and highest profile cases were those involving Rodney King, Oscar Grant, and George Floyd. The insights I offer in this book are drawn from this experience.

While insider information and important details about each incident will be presented here, the listener will not find exhaustive regurgitations of each case that can be found by reading other books or searching the Internet. Rather, this book presents fact-based corrections to myths and misinformation about these incidents. Important facts about any given police use of force incident are often unknown or overlooked, thus many people jump to conclusions when incidents are discussed in the media, or by other authors, or around your dinner table.

When is a police use of force reasonable according to commonly accepted police procedures and the law? When is it not? How do myths and misinformation about incidents influence public perception and reaction? How should we go about improving policy, training, equipment, and tactics for this unavoidable aspect of policing? Those are the questions I seek to answer in this book.

©2025 Greg Meyer (P)2025 Greg Meyer