Graham vs Connor
Graham vs. Connor On February 21st, 1989 Dethorn Graham, a diabetic was having an insulin type reaction. He called his friend Berry and asked if he could pick him up and take him to buy juice from the local convenience store to stop the reaction. When he arrived at the store Graham noticed the long line at the cash register and decided the wait was too long. He ran out of the store and got back into Berry’s car and asked if he could take him to a friend’s house around the corner.
A city police officer, Connor, was on patrol when he noticed Graham enter the store and leave quickly, and became suspicious. The officer followed Berry’s car and performed an investigative stop. Connor had both men sit and wait while the officer made sure nothing had gone on inside of the store. Responding back up police arrived on scene and did not listen to Graham’s explanation of his condition. The handcuffed him and ruffed him up a little in the process, Graham received multiple injuries.
Officer Connor let Graham go after discovering that he had done nothing wrong. Graham sustained multiple injuries. Graham filed a law suit in the District Court under against all respondents, stating that Connor and the other officers had used excessive force in making the stop, in violation of Graham’s 14th amendment. In this case there are many things that Graham and Connor could do differently. Being a diabetic I believe that Graham should have been provided an insulin shot and he should have it on him at all times.
Also when entering the store I believe that Graham should have alerted a worked or the people in line that he was having a reaction and to allow him to move to the front of the line. I believe that Graham could have been nicer to the officer, when he was in the car Graham stated, “If he thinks I’m going to sit here in the car while I’m dying to wait for him to find out something when there really is nothing. (1)” If he would have explained to the officer that he was having a sugar type reaction the officer may have been more helpful.
There were a few things that the officer did that he could have done differently to stop any problems. First Connor did a good job in making an investigation stop, due to the suspiciousness Graham displayed. When Connor pulled over Berry and noticed something wrong with Graham that should have become the main focus of the officer. After Berry told the office that his friend was having an insulin type reaction, Connor should have immediately called an ambulance. This way there is no problem and that Graham would not be in harm.
The officers should not have been as tough as they were with Graham, unless he was fighting, then the appropriate force should have been used. If not then the force was unnecessary. I believe that the officers were not right in what they did. I believe that Graham had a serious medical condition and was not being treated for it. I believe the force used against Graham was used not to protect but to just cause harm. There was no proven evidence that graham did anything wrong.
The officer was going all off what he believed may have been a crime, and in the long run could have caused a more serious injury to Graham. I do not believe that a person should just be able to complain that they were being mistreated without and evidence, because that would happen too often by people who want easy money. Work Cited (1) “Graham v. Connor, Trial Record. ” Graham v. Connor, Trial Record. N. p. , n. d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. (2) “Graham v. Connor – 490 U. S. 386 (1989). ” Justia US Supreme Court Center. N. p. , n. d. Web. 8 Apr. 2013.
