Assessing the Legitimacy of Police Coercive Methods under the Rule of Law

Introduction

Under what conditions is the use of force by law enforcement officials legitimate? This article will explore some of the empirical links between the Rule of Law, police legitimacy, support for the use of force (i.e., an officer striking a citizen in self-defense), and whether these coercive methods are proportioned to the threat posed by a subject (i.e., an officer using violence against a peaceful demonstration).

Public demonstrations allow the general public to assess the police's use of force firsthand, with access to eyewitness accounts, pictures, and video evidence. Protests have broken out in numerous countries in response to recent global events, driven by common concerns. The ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza has been a prominent issue, leading to protests around the world. These demonstrations often faced violent reactions from law enforcement, regardless of the side they supported. This article focuses on a protest that took place in February 2019 in Pisa, Italy, which sparked significant discussions across the country. The protest raised legal issues that are governed by specific legal statues, which stipulate that actions must only be taken when necessary and in a reasonable, proportionate manner.

This paper concludes that legitimacy is a dual concept that is both normative and empirical in nature. As such the meaning attributed to legitimacy places normative limits around appropriate use of force.

This article begins by examining the case study of the Pisa demonstration against the violence in Gaza, highlighting the key events and circumstances surrounding the protest. Following this, it outlines the conceptual framework of the Rule of Law and relevant principles of international law, providing a foundation for understanding the legal complexities involved in police use of force within the international contexts. The subsequent section offers a detailed analysis of these legal frameworks as they apply to the Pisa case, critically assessing the legitimacy of police actions. The article concludes with a summary of the findings and a reflection on the implications of police conduct in relation to both legal standards and public perception.

Figure 1: Italian Police Force (Italy, 2023).

Case Overview

On the 23rd of February 2024, in the heart of Pisa, Italy, during a peaceful student protest against the dramatic situation in Gaza, clashes and charges from the police towards the demonstrators occurred, causing injuries to the defenseless students. The Pro-Palestine manifestation witnessed intense violent episodes from the local police as the demonstrators were crossing the entrance to the main square of the city. Upon arriving at the road leading to the main square of Pisa, the students were violently pushed back by the local police using their batons, causing injuries to 13 students, including 10 minors. The actions of the police force were justified by the Italian Government based on operational and management difficulties encountered that day. The emphasis was placed on the unauthorized nature of the demonstration, which contributed to complications in handling the protesters and has prompted widespread debates regarding police violence in response to the protests (Panseri & Panseri, 2024).

This episode raises the question of police performance and the relationship between the level of threat posed by a subject (in this case the unarmed students) and the amount of force that an officer should use to respond proportionally to such a threat. By scrutinizing this correlation, the issues of police legitimacy and their use of force are likewise brought into focus.

Dilemma

Before getting into primary analysis, this section will establish a legal framework on the Rule of Law and UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force by Law Enforcement Officials and discuss the debate surrounding the legitimacy of police coercive methods in the case at issue.

The Rule of Law is an umbrella concept for a series of institutional and legal laws created to protect the citizens against one another and the abuse of power of the State. Consequently, all the choices made by a governmental organization -such as the police- are inspired by views on which instruments are best suited to attain an optimum balance between limitations on state power and the protection of citizens. The importance of the Rule of Law for the protection of human rights against the excesses of the State was recognized by international bodies such as the United Nations (Bedner, 2010).

Figure 2: The concept of the Rule of Law (n.d.).

Considering that the Rule of Law establishes legal constraints to protect individual rights, the power of the State and its citizens would be subject to legal restrictions and control by law enforcement officials. In other words, law enforcement officials (i.e. the police) serve as impartial intermediaries between the government and its citizens, tasked with ensuring that the Rule of Law is correctly upheld. In democratic countries, the Rule of Law is bound to the principles of justice and liberty, meaning that public accountability requires democratic governments to show that the use of force and coercive methods of law enforcement officials are exercised in a fair, just, and impartial manner and most importantly, in compliance with existing legal rules (Bedner, 2010).

According to the Rule of Law, police officers are authorized to use coercive methods, but the use of such methods must be justified according to legal statutes. In 1990 the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders adopted a series of Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The following series of United Nations articles is instrumental in analyzing the events that took place in Pisa (OHCHR, n.d):

Article 3. “Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary[…] .”

Article 4. “Law enforcement officials […]shall, […], apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms[…]”

Article 5: “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 offense and the legitimate objective to be achieved; ( b ) Minimize damage and injury[…]”

Article 13: “In the dispersal of assemblies that are unlawful but non-violent, law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force or, where that is not practicable, shall restrict such force to the minimum extent necessary.” (OHCHR, n.d.)

However, in many real-case scenarios, the determination of whether the use of force is a necessary, reasonable, and proportional response relies on the ability of the officers to assess the immediacy of the threat posed by a subject  (McLean et al., 2022). To assess such threats, factors like legitimacy and self-legitimacy become central to any debate about the use and misuse of force (Gerber & Jackson, 2016).

Figure 3: International Law as a set of international legal rules (ADCO Law, 2022).

The conceptualization of legitimacy is based on Max Weber’s definition of the term. According to him, legitimacy is the recognition among citizens that a power-holder has the right and is justified to use power to dictate and enforce appropriate behavior (Hurrell, 2005). Applied to the police officers, legitimacy is directly linked to their own perception of self-legitimacy and the citizens’ views of officers’ legitimacy.

In some cases, police self-legitimacy is directly dependent on citizens’ support of their conduct. In other cases, their self-legitimacy relies on their perception of belonging to a distinct group committed to the pursuit of a “greater good” that sets them apart from members of the public and therefore justifies their actions (Debbaut & De Kimpe, 2023). In other words, this higher assessment of their morality plays an important role in officers’ self-legitimacy.

On the one hand, one can argue that the actions undertaken by the police officers during the demonstration in Pisa were legitimate because their assessment of the situation was based on the unauthorized nature of the demonstrations which led to complications in handling the protesters and therefore the use of force. On the other hand, from a citizen’s perspective, legitimacy is connected to the manner and quality of a police officer’s performance. Consequently, public satisfaction with the police has an important impact on its legitimacy (Meško & Eman, 2015). Indeed, when considering Weber’s definition of legitimacy, an action or a rule is legitimate when it is ascribed and justified by third parties/citizens (Debbaut & De Kimpe, 2023).

When considering Italian national and constitutional law, the freedom or the right to engage in peaceful protest can be perceived to have been enshrined, and guaranteed, under Article 17 of the Italian Constitution. This right is a core feature and foundation of a democratic society as it ensures the exercise of the right to peaceful protest:

“Citizens have the right to assemble peacefully and without weapons[…]. Public meetings must be notified in advance to the authorities, who may prohibit them only for proven reasons of public safety or security.” (La Costituzione - Articolo 17 | Senato Della Repubblica, n.d.)

It is clear that the right to assemble peacefully, like many other rights, is not absolute. However, it needs to be established that the full enjoyment of this right should be the norm while any form of restriction should be the exception. Unfortunately, many governments around the world view groups demanding accountability on government's specific issues as a threat. Their default response almost always is to shut down protests by resorting to the use of force and other violent means (Europe: Sweeping Pattern of Systematic Attacks and Restrictions Undermine Peaceful Protest, 2024; Okeowo, 2015)

Figure 4: UN Blue Helmets (UN Photo, n.d.).

Synthesis

Legitimacy has a dual conceptualization: it is both normative and empirical. Normative legitimacy is present when authorities adhere to legal criteria (i.e. the UN's basic principles on the use of force). Empirical legitimacy is based on the perceptions citizens have toward the police. Thus, the authority is considered legitimate when the citizens recognize their jurisdiction and when their actions are justified by legal statutes (Ponsaers, 2015). When considering these factors, the meaning attributed to legitimacy places normative limits around the appropriate use of force (Gerber & Jackson, 2016).

In this case, to give a correct analysis of the legitimacy of the police's use of force during the demonstrations, it is important to differentiate between reasonable and excessive force. This distinction is central for both legal and professional requirements from the officers’ point of view and also when it comes to public attitudes towards police violence (Gerber & Jackson, 2016). Efforts to quantify what is "reasonable" as opposed to what is "excessive", have invariably resulted in ambiguous guidelines governing police conduct. In reality, a dual standard of conduct is expected of the police in citizen encounters. This duality is premised on the concept of "subjective objectivity" (Alpert & Smith, 1994). Subjective objectivity refers to the assessor’s evaluation of whether police actions were reasonable or unreasonable, based on their personal judgment of necessity rather than an objective assessment of proportionality (Alpert & Smith, 1994).

Figure 5: Protests in Pisa and Police Use of Violence (FGCI, n.d.).

Yet, while it is plausible that the police officers felt personally at risk due to operational and management complications in handling the protesters, the demonstration was peaceful in nature, which means that the subjects did not pose an immediate threat. Additionally, the Italian police officers did not follow the correct UN procedures on the use of coercive methods, totally disregarding Article 13. Indeed, protesters have testified in journal interviews: “The procession continued to advance […] with the protesters walking with their hands raised to demonstrate their willingness to protest peacefully” and “[a]t a certain point a girl was hit, the motorcade reacted to this action by pushing forward, confused. I saw a cop block a girl on the wall by pressing her neck with his elbow very strongly.” When the protesters then decided to withdraw, turning their backs to the police “they [the officers] […] continued to club the protesters on their backs and arms” (Pisa, Studenti Caricati Dalla Polizia Alla Manifestazione per La Palestina: Cosa È Successo E Le Testimonianze – Video, Il Tirreno, 2024) causing even more injuries on the defenseless students.

Overall, the legitimacy of the police response during the Pisa protest is shaped by both legal standards and public perceptions. While officers are authorized to use force under frameworks assessed by the UN Basic Principles, this force must be fair and proportionate. Given the peaceful nature of the demonstration and the lack of an immediate threat, the force used by the police appears excessive and unjustified. Moreover, their failure to adhere to UN protocol, particularly Article 13, raises further concerns about the legitimacy of their actions, highlighting a disconnection between legal expectations and actual conduct. The authoritativeness of the Police is not measured on batons but on the ability to ensure security while protecting the freedom to demonstrate publicly. In this case, the use of force has transformed public order into the opposite: a disorder that has escalated due to the methods used by officers.

This case study, when compared with other youth-led protests, highlights a broader pattern in the policing of public demonstrations. For instance, two years after the June 2016 referendum on Brexit, a significant demonstration took place in London, advocating for a “People’s Vote” on the final Brexit deal. In October 2018, millions of people peacefully marched in London emphasizing the consequences for the future of younger generations. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, it ended with the use of coercive methods by the police (Excessive Force, Coercive Policing and Criminalisation of Dissent. Repressing Young People’s Protest in Twenty-first Century Britain, n.d.). This example, like many twenty-first century protests, illustrates that while the majority of the demonstrations involving direct action remains peaceful, young protesters exercising their democratic right to peaceful assembly are increasingly confronted with militarized policing tactics.

Figure 6: Emblem of the International Court Of Justice (Humayun Rasheed Choudhury, 1986).

Conclusion

To conclude, even though law enforcement officials are authorized to use coercive methods under the Rule of Law and the UN basic principles adopted since 1990, the determination of whether the use of force is a reasonable and proportional response to an immediate threat is central in the debate surrounding the legitimacy of police use of violence. 

When considering the dual nature of the conceptualization of legitimacy, the police officers’ response to the demonstrations can be evaluated in terms of legal norms and the opinions of the public. Legally speaking, there are norms like the UN Basic Principles: it is okay to use force, however, only when needed, and to an adequate degree. The other dimension, quite crucial in the construction of legitimacy, is the public’s perception of police actions. In the case at hand, the use of force was excessive and led to preventable injuries, and, rather than maintaining order, it increased turmoil. Therefore, the police officers’ response to the demonstration cannot be considered legitimate, because the use of force and the actions taken against demonstrators were neither balanced nor proportionate to the situation.

Finally, police activities have to be in line with society's standards and legal expectations in order to be considered lawful. The current standard has forced police departments to create policies on the use of force that are unfeasible. These policies have attempted to provide basic behavioral guidance to officers while also limiting their liability exposure. This calls for clearer global regulations and more efficient training aimed to ensure that law enforcement activities enhance rather than diminish society's order and trust.

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