Грани правомерного и уголовно-наказуемого применения сотрудниками полиции физической силы, специальных средств и огнестрельного оружия (по материалам судебной практики)

Abstract

This study is devoted to the qualification of cases of the use of physical force, special means and firearms by police officers. The goal is to explore the facets of the lawful and criminally punishable use of physical force, special means and firearms by police officers (based on judicial practice). Tasks – to study the norms of legislation on the use of physical force, special means and firearms by police officers, to analyze typical qualification errors in assessing the actions of police officers. Attention is drawn to the fact that the assessment of the legitimacy of the actions of police officers is important not only for qualifying their actions, but also for the behavior of persons against whom these coercive measures were applied, regarding the presence in their actions of signs of a crime under Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It is concluded that such law enforcement errors lead to the fact that employees of the internal affairs bodies use firearms only in the most extreme cases, often only when there is an immediate threat to the life and health of the employees themselves. This situation is explained by the unwillingness of the policeman to be accused of illegal use of weapons. The relevance of the issue follows from the data of sociological surveys: it is emphasized that in the criminal law assessment of the use of physical force, special means and firearms by police officers, their compliance with the provisions of the Federal Law of February 7, 2011 no. 3-FZ “On the Police”. The problem of the practical application of the Federal Law of February 7, 2011 no. 3-FZ “On the Police” and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is those cases where the provisions of the Federal Law of February 7, 2011 no. 3-FZ “On the Police” restrict the rights of police officers to use physical force, special means and firearms, while it is necessary and recognized as lawful based on the provisions of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.