Police use excessive force during an arrest, causing injury
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The Situation
What They Said
“Stop moving or you'll get more of the same.”
Police brutality during arrests is a documented human rights problem in Zambia. Officers sometimes use force disproportionate to any actual resistance, and the culture of impunity within the Zambia Police Service historically discouraged reporting. The Constitution absolutely prohibits torture and degrading treatment. The ZHRC and the Police Public Complaints Authority are the primary bodies for reporting and investigating excessive force. Medical evidence gathered immediately after the incident is critical.
The Fallacy
Compliance Justification for Violence Fallacy
The officer frames the violence as a response to non-compliance, implying that if you had complied there would be no beating. This confuses lawful use of reasonable force to effect an arrest (which is permitted) with punishment by beating (which is never permitted). The law allows only force that is proportionate and necessary to effect an arrest. Beating someone as punishment or to demonstrate authority is torture — it is not 'compliance enforcement.'
What the Law Says
Your Legal Foundation
Constitution of Zambia 1991 (as amended)
Article 15 — Protection from Inhuman Treatment
“No person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment.”
Beating a person during arrest is torture or degrading treatment under Article 15. This is an absolute prohibition — there is no circumstance in which it is permitted. The officers responsible can be criminally prosecuted.
Criminal Procedure Code Cap. 88
Section 25 — Use of Force in Arrest
“A person making an arrest may use such force as is reasonably necessary to effect the arrest, but shall not use force that causes death or grievous harm unless the person being arrested is attempting to escape and cannot be prevented from escaping by other means.”
Force during arrest must be only what is reasonably necessary to effect the arrest — not to punish or to coerce confession. Any force beyond that standard is unlawful.
Zambia Police Act Cap. 107
Section 47 — Police Misconduct
“A police officer who uses force in excess of what is reasonably necessary or who commits any act of violence against a person in custody is guilty of misconduct and may be prosecuted.”
Officers who beat persons in custody or during arrest face disciplinary proceedings and criminal prosecution. Report to the Police Public Complaints Authority and the ZHRC with medical evidence of your injuries.
What Scripture Says
God's Word on This
Proverbs 21:15 (NIV)
“When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.”
God designed justice to protect the innocent — not to use physical force to terrorise people into submission. An officer who beats a detainee is not administering justice — they are committing the same violence they are supposed to prevent. Reporting and pursuing accountability is exactly what justice demands.
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You Know the Law — But Do You Know What to Say?
Reading your rights is one thing. Using them under pressure — calmly, correctly, in the right words — is what actually protects you. Members get the scripted rebuttal for this exact situation: what to say first, what to say if they push back, the tone to use, and the constitutional provision to cite. Practise out loud with audio until it's automatic.