police action

noun

|Updated on: 1 Aug 2018

Definition of police action

: a localized military action undertaken without formal declaration of war by regular armed forces against persons held to be violators of international peace and order

Recent Examples of police action from the Web

The police action comes as more women have stepped forward to allege mistreatment at the hands of Tyndall, including dozens who have filed civil lawsuits.

— richard winton, latimes.com, "LAPD raids home of ex-USC gynecologist accused of sexually mistreating patients," 15 June 2018
An attorney for one of the activists, Detroit lawyer Solomon Radner, said none of his clients used violence or inflammatory language that would have warranted aggressive police action.

— bruce selcraig, San Antonio Express-News, "Leon Valley hit with lawsuit over ‘auditor’ arrests," 5 July 2018
Here’s a breakdown of how the call and police actions occurred.

— matthew martinez, star-telegram, "He got 'pranked' by his girlfriend's husband — so he stabbed him to death, Texas cops say," 3 July 2018
Program the Parks Mayes, an activist who had protested police actions before, began working in the park before the fatal police shooting of Sylville Smith in 2016.

— ashley luthern, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee community activist Vaun Mayes charged in Sherman Park firebomb plot," 2 July 2018
Demonstrations protesting police actions are routine.

— jeremy roebuck, Philly.com, "In era of politicized prosecutors, Trump's U.S. attorney in Philly isn't out to change the system," 11 May 2018
Police Chief Charlie Beck said the approach was needed to provide proper context for police actions.

— michael balsamo, Fox News, "LAPD's highly-produced body camera video draws scrutiny," 21 June 2018
It was not known how many weapons were confiscated or the circumstances that led to those court and police actions.

— linda trischitta, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Deputies seize Broward Sheriff's bailiff's weapons under new Florida law," 5 June 2018
The judge demanded that Moe Yan Naing, who was sentenced last month to an undisclosed prison term for violating a law governing police actions, attend next week's pre-trial hearing.

— james griffiths, CNN, "Key witness allowed to testify in trial of Reuters journalists," 2 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'police action.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.