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Glite Dictionary
officer-involved altercation

officer-involved altercation

8.6
A physical fight involving one or more police officers
  • noun
  • /ˈɔfɪsər ɪnˈvɑlvd ˌɔltərˈkeɪʃən/
  • NSFW
translation icon : altercado con oficiales
  • Witnesses were interviewed following an officer-involved altercation outside the shopping center.

Examples

  • The report detailed the officer-involved altercation that occurred downtown last night.

  • After the officer-involved altercation, the police department released a public statement.

  • The officer-involved altercation was shocking.

  • Did you hear about the officer-involved altercation downtown?

  • The early morning officer-involved altercation led to several injuries and sparked community protests.

  • An investigation was launched after an officer-involved altercation was captured on video.

  • The city council requested a review of policies following the recent officer-involved altercation that drew public attention.

How Violent

assault
  • Specialized
378 4.5
officer-involved altercation
  • NSFW
8.6
altercation
52 6.8
argument
617 2.3

Surface Forms

officer-involved altercation singular
officer-involved altercations plural

Morphology

officer-involved + altercation

The phrase is compositionally built from 'officer' + 'involved' modifying 'altercation' to mean an altercation that involves one or more officers. This meaning is directly derivable from the constituent words and the common English pattern (adjective/compound modifier + noun), so a B1 learner who knows 'officer', 'involved', and 'altercation' should be able to infer it.

Etymology

Officer-involved altercation shows a simple picture: an officer is part of an altercation, meaning a 'fight' or 'strong argument'. So it means 'a conflict in which one or more police officers take part'.