Observations on Police Deadly Force

Abstract

Until recently, there existed little empirical research into use of deadly force by American police. Over the past several years, however, considerable study of police deadly force and police shooting has occurred. Questions raised by the body of literature involve the reasonableness of the common-law rule that police may shoot any fleeing felony suspect, and the effects of that rule upon police law enforcement operations and community relations. Other questions involve the degree to which police agencies may be guilty of covering up neg ligent or criminal behavior by officers involved in shootings. This paper examines the evidence on these questions, and offers recommendations for police administrative action to minimize both actual and perceived excesses in the use of police deadly force.