Deadly Force in Law Enforcement

Abstract

Recent stories appearing in newspapers from cities like Los Angeles, Columbus, Oakland, and Birmingham make it abundantly clear that fatal police shootings have ramifications that extend far beyond the usual concern for fatalities. The justification for taking a human life is presented in historical, philosophical, and legal terms, with particu lar attention to current codes and recent court decisions that simulta neously justify and control police shootings. Various issues of control are further highlighted in discussions of the dilemma inherent in ad ministrative (departmental) regulation of shooting, given the complex decision process leading to a shooting incident. To illustrate the status of empirical knowledge regarding police shooting, the incidence of fatalities among blacks is analyzed. The analysis leads to the conclu sion that the high mortality rate of blacks in police shootings seems to result primarily from community characteristics, such as the high general rate of violence in the inner cities, rather than from a tendency among police to treat blacks and whites differently solely because of race. But, overall, the data available for decision making are slim, and the need for research is great.