Do Situational Differences Exist Between the Fatal Shooting of Armed versus Unarmed Persons by Law Enforcement Officers?
Do Situational Differences Exist Between the Fatal Shooting of Armed versus Unarmed Persons by Law Enforcement Officers?
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2019-12-04
Authors
Carroll, Bonnie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University Honors College Middle Tennessee State University
Abstract
In recent years, significant attention has been drawn to incidents of law
enforcement’s use of force, especially when lethal. The lethal shooting of Michael Brown
by Ferguson police in August of 2014 brought new members and new energy to the
Black Lives Matter movement, and the death of unarmed Eric Garner in July of the same
year emphasized the occurrence of lethal use of force on unarmed suspects. In 2015, The
Guardian and The Washington Post began recording cases of officer-involved shootings
after a national realization that no consistent record was being kept by the U.S.
government. Up until the present, research has been largely laboratory based and focused
on person-specific variables. Situational variables have the potential to open a previously
untapped understanding of these situations, hopefully with which positive change can be
advanced. Focusing on the 963 cases of officer-involved shootings in 2016, data were
gathered for time of incident, numbers of officer and non-officers present, and warrant
status of the deceased. Utilizing this data and that of The Washington Post’s database, the
present study compared cases of officer-involved lethal shootings of armed and unarmed
individuals. The present study found that armed deceased were older than those unarmed
and more likely to have a warrant, and these armed cases generally involved a higher
number of officers and non-officers present at the time of shooting. The compelling
implications of these conclusions and their potential for reducing the number of officer
involved lethal shootings, armed or unarmed, are discussed.
Description
Keywords
Behavioral and Health Sciences,
Decision- making,
situational variables