Deadly Force

Throughout the past decades, every time you turn on CNN or your local news channel, they’re talking about shootings involving police. Police use of deadly force is the amount of force that could cause injury or bodily harm to a person. Police use of deadly force is a controversial topic that has been towering over the news stations and radios lately with different shooting insistences. Many concerns have been brought up as to why this topic is controversial and problematic. In result, many court cases have addressed this issue.

The issue of police use of deadly force shares the characteristics to capital punishment (Cullen, F, 1996) Many believe that police have abused their rights as a police officer when it comes to deadly force. Police

Michael White, the author of Examining the Impact Of External Influences on Police Use Of Deadly Force Over Time, states in relation to the issue that police use of deadly force has been the primary focus of research over the past 40 years that has been examining different major determinates of police behavior with shootings (White, 2003, p. 50). This causes a controversial issue for many. In the research conducted in by Cullen and his coworkers, Hacker (1992) claims that “America remains two nations, Black and White, separate, hostile, unequal." (Cullen, 1996). Police are then put into situations where a White officer is against a Black man or vice versa. Along with this, police use of deadly force is conducted with the daily work environment for police officers put them on the front line for potential harm and vulnerable situations (Ross, 2015, p. 244). Violence which is sometimes the only necessary means for police, is said to be “situational in nature” (Parent, 1998). This violence which is situational in nature can be revolved around the personality, stress and danger that a policeman are put into. With this in mind, it can be a controversial topic when it comes to explaining that police officers are put into certain situations needing them to act within seconds. During this alteration, it can change the outcome of the situation and transform the aftermath of the

This can affect how they perform their job and the outcomes of cases. The ultimate objective for law enforcements are to assist the public. From the research done by Brenner (1947) he states, “Police use of deadly force and the issues surrounding it are of primary concern to all, but the problem is particularly acute for black, Hispanic, and Native Americans”. He goes on to state that “because of alleged misuse of deadly force, police departments across the country have experienced strong criticism and even violent protests” (Brenner, 1947). Police officers having experienced this strong criticism and violent protests are being put into violent and dangerous situations which can cause them to react to the heat of the