ABSTRACT
On the surface, from the public’s perspective, police use of deadly force seems commonplace. Indeed, a review of the nation’s major newspapers and television news shows would likely reveal discussions of a police shooting at least weekly. Although not as frequent, this same review would show that some police officers are assaulted or shot at by assailants. Examination of these cases would show that deadly force confrontations occur in numerous police situations, ranging from responding to felonies in progress to officers being shot while sitting in their patrol cars. In some of the cases, it is apparent that officers had no choice but to use deadly force. In other cases, it is clear that officers
n Physical force
n Reasonable force
n Suicide by cop
n Tennessee v. Garner
n Unnecessary force
n Use-of-force continuum
abused their power in their use of force. Citizens, politicians, and the media tend to second-guess officers’ judgment and play a “what if” or “what should have been done” game. Sometimes this criticism is justifiable, as it is readily apparent in many cases that police officers could have avoided using deadly force or abused their authority.
