ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the psychology and neuroscience of deadly force encounters, specifically, officer-involved shootings. Deadly force encounters represent a small subset of police use-of-force incidents, which are, in turn, a minor fraction of police interactions with citizens. The experiences of some officers on the job may put them at special risk for use of force in police–citizen encounters. Potential deadly force encounters can begin in a number of ways. The use of any kind of force in police–citizen encounters is uncommon, and deadly force encounters are rarer still. Much of the controversy over police officers using deadly force against supposedly unarmed suspects relates to confusion over precisely those issues of what is defined as mortal danger and what constitutes a proportionate response. Urban police get radio calls too, but are just as likely to directly confront suspicious activity or crimes in progress during their vehicle or foot patrols.
