NCJ Number
153451
Journal
Journal of Crime and Justice Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: (1994) Pages: 49-68
Date Published
1994
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Recognizing that police use of deadly force has drawn considerable research attention but that most knowledge is limited to cases in which death resulted, this study explored the reactions of 101 police officers in 529 high-risk encounters involving the potential use of deadly force during simulated firearms training sessions.
Abstract
The Firearms Training System (FATS) of the Tallahassee, Florida, Police Department consists of a computerized movie projector and a standard service revolver retrofitted with a laser emitting device. The FATS displays three scores (decision, reaction time, and accuracy) at the end of each scenario. The system was used to study police officer reactions in high-risk encounters. These encounters were divided into situations where the police officer survived and incidents where the police officer did not survive. It was determined that police officer characteristics did not influence their judgment. Whites were just as likely as blacks to have a bad shoot, males were just as likely as females to register a wrongful death, and veterans performed no better than rookies. Calls with black suspects, female suspects, and lone assailants were more likely to elicit a good shooting response. About 45 percent of all shots missed the assailant. Females had a greater tendency to throw shots off target. Police officers in general were more apt to miss hitting the target when they confronted multiple suspects. Police accuracy was independent of suspect race, gender, and age. A strategy is proposed to refine the study of police shooting behavior under simulated field conditions. 57 references and 2 tables