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Organizational Factors That Affect Police Use of Lethal Force

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Organizational Factors That Affect Police Use of Lethal Force To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Mikaela Cooney entitled “Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Organizational Factors that Affect Police Use of Lethal Force.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Criminal Justice. Vic Bumphus, Ph.D., Chairperson We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Gale Iles, Ph.D. Roger Thompson, Ph.D. Acceptance for the Council: Stephanie Bellar, Ph.D. Interim Dean of the Graduate School JUDGE, JURY, AND EXECUTIONER: ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT POLICE USE OF LETHAL FORCE A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree The University of Tennessee, Chattanooga Mikaela D. Cooney May 2009 Copyright © by Mikaela D. Cooney All rights reserved. ii DEDICATIONS This thesis is dedicated with fond remembrance to the two guiding forces behind my empirical journeys. To Kathryn Barth Horton – you saw greatness in me before I had even the slightest inkling of confidence. To Thomas Leon Vasquez, you are the reason I still search so vigorously for justice and truth. I miss you both dearly and I hope I have made you proud. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank everyone who has helped me navigate through the perils of graduate school which have culminated in the completion of this thesis. I would especially like to thank Dr. Vic Bumphus for his expertise, diligence, and careful guidance throughout the research process. I would like to thank Dr. Gale Iles and Dr. Roger Thompson for serving on my committee. I would like to thank Dr. Tammy Garland for being my mentor, counselor, and friend. I would also like to thank everyone in the Criminal Justice department for their guidance and commitment to my education over the past two years. I would also like to thank my friends and family who were up in the wee hours of the morning talking me down from the stress of graduate education and thesis preparation (especially Barry, Kyle, and Courtney.) I hope I did not scare away any potential graduate students! A very special and heartfelt thanks goes to my mother for providing the most emotional (and financial) support throughout this endeavor. Lastly, I would like to thank my son, Phoenix, for providing the majority of the comedic relief and Jacy, not only for his partnership, but for cleaning up the resulting messes from Phoenix’s comedic relief. iv ABSTRACT There currently exists an empirical gap in our knowledge of organizational factors as they relate to police use of lethal force. As a result of waning interest in macrolevel policing studies over the last three decades, the majority of our understanding of lethal force is derived from studies that specifically focus on microlevel factors (such as officer race or suspect behavior). The present study examined the relationship between organizational variables and the number of self-reported instances of lethal force by law enforcement officers. Departmental variables, jurisdictional characteristics, and the number of lethal force incidents reported annually were collected from law enforcement agencies across the United States (N=424) using a sampling frame provided by Institute for Law and Justice. Findings show that there is a limited working relationship between organizational factors and the use of lethal force. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future organizational research are discussed. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ………............................…………………………….1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………….5 Legitimization of Police Use of Force…………………………….………….…...5 Conceptualizing Force....………………………………………………………….7 Normative Police Use of Force……………………………………………………9 Empirical Studies of Lethal Force Prior to Garner ………………………..…….12 Individual Factors......................................................................................13 Situational Factors…………………………………………….…………16 External and Organizational Factors……………………………………..17 Empirical Studies of Lethal Force Following the Garner Decision……………...21 III. METHODOLODY Data and Measures……………………………………………………………….24 Dependent Variable…………………………………………………………...…25 Independent Variables……………………………………...……………………25 Recoded Variables……………………………………………………………….26 IV. RESULTS Descriptive Statistics……………………………………………………………..28 Bivariate Relationships…………………………………………………………..30 Regression Analysis……………………………………………………………...33 Limitations……………………………………………………………………….34 V. DISCUSSION …………………………………………………………...36 Review of the Results……………………………………………………………36 Implications and Directions for Future Research………………………………..38 LIST OF REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………41 APPENDIX ……………………………………………………………………………...48 VITA …………………………………………………………………………………….55 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Sample Police Agency Characteristics………………………………………………..29 2. Distribution of Lethal Force by Officer Size………………………………………….30 3. Distribution of Letha Force by Jurisdiction Type……………………………………..31 4. Distribution of Lethal Force Incidents by Community-Oriented Policing Emphasis…32 5. Correlations between Organizational Characteristics and Lethal Force Incidents…....33 6. Estimate for Regression on Police Use of Lethal Force……………………………....34 vii CHAPTER 1 Introduction Despite inflated media reports of police brutality and violence, the average police- citizen encounter rarely results in the use of force (Alpert & Dunham, 1999; Greenfield, Langan, & Smith, 1999; Henriquez, 1999; Weitzer, 1999). In a study of adult custody arrests in six urban departments, Garner and Maxwell (1999) found that “most arrests involve no force, excessive or otherwise” (p.30). The authors also reported less than one in five arrests involved the use of non-lethal force. Additional studies have indicated that when force is used, it is generally at the lower end of the force continuum such as pushing or grabbing (Adams, 1999; Alpert & Dunham, 1999; Bayley & Garafolo, 1989). Despite its infrequent occurrence, however, police use of force has been the subject of extensive academic study for over forty years with as many theoretical frameworks. The ability to use force and coercion separates law enforcement officers from the public and, as such, is the defining characteristic of the police (Alpert & MacDonald, 2001; Bittner, 1970; Reiss, 1971; Sherman, 1980). Weber (1964) argued that the ability of a state to use force against its enemies served to both protect and define the state. Similarly, Friedrich (1980) espoused that “to examine police use of force is to examine an activity at the core of politics and society” (p. 83). Although the police are entrusted to protect and serve their communities while minimizing harm to citizens, coercion or force – ranging from verbal to lethal – may be necessary during the course of an officer’s duty to accomplish these goals. An officer may use verbal coercion to apprehend a suspect or de-escalate a violent encounter; physical force may be necessary to make an 1 arrest, restrict the movements of a suspect, or preserve order in times of civil unrest. This ultimate source of authority also carries the greatest potential for abuse. The broad police mandate, coupled with the authority to use force, has created a paradoxical and arguably controversial situation for law enforcement. Bittner (1970) argued that the irony of the police mandate is that police will abide by the law and maintain a professional atmosphere, but will violate these standards when necessary. Bittner (1990) went on to counter the conventional view of policing, arguing that the role of the police is not to enforce the law but to preserve order. Jacobs and O’Brien (1998) mirrored this claim and stated that the “use of criminal law and law enforcement agencies is to maintain control over the ‘dangerous’ classes who threaten public order” (p. 838). Police violence, they argued, was the result of encountering violence while on the job and thus a necessary response. While the use of political violence is rare, they maintained it was not a wholly inefficient method of control. Since the role of force is arguably pivotal to the functioning of society, minimizing the abuse of such power should be of great concern to any democratic government (Reiss, 1971). Additionally, reducing the amount of force used by the police should be an official concern because of its importance to police-community relationships. Several studies have found that police use of force creates negative public perceptions well beyond the incident itself (Babcock, 1998; Terrill, Alpert, Dunham, & Smith, 2003; Williams & Hester, 2003). Milton, Halleck, Lardner, and Abrecht (1977) noted that not only have police shootings deemed unnecessary by the public led to urban violence and riots, but they have also resulted in individual suffering, budget crippling lawsuit payouts, and diminished respect for and confidence in the police. 2 Friedrich (1980) argued that society’s perceptions of law and the police are negatively influenced by the aggregation of individual experiences with police use of force. In order to maintain a positive working relationship with the public, the police must exercise caution in their employment of force. Alienating the community in which an officer lives and works could undermine justice and serve as a barrier to the goals of law enforcement. Any efforts to reduce the use of force by law enforcement, however, must begin with determining the gaps in our knowledge
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