Police Responses to Officer-Involved Shootings. Executive Summary. Final Report

摘要

Research on the use of deadly force by police officers includes a limited body of literature that examines the consequences of involvement in shootings for officers who pull the trigger. This literature addresses two distinct issues related to the effects of shootings: 1) what officers experience during shootings and 2) what they experiences after incidents in which they shoot. Where the first issue is concerned, the research indicates that officers sometimes experience sensory distortions such as tunnel vision, auditory blunting, and altered perceptions of time. Regarding postshooting responses. the literature reports that officers may experience a variety of short and longterm reactions that can include recurrent thoughts about the incident, a sense of numbness, trouble sleeping, sadness, crying, and nausea. The research described in this summary report was undertaken to enhance understanding of both aspects of officers' reactions to involvement in shootings. It consisted of interviews with 80 municipal and county police officers who reported on 113 separate cases where they shot citizens during their careers in law enforcement.