The Temporal Effect of Media Coverage of Police Homicides on Police Use of Deadly Force

• In Event: Police Use of Force and the Media

Abstract

Police officers’ use of deadly force (i.e., police homicides) has long been a hotly debated topic in the United States and the recent high-profile homicides of unarmed racial/ethnic minorities has renewed both the public’s and many academics’ concern regarding the issue. A considerable body of research has examined the various explanations for police use of force at both the individual- and aggregate-levels, especially those explanations which focus on the role of civilian characteristics including race/ethnicity. Less research has examined the role of media coverage of high-profile police homicides on subsequent police use of deadly force. This research utilizes a time series approach to determine whether intense media coverage of police homicides, like that of the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, deters police officers from utilizing deadly force for a period of time. Specifically, I analyze the rate of justifiable police homicides in US cities with 100,000+ population leading up to, and in the aftermath of, high profile police homicides that receive intense media coverage. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Author

• Zachary R. Hays, California State University, Bakersfield