Assessing Weapon Usage in Police-Citizen Interactions

• In Event: Police Proactivity, Use of Force, and Misconduct (Organized by Division of Policing)

Abstract

Within the police use of force literature, little attention has been paid to whether there exist significant predictors of force that involves either physical hands-on tactics (i.e., take down techniques, hard hand tactics) or a weapon (i.e., TASERS, baton, OC spray, gun). The current study uses data from the NIJ funded project Assessing Police Use of Force Policy and Outcomes to explore how and why officers may choose to use physical hands-on force or some sort of weapon. Such tactical decisions hold a number of important policy implications.

Authors

• Logan Somers, Arizona State University

• William Terrill, Arizona State University