Culpable Cops? College Students’ Attitudes Toward Police Shootings of Unarmed Civilians in the Aftermath of Ferguson

• In Event: Legal Considerations for Police Accountability

Abstract

Our study uses panel data from a sample of college students (~75) to examine views of police officers standing trial after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Specifically, we asked respondents the extent to which they agreed or disagreed that state laws should be written to make it more likely for a police officer to go to trial as a defendant when s/he shoots an unarmed civilian. We examine respondents’ views over a six-month period, beginning the day after the grand jury recommended that Officer Darren Wilson not be charged in November 2014. We find that respondents were more likely to agree that laws should be written so that officers would be more likely to go to trial for shooting an unarmed civilian in the immediate aftermath of Ferguson; however, the effect dissipated over time.

Authors

• Amy L. Anderson, University of Nebraksa - Omaha

• Justin Nix, University of Nebraska Omaha

• Samantha S. Clinkinbeard, University of Nebraska - Omaha