NCJ Number
113878
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1988) Pages: 165-205
Date Published
1988
Length
41 pages
Annotation
Police use of deadly force first became a major public issue in the 1960's, when many urban riots were precipitated immediately by police killings of citizens.
Abstract
Since that time scholars have studied deadly force extensively, police practitioners have made significant reforms in their policies and practices regarding deadly force, and the United States Supreme Court has voided a centuries-old legal principle that authorized police in about one-half the States to use deadly force to apprehend unarmed, nonviolent, fleeing felony suspects. This essay reviews and interprets these developments. (Author abstract)