READINGS ON POLICE USE OF DEADLY FORCE Edited by James J. Fyfe Policeféundation‘The Police Foundation is a privately funded, independent, non-profit organiza- tion founded by the Ford Foundation in 1970 and dedicated to supporting innovation and improvement in policing. This book of readings is published by the Foundation as a service. Opinions and recommendations are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Police Foundation Copyright © 1982, Police Foundation Library of Congress Catalog Number 81-86057FOREWORD The distinguishing characteristic of policing is the authority to use force. With this authority, of course, comes the responsi- bility never to misuse force. This responsibility translates into an imperative on the part of police management to control po- lice discretion so that officers employ only that degree of force necessary to do their job fairly and humanely. The use of force at its most extreme is the use of deadly force which, with rare exception, can be described as a decision of a police officer to point a service revolver at another human being and fire it. This is the most momentous decision a human being can make—to take another life. Limiting such decisions to those instances when the use of force is absolutely necessary is one of the most important goals for the police agency. This is so, not only to reduce death and injury, but also to diminish the often woeful impact that police woundings and killings have on citizens’ perception of the fairness and decency of police agen- cies. In strictly supervising the authority to use deadly force, police chiefs and their fellow administrators need all the reli- able information they can obtain so that their decisions are based on a solid foundation. To help police administrators with the task of formulating and enforcing deadly force policies, the Police Foundation has published this anthology of what we be- lieve to be the best available current research on the subject. Although this volume will be of use to researchers, legisla- tors, lawyers, and judges who must deal with deadly force, it is meant primarily for police chiefs and other local municipal offi- cials charged with controlling crime and maintaining order. Our goal is for this volume to be a principal reference tool for police iii