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Thomas Lawe
Instructor: Malcom Campbell
UWRT 1103
3 October, 2016
Extended Inquiry Topic Proposal: Why do police pull the trigger?
Introduction/Overview
The topic that interests me, and seems rather timely as well, is the reasoning
why police kill people so frequently in the United States. The US is one of the largest
countries in the world, with one of the highest numbers of police shootings in the
western world. Even accounting for the higher population of the United States, the
number of killings by police is disproportionately high. There are many claims about the
reason for this, from police are racist murderers to police are paragons of morality
and virtue, all killings are because America has too many violent criminals. The truth, I
suspect, is in a middle ground with many caveats and qualifications. That being said, I
will be doing my extended inquiry on why police make the decision to kill.
The sheer number of police shootings in the United States have many people
worried for their safety. Eric Garner in 2013, Michael Brown in 2014, Walter Scott in
2015, Freddie Gray in 2015, and most recently Keith Lamont Scott in 2016 were all shot
and killed by police. They were not the first and they were not the only ones to be killed
by police, just some of the highest profile ones. In the information age any police
shooting can be recorded, shared, and known across the nation in minutes. Before
most facts of the situation are clear, lines have been drawn and positions decided. To

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understand why these killings keep happening --regardless of whether they are justified
or not-- we have to understand when and why police move to using lethal force.
In order to gather more information on my topic, I read online and searched
through the Atkins Library. I mostly focused on news sites and scientific journals for
their reports on official justification for police shootings and examinations of the
psychology of police, respectively. I also found a book, Blink by Malcom Gladwell. It
does not deal with my topic directly, but it does discuss the flight or fight response in the
context of a police officer in a dangerous situation.
Opinions vary greatly on why police officers use lethal force so frequently. Some
say that police work is a dangerous occupation, and in a stressed situation police make
a poor judgement call. Some say that police are trained to racially profile suspects,
leading to dehumanization of minorities and less hesitation to kill. Still others proclaim
that most police shootings are perpetrated by unstable individuals who never should
have been allowed on the force in the first place. Major contributors to the debate on
this topic are civil rights groups, the Fraternal Order of Police, various news sources of
differing political affiliation, and in a less immediate way, psychological academia. No
matter who is espousing their opinions, however, they are guaranteed to upset
someone.
Initial Inquiry Questions
What are the differences between police training and training for other groups
that use lethal force (national guard, army, etc.)? Why does a person become a police
officer? What training in dealing with escalation of force do police officers
undergo? What biases are prevalent in police? Racial? Gender? Other? When is a

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shooting morally justifiable? Is there a correlation between the race of police officers
and those they shoot? What is the ratio of police killings to population/wealth/population
density in different parts of the world?
My Interest in this Topic
I am interested in the rationale behind police shootings because they are a major
social issue in the last couple of years. Despite this, no major changes seem to be in
the works to stop police shootings. Proposals ranging from body cameras to
independent review agencies seek to address the ongoing problems, but it seems to me
that such things (while undeniably good for accountability) address the symptoms rather
than the core issue. In addition, I would like to get a better understanding of the issue
so that I can discuss it in a informed and rational way the next time it comes up. I find it
hard to believe that a significant portion of police are racist (even unconsciously so);
these are supposed to be people all Americans can trust rather than fear. I am intrigued
by where research into this topic will take me.
Next Steps
I will be returning to the Atkins library in order to ask some of the reference librarians for
help finding more print sources relating to my topic. In addition, I am going to look in the
psychology sections of databases like JSTOR for papers on unconscious bias and fight
or flight response affecting judgement. I will also be comparing training for police and
soldiers in regard to escalation of force (rules of engagement etc.). I will continue to
check reliable news sources for articles relating to my topic (such as one I found during
the library day comparing the training time requirements for a barber and police
officer). I believe these and psychological journal articles will be my best source.