Law enforcement training and the belief among police in the United States that their lives are likely to be in danger at any moment encourages the use of deadly force in any potentially dangerous situation, according to CU-Boulder sociology Professor AnnJanette Rosga.
Rosga studies police use of force and the training of police in human rights-respecting practices in emerging democracies around the world, such as Bosnia-Herzegovina where she was a Fulbright Scholar in 2002.
The fatal shooting of developmentally disabled 15-year-old Paul Childs by a Denver police officer on July 5 raised a public outcry in northeast Denver against police practices. Rosga said the shooting is an example of a training philosophy that encourages the use of overwhelming force by police in situations officers deem "life-threatening."
"Departments justify such procedures on the grounds that they protect officers," said Rosga. "But my research shows that, as often as not, heavily armed and guarded police preparation for "worst-case scenarios" cause civilians to feel threatened and to act irrationally and tends to create conflict instead of mitigating it."
Rosga said a policy like that of the Denver Police Department, that "allows" officers to use deadly force against anyone holding a knife within 21 feet of the officer, exemplifies police "bunker mentality."
"Police are taught that their safety depends not on conflict-resolution skills or communicating with civilians, but on demanding citizens do as they say on command and on the use of deadly force when compliance is not forthcoming and there is any suggestion of a threat toward the officer," said Rosga.
According to U.S. Department of Justice statistics, police officers in the United States kill an average of 373 people each year. In virtually all cases, said Rosga, authorities deem such homicides "justified," on the grounds that an officer's life was in danger.
"The truth is, policing is not as dangerous as many of us are led to believe," said Rosga. "Statistics show that the risks of on-the-job death faced by police officers is on the low end of the spectrum, comparable to those faced by electricians, and nowhere near to employees of fishing industries who die at more than eight times the rate of police officers on the job."
Rosga also points out that of the 79 police officers who die on average each year in the line of duty, more than 50 percent are killed in traffic accidents, most of which result from pursuits initiated by police in response to misdemeanor-level traffic violations.
Famed attorney Johnnie Cochran announced after the funeral of Paul Childs that he would represent the slain teen's family. Legal experts say a federal civil rights lawsuit appears Cochran's most likely course.
According to CU-Boulder law Professor Emily Calhoun, if Cochran files a suit he will have a difficult task ahead of him because damage suits against individual officers are difficult to win.
"The individual's constitutional right is violated only if there is an unreasonable use of force," explained Calhoun. "A police officer has an immunity from any constitutional violation that does occur as long as the officer had a reasonable belief that his use of force was reasonable."
According to Calhoun, who teaches constitutional law at CU-Boulder, the "reasonable belief" test used by the courts is intended to give police officers room to make mistakes without worrying about liability.
However, Calhoun speculates that if a civil rights suit is filed in this case it will be brought not only against the individual officer, but also against the police department itself for failing to properly train the officer in question.
"Suits against police departments are governed by different standards of liability," said Calhoun. "This permits individuals to seek damages if departments have failed to train their officers in the proper use of deadly force."