The Psychology of Police Deadly Force Encounters: Science, Practice, and Police is a fascinating look into the reality of police work. The author integrates noted theories into a “street-wise” understanding of being a police officer. The focus of this book is on the use of deadly force by officers—a topic of considerable importance. The author discusses the psychosocial aspects of deadly force use, stemming from the individual officer, the situation, organizational influences, and the police culture. Expanding further into social issues, the controversial topic of race and use of deadly force is discussed. This depiction looks at both sides—that of racial victimization and that of the police—which helps to provide a rather unique perspective on this important issue. Of interest, the author breaks down the different dimensions of cognition as a factor in decision making among police, including the perception of the situation, the action taken depending on that perception, and the role of present and past memory. This will make for a useful training topic to alert officers to the cognitive processes that go into deadly force use—processes that they have the control to change to make a better decision. Next, the book delves into the biological factors that may be involved in police decision making—again where deadly force is involved. The various negative psychological impacts that a deadly force situation may bring about are identified and explained. This book will be useful as a tool for both law enforcement practitioners and researchers to better understand the intricacies of deadly force by the police. For researchers, the book has a multitude of references available for further exploration. It will prove to be a useful guide and reference volume for police managers and supervisors, mental health clinicians, investigators, attorneys, judges, law enforcement educators and trainers, rank and file police officers, including expert witnesses.

In a cop's world it's kill or be killed, but the truth of the matter is that a shooting's aftermath is often the most dangerous time for the cop. This unique life- and career-saving manual contains every shred of critical information the police officer needs to survive the media, investigations and more.

The Handbook of Police Psychology features contributions from over 30 leading experts on the core matters of police psychology. The collection surveys everything from the beginnings of police psychology and early influences on the profession; to pre-employment screening, assessment, and evaluation; to clinical interventions. Alongside original chapters first published in 2011, this edition features new content on deadly force encounters, officer resilience training, and police leadership enhancement. Influential figures in the field of police psychology are discussed, including America’s first full-time police psychologist, who served in the Los Angeles Police Department, and the first full-time police officer to earn a doctorate in psychology while still in uniform, who served with the New York Police Department. The Handbook of Police Psychology is an invaluable resource for police legal advisors, policy writers, and police psychologists, as well as for graduates studying police or forensic psychology.

What's it like to have the legal sanction to shoot and kill? This compelling and often startling book answers this, and many other questions about the oft-times violent world inhabited by our nation's police officers. Written by a cop-turned university professor who interviewed scores of officers who have shot people in the course of their duties, Into the Kill Zone presents firsthand accounts of the role that deadly force plays in American police work. This brilliantly written book tells how novice officers are trained to think about and use the power they have over life and death, explains how cops live with the awesome responsibility that comes from the barrels of their guns, reports how officers often hold their fire when they clearly could have shot, presents hair-raising accounts of what it's like to be involved in shoot-outs, and details how shooting someone affects officers who pull the trigger. From academy training to post-shooting reactions, this book tells the compelling story of the role that extreme violence plays in the lives of America's cops.

"A great book all concealed carry people should read." "The authors know what they are talking about." "If you care about your personal well-being, read this book, and be better prepared for the realities of the street." "This is a survival Bible for all officers." "Dr. Alexis Artwohl and Loren W. Christensen have teamed up to write what has become one of the most recognized and recommended books on the psychological side of deadly force and its effects on the ones who've used it." "The book will be extremely useful to individuals after a deadly force encounter, but its greatest value is to prepare those who will have to face combat." "In a field often plagued with subjective impressions, anecdotal mythology, and political agendas, this volume stands out as a science-based practical guide to understanding, preparing for, enduring, and recovering from a law enforcement deadly force encounter with your safety and sanity intact." ~ Laurence Miller, Ph.D., clinical, forensic and police psychologist In 1997, renown police psychologist Dr. Alexis Artwohl and retired police officer Loren W. Christensen (coauthor of On Combat) wrote Deadly Force Encounters: What Cops Need To Know To Mentally And Physically Prepare For And Survive A Gunfight. It quickly became an authoritative book for police officers, police academies, college courses, and citizens legally carrying a concealed weapon. In this information-packed second edition, Deadly Force Encounters, Cops & Citizens Defending Themselves and Others, the authors again focus on the most infrequent but most challenging part of the police profession: the use of deadly force. This book is not about laws, tactics, and equipment but how the science of human performance influences the people behind the badge. This knowledge is crucial for physical, legal, and emotional survival. The studies, stories, and references that fill this volume are also essential for any person caught in a life-threatening situation, particularly citizens in the concealed carry community. The goal is to help officers (and citizens) win the fight and win the aftermath. Introduction Chapter 1: Shootout with the Devil Chapter 2: The Survival Triangle Chapter 3: Community Policing Chapter 4: Human Performance Factors Chapter 5: Mindset Chapter 6: Fear Chapter 7: Responses to Handgun Wounds are Unpredictable Chapter 8: Citizen Force Multipliers Chapter 9: Attention, Perception, and Memory Chapter 10: Decision Making Chapter 11: The Survival Bias in Decision Making Chapter 12: Training Chapter 13: Legal Survival Chapter 14: Investigations and the Courtroom Chapter 15: Short-Term Reactions to a Deadly Force Encounter Chapter 16: Traumatic Stress Reactions Chapter 17: Police Officers and Job Stress Chapter 18: Organization Stress Chapter 19: Resiliency Chapter 20: Impact on Families Bibliography

There is tremendous controversy across the United States (and beyond) when a police officer uses deadly force against an unarmed citizen, but often the conversation is devoid of contextual details. These details matter greatly as a matter of law and organizational legitimacy. In this short book, authors Jon Shane and Zoë Swenson offer a comprehensive analysis of the first study to use publicly available data to reveal the context in which an officer used deadly force against an unarmed citizen. Although any police shooting, even a justified shooting, is not a desired outcome—often termed "lawful but awful" in policing circles—it is not necessarily a crime. The results of this study lend support to the notion that being unarmed does not mean "not dangerous," in some ways explaining why most police officers are not indicted when such a shooting occurs. The study’s findings show that when police officers used deadly force during an encounter with an unarmed citizen, the officer or a third person was facing imminent threat of death or serious injury in the vast majority of situations. Moreover, when police officers used force, their actions were almost always consistent with the accepted legal and policy principles that govern law enforcement in the overwhelming proportion of encounters (as measured by indictments). Noting the dearth of official data on the context of police shooting fatalities, Shane and Swenson call for the U.S. government to compile comprehensive data so researchers and practitioners can learn from deadly force encounters and improve practices. They further recommend that future research on police shootings should examine the patterns and micro-interactions between the officer, citizen, and environment in relation to the prevailing law. The unique data and analysis in this book will inform discussions of police use of force for researchers, policymakers, and students involved in criminal justice, public policy, and policing.

Discusses the role of police psychologists in preventing and identifying individual police officers at risk for use of excessive, nonlethal force and the factors that contribute to police use of excessive force in performing their duties. Includes results of a survey conducted with 65 police psychologists in which they were asked what types of professional services they provided to police departments and how these services were used to control use of force.