Exploring Attitudes within Legal Precedents Related to Police Use of Force

Policing is a dangerous profession: Data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety revealed that policing is the second highest in occupational homicides (White et al., 2019). Fifty-nine police officers were killed in the line of duty from January 1, 2021, to September 30, 2021, which is a 51% increase compared to results found in 2020 (FBI, 2021). Therefore, officers must-read situational cues, communicate effectively, and make decisions to choose the best actions for a situation whether that be de-escalation or escalation, all within fractions of seconds. These decisions are rarely black and white with each situation being different and offering a diverse variety of implications. Considerable research has been completed involving both the type and application of force with little emphasis on the public’s opinion related to how force is used. Policing operates under cooperative relations with the public/legislative mandate and must have public support for officers to be effective at their jobs (Peyton et al., 2019; Ranchordás, 2018). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the public’s opinion related to police officers’ decision-making during use-of-force situations for the residents of San Antonio, Texas. The theories guiding this study are contemporary theory and social interaction theory. Contemporary theory is utilized due to its guidance on consensus views, since policing needs systematic change that requires contemporary police training incorporating andrological principles to reduce the chance of using force (Blumberg et al., 2019; Cowell et al., 2021; Boxer et al., 2021). Social interaction theory is applied and recognizes the need for de-escalation police training, which is based on social interactions theory and law enforcement personnel social interactions (Wolfe et al., 2020).