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Organizational factors that contribute to police deadly force liability

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  • Lee, Hoon
  • Vaughn, Michael S.

Abstract

Police use of deadly force is a significant concern for municipal policymakers and law enforcement agencies. Following U.S. Supreme Court case law, police agencies and municipal entities may be held civilly liable under Section 1983 for force that is not objectively reasonable; for failure to train; and for policies, customs, and practices that cause constitutional injury. This article analyzes eighty-six cases from the U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Courts of Appeals on Section 1983 liability regarding police use of deadly force. The article focuses specifically on police firearm use in deadly force situations, highlighting how managerial disorganization and administrative breakdown impacts departmental decision making. Principles of management, such as division of labor, hierarchy of authority, span of control, unity of command, and communication are used to explain bad shootings that lead to potential police liability.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Hoon & Vaughn, Michael S., 2010. "Organizational factors that contribute to police deadly force liability," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 193-206, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:38:y::i:2:p:193-206
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kappeler, Victor E. & Del Carmen, Rolando V., 1990. "Police civil liability for failure to arrest intoxicated drivers," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 117-131.
    2. Fyfe, James J., 1979. "Administrative interventions on police shooting discretion: An empirical examination," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 309-323.
    3. Dias, Clarissa Freitas & Vaughn, Michael S., 2006. "Bureaucracy, managerial disorganization, and administrative breakdown in criminal justice agencies," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 543-555.
    4. Vaughn, Michael S., 1996. "Prison civil liability for inmate-against-inmate assault and breakdown/disorganization theory," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 139-152.
    5. Vaughn, Michael S. & Coomes, Lisa F., 1995. "Police civil liability under section 1983: When do police officers act under color of law?," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 395-415.
    6. Micucci, Anthony J. & Gomme, Ian M., 2005. "American police and subcultural support for the use of excessive force," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 487-500.
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    Cited by:

    1. Marilyn D Thomas & Alexis N Reeves & Nicholas P Jewell & Eli K Michaels & Amani M Allen, 2021. "US law enforcement policy predictors of race-specific police fatalities during 2015–16," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-17, June.

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