Moving beyond “Best Practice”: Experiences in Police Reform and a Call for Evidence to Reduce Officer-Involved Shootings

AuthorHannah D. McManus,Robin S. Engel,Gabrielle T. Isaza
Published date01 January 2020
DOI10.1177/0002716219889328
Date01 January 2020
Subject MatterPolicy-Making and Fatal Police Shootings
146 ANNALS, AAPSS, 687, January 2020
DOI: 10.1177/0002716219889328
Moving beyond
“Best Practice”:
Experiences in
Police Reform
and a Call for
Evidence to
Reduce Officer-
Involved
Shootings
By
ROBIN S. ENGEL,
HANNAH D. MMANUS,
and
GABRIELLE T. ISAZA
889328ANN The Annals Of The American AcademyMoving beyond “best practice”
research-article2019
In post-Ferguson America, police departments are
being challenged to implement evidence-based changes
in policies and training to reduce fatal police-citizen
encounters. Of the litany of recommendations believed
to reduce police shootings, five have garnered wide-
spread support: body-worn cameras, de-escalation
training, implicit bias training, early intervention sys-
tems, and civilian oversight. These highly endorsed
interventions, however, are not supported by a strong
body of empirical evidence that demonstrates their
effectiveness. Guided by the available research on
evidence-based policing and informed by the firsthand
experience of one of the authors in implementing
departmental reforms that followed the fatal shooting
of a civilian by an officer, this article highlights promis-
ing reform strategies and opportunities to build the
evidence base for effective use-of-force reforms. We
call upon police executives to engage in evidence-based
policing by scientifically testing interventions, and we
call on academics to engage in rapid research responses
for critical issues in policing.
Keywords: evidence-based policing; police shootings;
use of force; police reform
On July 19, 2015, Samuel DuBose was
stopped by University of Cincinnati Police
Division (UCPD) Officer Raymond Tensing
approximately 0.5 mile south of the University
of Cincinnati (UC) campus for a minor equip-
ment violation (missing front license plate, a
traffic violation in the State of Ohio). After a
brief exchange, DuBose, an unarmed 43-year-
old black male, was shot and killed by Officer
Robin S. Engel is director of the IACP/UC Center for
Police Research and Policy and a professor of criminal
justice at the University of Cincinnati. She recently
served as vice president for safety and reform at the
University of Cincinnati. Her work includes establish-
ing academic-practitioner partnerships and promoting
evidence-based practices in policing, with empirical
assessments of police behavior and evaluations of crime
reduction strategies.
Correspondence: robin.engel@uc.edu
MOVING BEYOND “BEST PRACTICE” 147
Tensing, a 25-year-old white male. The incident was captured on Tensing’s depart-
ment-issued body-worn camera (BWC), but still the circumstances surrounding
the shooting were widely debated within the Cincinnati community, sparking
protests, independent investigations, civil litigation, and criminal trials. An inde-
pendent consulting firm commissioned by the university to perform an external
review of the incident found that the shooting was “entirely preventable” and
concluded it was the officer’s “critical errors in judgment that created an elevated
risk of a serious or fatal bodily injury” (Kroll 2015, 46). Ten days after the incident,
Tensing was indicted by the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office for murder. His
first criminal trial concluded in November 2015, resulting in a hung jury, while a
second trial in June 2017 garnered the same outcome. Concerns regarding racial
bias overshadowed the criminal proceedings and flowed into the public discourse.
In July 2017, the county prosecutor announced a third trial would not be con-
ducted, and the charges against the defendant were dropped.1
This tragic incident and its aftermath sent shockwaves through the Cincinnati
community, a city with a troubled history of racial tension and damaged police-
community relations (Eck and Rothman 2006); however, it is far from a unique
story in American policing. The fatal DuBose-Tensing encounter in summer
2015 occurred amid a spate of other police-involved deaths of unarmed black
males.2 Described by Sherman (2018) as the “Second Great Awakening,” the
reaction to these high-profile incidents involving the killing of unarmed citizens
by American police has included public protests, civil unrest, widespread media
attention, and heightened public scrutiny of police.
Notably, the growth in public angst regarding police bias and use of force has
been accompanied by rising concerns regarding police officers’ safety. Violent
incidents, including the murder of five police officers and wounding of nine oth-
ers in Dallas, Texas, in July 2016, followed by an ambush attack killing three
officers and wounding three more in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, led to national
reflection and discussions regarding officer safety. Although overall assaults, inju-
ries, and death of officers in the line of duty have continually decreased over the
Hannah D. McManus is a research associate for the IACP/UC Center for Police Research and
Policy and a doctoral candidate in the School of Criminal Justice at the University of
Cincinnati. Her recent work includes the evaluation of police training, the study of public
perceptions of police, and the promotion of evidence-based practice to enhance police officer
safety and wellness.
Gabrielle T. Isaza is a research associate for the IACP/UC Center for Police Research and
Policy and a doctoral candidate in the School of Criminal Justice at the University of
Cincinnati. Her areas of research include police effectiveness; survey design; and evaluations
of police training programs, including de-escalation and implicit bias.
NOTE: Ideas and concepts presented within this article were generated in coordination with
other research conducted for the IACP / UC Center for Police Research and Policy, funded by
Arnold Ventures. The information and commentary within this article, however, are from the
authors and do not necessarily represent the official positions or policies of Arnold Ventures or
the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT