Viewing Firearm Danger Through the Lens of Police Officers

• Author: William Terrill,Logan J. Somers
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10887679221108329
• Published date: 01 February 2023
• Date: 01 February 2023
• Subject Matter: Special Issue Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/10887679221108329

Homicide Studies

2023, Vol. 27(1) 55 –76

© 2022 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/10887679221108329

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Special Issue Article

Viewing Firearm Danger

Through the Lens of Police

Officers

William Terrill1 and Logan J. Somers2

Abstract

Despite danger being an integral part of officer decision-making during potentially

lethal encounters (see Graham v. Connor), the study of officers’ perceptions of

danger is scarce. Using a survey of over 800 police officers located in a large

metropolitan police department, this study assesses officers’ perceptions of danger

in different types of armed citizen situations involving various levels of citizen

resistance. It also identifies various contextual factors and officer characteristics in

relation to danger. The findings are used to inform future research, departmental

policy, officer training, and the “objective reasonableness” standard put in place by

the Supreme Court.

Keywords

officer danger, objective reasonableness, officer perceptions, armed citizens, firearms

Introduction

One of the major issues facing the criminal justice system today is the tension that

exists between the police and the communities they serve. Much of this strain is the

result of continuing high-profile instances of police use of lethal force (e.g., Michael

Brown, George Floyd, Laquan McDonald, Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner), which has

led to widespread calls for increased research and police reform (The President’s

Task Force on 21st Century Policing, 2015). Despite having seen great strides in

recent years with attention paid to procedural justice (Rosenbaum et al., 2017;

1Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA

2Georgia Southern University, Savannah, USA

Corresponding Author:

Logan J. Somers, The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia Southern University,

11935 Abercorn Street, Savannah, GA 31419, USA.

Email: lsomers@georgiasouthern.edu

1108329HSXXXX10.1177/10887679221108329Homicide StudiesTerrill and Somers

research-article2022

56 Homicide Studies 27(1)

Weisburd et al., 2022), body-worn cameras (Koslicki et al., 2019; White, 2019), and

de-escalation (Goh, 2021; White et al., 2021), there exists numerous other important

areas that have yet to be explored. One such area in need of further study are officer

perceptions of danger (Marenin, 2016). Early ethnographic research detailed the fun-

damental role that danger plays in the minds of officers on a day-to-day basis (Bayley

& Bittner, 1984; Bittner, 1970; Brown, 1988; Muir, 1977; Reuss-Ianni, 1983;

Skolnick, 1966, Westley, 1970). This originates from a belief shared by officers that

any encounter with citizens, regardless of how innocuous it may seem, could evolve

into a potentially life-threatening situation.

Though both scholars and practitioners acknowledge the significance of officers’

perceptions of danger in their daily work, the current state of empirical research in

this area is surprisingly limited. Much of this is due to how danger has been opera-

tionalized in past studies. For example, measures used in the prior literature have

frequently consisted of highly aggregated assessments of danger, such as the degree

to which officers believe they work in a dangerous occupation, or whether they

agree that their job is more dangerous than other professions (Cullen et al., 1983;

Ingram et al., 2013; Paoline et al., 2021; Paoline & Gau, 2018; Somers & Terrill,

2022; Terrill et al., 2003). Further, the current discourse surrounding the danger of

policing, especially in armed suspect situations, is largely being led by members of

the public, media, and politicians. Such discussion often neglects to include the

viewpoints of the officers who are actually facing potentially dangerous situations.1

Thus, conducting a systematic study of how officers view danger in armed suspect

encounters is much needed, with enormous potential for informing the “objective

reasonableness” standard for police use of force put forth by the Supreme Court (see

Graham v. Connor, 1989).

The goal of the current study is to advance police scholarship in three ways. First,

we assess how officers view danger in specific types of armed suspect encounters that

varies by the level of resistance displayed. Second, we seek to understand what types

of additional contextual factors increase officers’ perception of danger. Third, we

examine the extent to which various officer-based factors are related to officer percep-

tions of danger. We begin with a review of the prior literature that discusses the role of

danger within policing and how it relates to the objective reasonableness standard.

From there, survey data of officers from a large metropolitan police department are

used to analyze their perceptions of danger. The study closes with a discussion of the

key findings, along with research and policy implications.

Literature Review

Danger and Policing

Coping with danger has long been viewed as an essential component of what it takes

to be a police officer (Skolnick, 1966; Westley, 1970). The ever-present possibility of

being seriously hurt or killed while on the job forces officers to constantly be aware of