| The effects of a single deadly force incident are far-reaching and can have a long-term effect on police-community relations, the profession, the police officer, and his/her family, friends and co-workers (IACP, 2012). Recent high-profile deaths of unarmed men at the hands of police officers have had a dramatic effect on citizens across the country and from all demographics. Regardless of where it occurs, it has the potential to reverberate throughout the law enforcement community.;The purpose of this phenomenological study is to examine the personal experiences of police officers who used lethal or deadly force in order to understand the human factors that lead to these decisions and identify any training implications pre/post-event. The theoretical framework used for this examination was the symbolic interactionist theory, which relies on the meaning and interpretation a police officer gives to the interactions and behaviors of others. The following research question framed this study: What are the lived experiences of police officers who use lethal force?;This qualitative study utilized criterion sampling to locate participants who had experienced this phenomenon and snowball sampling to expand the sample size and obtain other similarly situated officers who had used lethal or deadly force. An open-ended interview format was used to understand this phenomenon, gain insight, and provide a deeper understanding into the participants; experiences (Fontan & Frey, 2000; Speziale & Carpenter, 2007). The research results provided conclusions regarding the participants' training and preparation, the aftermath or effects of their lethal force use, and recommendations or advice for agencies or others in a similar situation. By viewing these incidents through the participant's lens, it provided insight into areas where their agency performed satisfactorily but also highlighted where improvements can be made, and additional research should be conducted. |
