Reference no: EM133414545

Deadly force: An amount of force that is likely to cause either serious bodily injury or death to another person.

The most traumatic event an officer will experience during his/her career is when they are required to use deadly force. Deadly force is defined as an officer having the authority to commit enough force as necessary to protect themselves or the lives of others up to causing death.

Officer Mary Thomas is dispatched to a domestic violence call. Dispatch calls back before Officer Thomas arrives at the scene and advises that they are sending backup because there is no weapon involved in the incident. As Officer Thomas arrives at the scene she sees the female victim on her front porch and her face is swollen and bloody. As Officer Thomas is speaking with dispatch, the boyfriend of the victim comes out of the house holding a pistol.

Officer Thomas now requests immediate backup. While Officer Thomas advises the boyfriend to put the weapon down, he starts screaming that he is going to kill the victim. The victim attempts to run at which time the boyfriend raises the weapon. The officer fires two shots knocking him to the ground. As backup arrives, the first officer goes to the suspect to make sure he is no longer a threat. The second officer takes control of the victim and calls for medical assistance.

Officer Thomas overhears the victim say she did not understand why the officer shot her boyfriend because they have had fights before. Deadly force would certainly cause stress for the officer involved in the shooting. Hearing or even reading a statement like this from the victim would cause additional stress. There are several stressors attached to this scenario.

Would the level of stress change if Officer Mary Thomas was white and the suspect black?