Learning Lethal Force: Police Firearms Training and Evaluation

The police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, among others, re-ignited public debates about how, when, and why the police should use lethal force. At the same time, advances in technology have changed how police do their job, as many police departments use virtual simulation systems to train officers. Sociologist Samantha Simon will conduct 50 in-depth interviews and an ethnography of firearms training at a small police department in Missouri, to address the following questions: (1) How are police officers trained to use firearms? (2) How does virtual simulation technology shape this training? (3) To what extent do ideologies of race and gender structure how lethal force is conceptualized and taught? The investigator will observe and participate in firearms exams, firearms training at shooting ranges, and virtual scenario training to better understand how departments train officers to think about and use lethal force. By concentrating on in-service training, she will expand theories of organizational socialization.