The DOI matches its Crossref record.
When Police Kill
Abstract
Franklin Zimring compiles data from federal records, crowdsourced research, and investigative journalism to provide a comprehensive, fact-based picture of how, when, where, and why police use deadly force. He offers prescriptions for how federal, state, and local governments could reduce killings at minimum cost without risking officers’ lives.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Any analysis of police deadly force restricted to data that only include fatalities may produce results that are statistically biased by factors that influence mortality, such as whether bullets strike vital organs [12], whether police officers administer first aid or engage in “scoop and run” practices [15, 16], and whether an adult trauma care center is nearby [17, 18].”
From Factors associated with police shooting mortality: A focus on race and a plea for more comprehensive data (2021) · cites this paper as [12]
In the citing paper
“Head/Torso shot measured whether police gunfire struck the victim’s head, chest, or upper back (1 = yes), where the odds of striking a vital organ are greater, thus increasing the likelihood of mortality [12].”
From Factors associated with police shooting mortality: A focus on race and a plea for more comprehensive data (2021) · cites this paper as [12]
In the citing paper
“we had no data on other situational factors, such as the number of rounds fired by officers or which struck victims, each of which increase the odds of mortality [12], and therefore might render some of our observed statistical relationships spurious.”
From Factors associated with police shooting mortality: A focus on race and a plea for more comprehensive data (2021) · cites this paper as [12]
Citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–182 of 182
Deadly Force by U.S. Customs and Border Protection: An Analysis of Fatal Encounters with Latinos
Hernandez, C. N., & Craig, M. O. (2024) · Sociology of Race and Ethnicity · doi:10.1177/23326492241288506 · Cited by 3
“While law enforcement officers’ use of deadly force in the United States has been a topic of concern for decades (Fyfe 1988; Oramas Mora et al. 2023; Zimring 2017), recently, it has garnered more attention with highly publicized events, such as the murder of George Floyd in 2020 (Craig and…”
America's extraordinary penal state: A structural explanation
Garland, D. (2025) · Punishment & Society · doi:10.1177/14624745241302061 · Cited by 5
“On comparative rates of police kill-ings: Zimring (2017).”
Smith, P. H., Bennett, L. W., & Paral, R. (2021) · Journal of Race Ethnicity and the City · doi:10.1080/26884674.2021.1898293 · Cited by 3
Criminologists and Historians of Crime: A Partnership Well Worth Pursuing
Roth, R. A. (2017) · Crime Histoire et Sociétés · doi:10.4000/chs.2064 · Cited by 3
The Challenges of Citizenship in Civil Society
Janoski, T., & Compion, S. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108147828.023 · Cited by 4
Olea, J. L. M., O’Flaherty, B., & Sethi, R. (2021) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3857213 · Cited by 3
“Following Zimring (2017) and Sherman (2018) we have focused on law enforcement agencies, rather than cities or states, and constructed a new yearly agency-level panel of police homicides covering the period 2013-2018.”
To Protect and to Serve: Police, Power, and the Production of Inequality in the United States
Felker-Kantor, M. (2024) · Crime and Justice · doi:10.1086/732194 · Cited by 3
Snedker, K. A. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-77565-0_33 · Cited by 2
“Gung-ho”? An Examination of the Move to Militarise Policing in Australia
Goldsworthy, T. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-13013-7_6 · Cited by 2
Dixit, P. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-10820-4_4 · Cited by 2
Lethal Force Usage by Law Enforcement Officers Against Hispanics, 2011–2020
Price, J. H., & Khubchandani, J. (2023) · Journal of Community Health · doi:10.1007/s10900-023-01222-8 · Cited by 2
Kang, Y. (2022) · Journal of Posthuman Studies · doi:10.5325/jpoststud.6.2.0111 · Cited by 2
The National Violent Death Reporting System and Police-Involved Firearm Deaths
McDowall, D. (2019) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2019.304976 · Cited by 2
Eckhouse, L. (2017) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 1
Piatkowska, S. J., Santana, A. A., & Messner, S. F. (2024) · Justice Quarterly · doi:10.1080/07418825.2024.2418908 · Cited by 1
“Although the latter sources have been included in research on police-caused homicide, they are plagued with issues related to classification and under-recording (Gray & Parker, 2020; Zimring, 2017).”
Jones, B. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.001.0001 · Cited by 2
Ethiological dimension of unlawful use of force in policing
Kesić, Z., & Bikarevic, D. (2018) · Zbornik radova Pravnog fakulteta Novi Sad · doi:10.5937/zrpfns52-17031 · Cited by 1
Herrera, J., & Schaible, L. M. (2023) · Criminal Justice Policy Review · doi:10.1177/08874034221150639 · Cited by 1
“First among these is the idea of force proportionality (S. Walker, 2006; Zimring, 2017).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialReporting Police Use of Conducted Energy Weapons to the Public: A Cross-Jurisdictional Comparison
Ryan, E., & Bedford, L. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-22705-9_7 · Cited by 1
Critical Policing Studies: Toward a “Fully Social” Framework
Ryan, H. (2023) · Critical Criminology · doi:10.1007/s10612-023-09712-w · Cited by 1
“Such killings are typically termed justifiable and defensive by local police departments; but the violence in US policing is nonetheless well-established (Geller and Toch 1996; Zimring 2017), and with figures that tower above those of comparator countries.”
BackgroundSmith, D. T., & Harris, B. G. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1235185 · Cited by 3
“…aged 10–25, Black-on-Black homicide is a significant public health crisis as negative images, symbols, and representations are linked to cultural practices and internalized and acted on by larger society and targeting Black men (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2006; Sum et al., 2009; Zimring, 2017).”
BackgroundConstitutional accountability for police shootings
Goelzhauser, G. (2023) · Journal of Empirical Legal Studies · doi:10.1111/jels.12378 · Cited by 1
Domingos, T., & Smith, C. M. M. (2024) · Socius Sociological Research for a Dynamic World · doi:10.1177/23780231241258378 · Cited by 1
“Research has documented the racial disparities among men’s experience of police violence: Black and Latinx men experience disproportionately more fatal police violence than White men (Edwards, Lee, and Esposito 2019; Zimring 2017).”
Sumoud : Periling Settler Colonialism
Mansour, A. (2025) · Comparative Studies of South Asia Africa and the Middle East · doi:10.1215/1089201x-12113372 · Cited by 1
What Drives Variation in Killings by Urban Police in the United States: Two Empirical Puzzles
Zimring, F. E. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108354721.016 · Cited by 1
Self-citationBaker, D., & Fidalgo, M. (2020) · Journal of Crime and Justice · doi:10.1080/0735648x.2020.1717583 · Cited by 1
Baker, D., & Norris, D. (2020) · International Criminal Justice Review · doi:10.1177/1057567720918928 · Cited by 1
“Similarly, if their actions are perceived to be unaccountable, these factors in combination have the capacity to create a lack of societal trust and confidence in the police (Marenin, 2016; Zimring, 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialOperationalising Minimum Force: The Need for Evidence
Evans, R., & Farmer, C. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-15-9526-4_5 · Cited by 1
‘As Well Armed as the Criminal’: The Armed Tradition
Evans, R., & Farmer, C. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-15-9526-4_4 · Cited by 1
Stereotypes and the Administration of Justice
O’Flaherty, B., & Sethi, R. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-33-4016-9_10-1 · Cited by 1
Stereotypes and the Administration of Justice
O’Flaherty, B., & Sethi, R. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-19-4166-5_10 · Cited by 1
Progrès majeurs dans les sciences criminelles : bilan du dernier demi-siècle
Cusson, M. (2023) · Revue française de criminologie et de droit pénal. · doi:10.3917/rfcdp.021.0081 · Cited by 1
Stereotypes and the Administration of JusticePreprint
O’Flaherty, B., & Sethi, R. (2021) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3808745 · Cited by 1
Strategic Bureaucratic Opacity: Evidence from Death Investigation Laws and Police KillingsPreprint
Celislami, E., Kastoryano, S., & Mastrobuoni, G. (2023) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4636865 · Cited by 1
Strategic Bureaucratic Opacity: Evidence from Death Investigation Laws and Police KillingsPreprint
Celislami, E., Kastoryano, S., & Mastrobuoni, G. (2024) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4800790 · Cited by 1
DM-FS: A Comprehensive Database on Death-Modulated Fatal Shootings
Verrey, J. (2025) · Scientific Data · doi:10.1038/s41597-025-04649-x · Cited by 1
Firearms and Violence in American LawPreprint
Zimring, F. E., & Luna, E. (2017) · SSRN Electronic Journal
Self-citationIs Gun Violence an Example of American Exceptionalism?Preprint
Weisser, M. R. (2018) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3158214
Bacci, F. (2020) · REDEN. Revista española de estudios norteamericanos/Revista española de estudios norteamericanos · doi:10.37536/reden.2020.2.1378
Critical Race Feminism and Afrocentricity
Wynn, A., Wiggan, G. A., Watson-Vandiver, M. J., & Teasdell, A. (2021) · Palgrave studies in race, inequality and social justice in education · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-75552-2_3
Harfield, C. (2021) · Policing A Journal of Policy and Practice · doi:10.1093/police/paab069
Jones, W. D. (2023) · Journal of Policy Practice and Research · doi:10.1007/s42972-023-00086-5
“Compared to other affluent nations, police officers in the USA kill the most people (Lacoe & Stein, 2018; Zimring, 2017).”
InfluentialPolice Discriminatory Enforcement and Excessive Force
MacLean, C. E., & Densley, J. A. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-39082-1_7
Descriptive Epidemiology of Females Killed by Law Enforcement Officers, 2013–2020
Price, J. H., & Payton, E. (2023) · Violence and Gender · doi:10.1089/vio.2023.0037
“Most Americans would be surprised to learn that our citizens die at the hands of LEOs at a rate 4 times that of Canada, 22 times the rate of Australia, 40 times the rate of Germany, and 125 times the rate of the United Kingdom (Zimring, 2017).”
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027454-008
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027454-007
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027454-006
CURFEW, LEGALITY, AND THE SOCIAL CONTROL OF THE NIGHT
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027454-004
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027454-005
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027454-002
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027454-003
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027454-001
Mulinari, L. S. (2024) · Nordic Journal of Criminology · doi:10.18261/njc.25.2.3
Horn, R. R., Paletta, S., Heidner, G. S., Lewinski, W. J., Bartel, L., Gwon, D., & Murray, N. P. (2025) · Ergonomics · doi:10.1080/00140139.2025.2466013
“Not surprisingly, 97.5% of officer’s deaths by intentional assaults are caused by firearms (Zimring 2017). in 2021, 73 officers were killed feloniously in the Us (law enforcement Officers Killed and assaulted database, 2023), while the number of police killed in civilian attacks in Germany and the…”
InfluentialAnderson, K. F., & Avent, T. M. (2025) · SN Social Sciences · doi:10.1007/s43545-025-01098-6
“Moreover, research has shown that both Black and Latino victims are more than twice as likely to be assumed to be carrying a weapon when they were not (DeGue et al. 2016; Zimring 2017).”
InfluentialDeadly Force in Historical PerspectivePreprint
Chanoi, C., Olea, J. L. M., O’Flaherty, B., & Sethi, R. (2025) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.5325388
“We Who Believe in Freedom”: The Duty of Forensic Psychology to Reparations Movements
Grills, C. T., & Douglas, R. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-90279-6_9
Institutionalizing Just Policing: Culture, Discretion, and the Limits of Reform
Lyons, L. (2025) · Criminal Justice Ethics · doi:10.1080/0731129x.2025.2531715
“Becoming or Getting by”: Youths’ Inclination to Join a Military Career in Times of Crisis in Brazil
Santos, A. A. D. S., de Oliveira, V. C., Filho, D. B. F., et al. (2025) · Armed Forces & Society · doi:10.1177/0095327x251373086
Neil, R., Bushway, S. D., Schell, T. L., Morral, A. R., & Smart, R. (2026) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0333424 · Cited by 1
Boehme, H. M., Tregle, B., & Nix, J. (2026) · Journal of Experimental Criminology · doi:10.1007/s11292-026-09735-7
Jones, B. H. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.003.0010
Jones, B. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.003.0011
Aggressors with Mental Illness
Jones, B. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.003.0007
Distributive Justice and Deadly Force
Jones, B. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.003.0005
Racial Disparities in Police Deadly Force
Jones, B. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.003.0008
Jones, B. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.003.0012
Jones, B. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.003.0009
Jones, B. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.005.0001
Jones, B. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.003.0001
Self-Defense, Policing, and War
Jones, B. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.003.0003
The Priority of Protecting Life
Jones, B. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197823316.003.0004
Fatal police violence near reservations: Interpreting risk in context
Ivanich, J. (2026) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2607272123
Legalized police impunity in the modern carceral state
Wulff, S. (2026) · Punishment & Society · doi:10.1177/14624745261444368
Derff, P. L. (2026) · Déviance et Société · doi:10.3917/ds.501.0035
Kwon, J., & -, A. M. (2026) · International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice · doi:10.1080/01924036.2026.2678447
Avertogenic Deaths: How Upstream Justice Decisions Shape Police Lethal Force
Adams, I. T., Logan, M. W., & Mourtgos, S. M. (2026) · Theory and Society · doi:10.1007/s11186-026-09737-4 · Cited by 1
Media, police shootings and mental illness: Is stigma a problem?
Waugh, C., Han, H., & Heffernan, E. (2026) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/00048674261475603
Non-fatal assaults on police officers in the USA, 1993–2021
McDowall, D., Xie, M., & Loftin, C. (2026) · Injury Prevention · doi:10.1136/ip-2026-046244
Browning, S. L., Cullen, F. T., Pickett, J. T., Jonson, C. L., & Bennett, J. Z. (2026) · Crime & Delinquency · doi:10.1177/00111287261481788 · Cited by 1
Ecologizing police orientations: police culture, danger, and adaptation
BURT, C. H. (2026) · Evidence Base · doi:10.1080/30679125.2026.2726781
Metadata
- Authors
- Zimring, F. E.
- Corresponding author
- Zimring, Franklin E.
- Venue
- Harvard University Press eBooks
- Publisher
- Harvard University Press
- Published
- 2017-12-31
- OpenAlex
- W2782607670
- Cited by
- 186
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 9
- FWCI
- 22.40
- Type
- book
- Language
- fr
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Harvard University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
- Social Sciences › Health › Gun Ownership and Violence Research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
- Keywords
- police use of deadly force, police killings, police brutality, gun violence, homicide prevention, police accountability, law enforcement policy
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
