There are always two sides to policy: Police use of deadly force

This qualitative phenomenological study examined the policy-specific, perceptional, and conceptual knowledge that citizens have regarding policing policies and police-citizen deadly force encounters to gain a greater understanding of how media, social media, and community leaders impact this public knowledge. This study provided insight into the public’s policy-specific knowledge and perceptions about policing policies and police-citizen deadly force incidents filling the gap within the existing police use of force literature. Bittner’s theory on policing, constructionism of reality, and the exemplification theory were used in a unique conceptual framework to understand this phenomenon. Interviews were conducted with 19 members of the public. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological process and AQUAD 7 qualitative software. Five themes emerged related to influences of public knowledge, and 2 themes related to the impact media, social media, and community leaders have on public knowledge about policing policies and police-citizen deadly force encounters. Recommendations are addressed for policing agencies to implement educational programs about policing policies for the public regarding use of force. Study findings could be used by policy makers to improve transparency and legitimacy issues between police and the public