Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c47g7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-17T20:14:26.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE

Examining Controversial Officer Involved Shootings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2016

Robert J. Durán
Robert J. Durán*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Tennessee
*
*Corresponding author: Robert J. Durán, PhD, Department of Sociology, University of Tennessee, 901 McClung Tower, 1115 Volunteer Blvd., Knoxville, TN, 37996-0490. E-mail: rduran@utk.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article provides a thematic overview of a subset of controversial officer involved shootings that have occurred in Denver, Colorado during a period of thirty years (1983-2012). Determining whether a shooting was legally justified involved multiple participants, including local, national, and international representatives. The primary stakeholders were City and County District Attorneys regarding whether to file criminal charges against the officer, and Managers of Safety for whether officers acted within police departmental policy. Although most cases were processed without conflict, a small number were challenged by members of the community based on thematic reasons of shooting individuals who had not committed a crime, violating continuum of force standards, and entrusting law enforcement officers with the power to use deadly force both off-duty and while working secondary jobs. Despite outcome legitimacy vested in a small number of public officials, community members often reported a lack of justice and accountability. They struggled to get public officials to take notice and implement systematic change. Reviewing controversial shootings highlights the multiple issues involved in protecting law enforcement officers from encountering criminal charges, and in essence the procurement of colonial control. Critical Race Theory (interest convergence and storytelling), Social Dominance Theory, along with the historical framework of W. E. B. Du Bois, were utilized to explore a number of officer-involved shootings that continue to produce disparate outcomes by race, class, and gender.

Keywords

Officer Involved ShootingsInjusticeInnocenceYoung Black and Latino MalesOff-dutyCritical Race TheorySocial Dominance TheoryMinority Perspective
Type
State of the Art
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , Spring 2016 , pp. 61 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © Hutchins Center for African and African American Research 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bell, Derrick A. (1980). Brown v. Board of Education and the Interest-Convergence Dilemma. Harvard Law Review, 93: 518–533.Google Scholar
Binder, Arnold, and Scharf, Peter (1982). Deadly Force in Law Enforcement. Crime and Delinquency, 28: 1–23.Google Scholar
Bobb, Merrick, Melekian, Bernard K., Root, Oren, Barge, Mathew, and Naguib, Camelia (2008). The Denver Report on Use of Deadly Force. Police Assessment Resource Center: Los Angeles, CA.Google Scholar
Bright, Stephen B. (1994). Counsel for the Poor: The Death Sentence not for the Worst Crime but for the Worst Lawyer. Yale Law Journal, 103: 1835–1883.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, Jodi M., and Langan, Patrick A. (2001). Policing and Homicide, 1976–98: Justifiable Homicide by Police, Police Officers Murdered by Felons. NCJ 180987, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Burch, Andrea M. (2011). Arrest-Related Deaths, 2003–2009. NCJ 235385, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Caplan, David I. (2000). Even Deadly Force: Fully Justifiable Homicide vs. Barely Excusable Homicide. Journal on Firearms and Public Policy, 7: 7–16.Google Scholar
Carnahan, Ann (1993). Jury Acquits Patrolman in Man’s Death. Rocky Mountain News, December 18, A4.Google Scholar
Carrigan, William D. (2004). The Making of a Lynching Culture: Violence and Vigilantism in Central Texas 1836–1916. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Colorado Revised Statutes (2013). Title 18, Criminal Code. 18-1-707.Google Scholar
Cook, Philip J., and Ludwig, Jens (2002). Gun Violence: The Real Costs. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cook, Phil, Moore, Mark, and Braga, Anthony (2000). Gun Control. Working Paper, John F. Kennedy School of Government. Harvard University. Faculty Research Working Paper Series.Google Scholar
Crecente, Brian D. (2001). Expert: Officer Likely Lied about Fatal Shooting Commission Will Seek Reprimand after it hears that the Evidence Doesn’t Support Lawman’s Story. Rocky Mountain News, December 21.Google Scholar
Culliver, Concetta and Sigler, Robert (1995). Police Use of Deadly Force in Tennessee Following Tennessee v. Garner . Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 11: 187–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Death Penalty Information Center. Executions in the United States. <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions-united-states> (accessed March 5, 2016).+(accessed+March+5,+2016).>Google Scholar
Delgado, Richard (1989). Legal Storytelling: Storytelling for Oppositionists and Others: A Plea for Narrative. Michigan Law Review, 87, 2411–2441.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delgado, Richard, and Stefancic, Jean (2005). The Derrick Bell Reader. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Delgado, Richard, and Stefancic, Jean (2012). Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Denver Police Department Operations Manual. 105.00 Use of Force Policy. Revised March 2010. <https://www.denvergov.org/portals/720/documents/operationsmanual/105.pdf> (accessed March 5, 2016).+(accessed+March+5,+2016).>Google Scholar
Dominguez, Alan (2007). The Holes in the Door. Documentary. Loco Lane Filmworks.Google Scholar
Dray, Phillip (2002). At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1994). The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Dover Publications.Google Scholar
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1996). The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durán, Robert J. (2013). Gang Life in Two Cities: An Insider’s Journey. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Early, Norman S. (1983). Decision Letter: Leilani Lucero. February 22.Google Scholar
Early, Norman S. (1993). Decision Letter: Miguel Angel Ochoa. February 11.Google Scholar
Ensslin, John C. (2003). Suit Alleges Conspiracy in Mena’s Death. Rocky Mountain News, January 24, A6.Google Scholar
Ensslin, John C., and Huntley, Sarah (2003). Threat by Cop Alleged- Ex-Mother-in-Law Says James Turney Warned he would shoot her. Rocky Mountain News, July 10.Google Scholar
Erickson Commission (1997). Report of the Erickson Commission . Denver, Colorado.Google Scholar
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports. <http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr> (accessed February 29, 2016).+(accessed+February+29,+2016).>Google Scholar
Flynn, Kevin (2000). Denver Pays $712,000 in Claims against the Police. Rocky Mountain News, April 12, A5.Google Scholar
Fyfe, James J. (1980). Always Prepared: Police Off-duty Guns. The Annals of the American Academy, 452: 72–81.Google Scholar
Fyfe, James J. (1988). Police Use of Deadly Force: Research and Reform. Justice Quarterly, 5: 165–205.Google Scholar
Fyfe, James J. (2002). Too Many Missing Cases: Holes in Our Knowledge about Police Use of Force. Justice Research and Policy, 4: 87–102.Google Scholar
Gabbidon, Shaun L. (2001). W. E. B. Du Bois: Pioneering American Criminologist. Journal of Black Studies, 31(5): 581–599.Google Scholar
Geertz, Clifford (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Geolytics. National Change Database CD: 1970–2000.Google Scholar
Gouldner, Alvin W. (1968). The Sociologist as Partisan: Sociology and the Welfare State. The American Sociologist, 3(2): 103–116.Google Scholar
Graham v. Connor (1989). 490 U.S. 386.Google Scholar
Haley, Hillary, and Sidanius, Jim. 2005. Person-Organization Congruence and the Maintenance of Group-Based Social Hierarchy: A Social Dominance Perspective. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 8(2): 187–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, Wayne (2013). Firing of Denver Officer who Brought AR-15, Ammo from Home is Upheld. 7News. The Denver Channel, January 31.Google Scholar
Hemenway, David (2004). Private Guns: Public Health. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan.Google Scholar
Hirschfield, Paul J., and Simon, Daniella (2010). Legitimating Police Violence: Newspaper Narratives of Deadly Force. Theoretical Criminology, 14: 155–182.Google Scholar
Hunt, Jennifer, and Manning, Peter K. (1991). The Social Context of Police Lying. Symbolic Interaction, 14(1): 51–70.Google Scholar
Kerwin, Katie (1993). Grand Jury Indicts Cop in Fatal Shooting. Rocky Mountain News, March 20.Google Scholar
Langbien, Sarah (2006). City asks Panel to Review Cop Ruling: Discipline Leveled at Officer James Turney Overturned in 2005. Rocky Mountain News, March 17.Google Scholar
Lepley, Charles (2003). Decision Letter: Michael Grimaldo. July 21.Google Scholar
Lewis, David Levering (1993). W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race: 1868–1919. New York: Owl Books.Google Scholar
Lewis, David Levering (2002). W. E. B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919–1963. New York: Henry Holt and Company.Google Scholar
Lipsher, Steve (1992). Man Pleaded, ‘Don’t Shoot,’ Witnesses Say. Denver Post, September 2, A1.Google Scholar
Lowe, Peggy (2001). Glass, Gun, and Blood Focus of ‘Forensic Battle. Rocky Mountain News, November 24.Google Scholar
McGhee, Tom (2012). Lawyer: Fired Cop Mistakenly Loaded Incorrect Ammo. Denver Post, February 22, B6.Google Scholar
Meyer, Jeremy P. (2012). City may Settle Cop-Shooting Suit. Denver Post, May 19, A2.Google Scholar
Morrissey, Mitchell R. (2011). Officer-Involved Shooting Protocol. <http://www.denverda.org/News_Release/Decision_Letters/PS-2011%20Protocol.pdf > (accessed February 29, 2016).+(accessed+February+29,+2016).>Google Scholar
Morrissey, Mitchell R. (2010). Decision Letter: Diamond Demmer. July 26.Google Scholar
Olinger, David (2004). Shooting Victim had Long Police Record – He had been sentenced to Rehab Center and was violating a Judge’s Order by being at the Residence. Denver Post, July 13, A8.Google Scholar
Osher, Christopher N. (2007). Ford, ‘Trigger Happy,’ Woman who Dated Him Says. Denver Post, April 24.Google Scholar
Pankratz, Howard (2000). Bini Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge in Fatal Raid. Denver Post, October 26.Google Scholar
Pankratz, Howard (2008). Affidavit: Ex-Cop Locked Girls in - Joseph Bini is being Investigated for Child Enticement in the Case. Denver Post. June 5.Google Scholar
Payne, B. Keith (2006). Weapon Bias: Split-Second Decisions and Unintended Stereotyping. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(6): 287–291.Google Scholar
Payne, B. Keith (2001). Prejudice and Perception. The Role of Automatic and Controlled Processes in Misperceiving a Weapon. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(2): 181–192.Google Scholar
Phillips, Coretta, and Bowling, Benjamin (2003). Racism, Ethnicity and Criminology: Developing Minority Perspectives. British Journal of Criminology, 43: 269–290.Google Scholar
Ravkind, William M. (1959). Justifiable Homicide in Texas. Southwestern Law Journal, 13: 508–524.Google Scholar
Reiss, Albert J. (1980). Controlling Police Use of Deadly Force. The ANNALS of the American Academy, 452: 122–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ritter, William A. (1997). Decision Letter: Manuel Moreno-Delgado. April 7.Google Scholar
Rojek, Jeff, Alpert, Geoffrey P., and Smith, Hayden P. (2010). Examining Officer and Citizen Accounts of Police Use-of-Force Incidents. Crime and Delinquency, 58(2): 301–327.Google Scholar
Russell-Brown, Katheryn (1998). The Color of Crime: Racial Hoaxes, White Fear, Black Protectionism, Police Harassment, and other Macroaggressions. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Russell-Brown, Katheryn (2004). Underground Codes: Race, Crime, and Related Fires. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Sidanius, Jim, and Pratto, Felicia. 1999. Social Dominance: An Intergroup Theory of Social Hierarchy and Oppression. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sidanius, Jim, Pratto, Felicia, van Laar, Colette, and Levin, Shana (2004). Social Dominance Theory: Its Agenda and Method. Political Psychology, 25(6): 845–880.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simpson, Kevin (1993). Cop’s Murder Trial Turns on Words the Victim can’t repeat. Denver Post, December 2, B1.Google Scholar
Small Arms Survey (2008). Chapter 7: Reducing Armed Violence: The Public Health Approach. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Southwick, Lawrence (1999). Guns and Justifiable Homicide: Deterrence and Defense. St. Louis University Public Law Review, 18: 217–246.Google Scholar
Sparger, Jerry R., and Giacopassi, David J. (1992). Memphis Revisited: A Reexamination of Police Shootings after the Garner Decision. Justice Quarterly, 9: 211–225.Google Scholar
Stolen Lives Project (1999). Stolen Lives: Killed by Law Enforcement. October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation. New York.Google Scholar
Takagi, Paul (1974). A Garrison State in Democratic Society. Crime and Social Justice, Spring/Summer: 27–32.Google Scholar
Takagi, Paul (1979). LEAA’s Research Solicitation: Police Use of Deadly Force. Crime and Social Justice, Spring/Summer: 51–59.Google Scholar
Takagi, Paul (1981). Race, Crime, and Social Policy: A Minority Perspective. Crime and Delinquency, 27(1): 48–63.Google Scholar
Tennenbaum, Abraham N. (1994). The Influence of the Garner Decision on Police Use of Deadly Force. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 85: 241–260.Google Scholar
Tennessee v. Garner (1985). 471 U.S. 1.Google Scholar
Vaughan, Kevin (2000). Cops Allegation brings Swift Action. Rocky Mountain News, January 29, A5.Google Scholar
Weisburd, David, Greenspan, Rosann, Hamilton, Edwin E., Williams, Hubert, and Bryant, Kellie A. (2000). Police Attitudes toward Abuse of Authority: Findings from a National Study. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.Google Scholar
White, Michael D. (2000). Assessing the Impact of Administrative Policy on Use of Deadly Force by On- and Off-Duty Police. Evaluation Review, 24(3): 295–318.Google Scholar