%0 Journal Article
%T Public Support for the Punishment of Police Use of Force Errors: Evidence of Ideological Divergence and Convergence
%A Shefali V. Patil
%J Police Quarterly
%@ 1552-745X
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/1098611118766647
%X It is widely believed that the public is ideologically divided with regard to law enforcement. Drawing on omission bias research, I challenge this assumption, arguing that such polarization is contingent on the type of use of force error officers commit. Three experimental studies demonstrate that, regardless of the suspect¡¯s race, liberals are more likely than conservatives to punish a false-positive error (e.g., shooting an unarmed suspect), because they attribute responsibility to causes within the officer¡¯s control. However, liberals and conservatives are equally unlikely to support punishing a false-negative error (failing to shoot an armed suspect), regardless of whether the suspect harms a fellow patrol officer or third-party civilian. Furthermore, bipartisan tolerance of false-negative errors is especially high among both liberals and conservatives if the withholding of force was intended to preserve the suspect¡¯s life. Implications for theory and public policy are discussed
%K political ideologies
%K use of force errors
%K public punitiveness toward officers
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098611118766647