Are Rookie Cops Less Justified When They Kill Civilians?

Timothy Loehmann was a police officer in his first year of employment with the Cleveland Police Department when he shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice in a park in November of 2014. Peter Liang was a police officer in his first year of employment with the NYPD when he accidentally shot and killed Akai Gurley in a stairwell in November of 2014. These were two of the most well-publicized lethal shooting incidents involving a rookie cop from the last two years, and they might have led one to believe that rookie cops are the problem. Maybe rookie cops have poorer judgment than experienced veterans, and therefore one would expect them to unwisely resort to lethal force more often than experienced veterans.

The Lethal Force Database includes information about the length of time the officer spent on the police force for 768 officers who were involved in shooting incidents from January 2014 through June 2015. Rookie cops were involved in at least 36 lethal shooting incidents. But the highest number of fatal shootings came from officers with six years of experience.

The numbers start to taper off after six years of experience on the police force. This doesn’t necessarily mean that veteran officers are less likely to shoot and kill suspects. It is more likely the case that veteran police officers are less likely to have the sorts of interaction with civilians that would lead to shooting them. Veteran cops become detectives and sergeants and supervisors who take desk jobs.

If rookie cops had poorer judgment than veteran cops, then the average Shooting Justification Rating ought to be lower than the average for more experienced officers. But this isn’t necessarily the case.

It is true that second year cops have a higher average Shooting Justification Rating than rookie cops, and officers with four years of experience have a higher average than either of those two. But after four years on the force, the average Shooting Justification Rating dips lower than even for rookie cops. Beyond about 20 years on the force, the sample size is too low to make meaningful inferences.

This data suggests that the problem with the frequency and quality of justification in officer involved shootings may not be related to experience; that the problem of being too quick on the trigger is not isolated to new officers.