“Police Prosecution Outcomes”

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Rachel Moran now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract:

When it comes to prosecutions of police officers for homicide-related offenses, opinions are plentiful but data is scarce. Many believe that officers are too rarely prosecuted when they kill people. Some fret that charging officers is futile because juries and judges will be reluctant to convict. Still others feel that criminal prosecutions unfairly scapegoat officers who were using reasonable force in the line of duty.

Despite the debates surrounding these prosecutions, empirical research remains sparse. What percentage of police homicides result in criminal charges? What happens when prosecutors do file charges? What are the conviction rates? How often are these charges dismissed? Are judges or juries more likely to convict? When officers are convicted, what sentences do they receive? How do these outcomes compare to prosecutions of civilians for similar conduct? Legal scholarship is mostly silent on all these questions.

This Article adds data to the conversation. It summarizes the results of a multi-year study of all known criminal prosecutions of non-federal law enforcement officers in the United States who were charged in relation to on-duty homicides between 2013 and 2023.  The data gathered includes the number of officers charged; types of charges filed; demographic information about both officers and decedents; and the outcomes of every case, including whether the charges resulted in conviction, dismissal, or acquittal, and whether the outcome occurred via plea or a decision by a judge, jury, or prosecutor.  When officers were convicted, the dataset also includes the most serious conviction for each officer and the sentences imposed.  The results are fascinating and often surprising, offering lessons for readers on all sides of the debates about police prosecutions.