Good Cop, Bad Cop, Black Cop, White Cop: Unraveling Public Perceptions of Police Use of Force

Participants in this study were presented with a police-citizen interaction involving force but the race of the officer and his prior conduct with the community was varied. Findings show that while varying the race of a police officer does not affect participant judgments about the officer's behavior, his redeemability, nor his punishment, a significant interaction exists for officer race and his conduct record; a Black officer with a history of commendations was viewed more favorably and a White officer with a history of misconduct was viewed less favorably. Overall, this study highlights the implications of diversifying police departments for public attitudes about police use of force.