To Shoot or Not to Shoot: What is a Police Officer to Do?

Reading time: 5 minutes
What factors determine whether a police officer shoots or not? Our brains are complex, but we can narrow it down to several factors: (1) race of the suspect, (2) priming of the officer to shoot, and (3) the possibility that the suspect is armed. With so many guns in society, police have to assume everyone is armed. It all adds up to ensuring that PoC are hurt first and worst by our violence prone policing.