Protecting life : the ethics of police deadly force / Ben Jones.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jones, Ben, 1985- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Police--United States.

Police.

Police brutality.

Police shootings.

Police-community relations.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2026]

Summary:

The idea that police should prioritize protecting life seems obvious. Many use-of-force policies already endorse the principle. But despite general support for this principle in and out of policing, figuring out what exactly it means in practice proves far more challenging. In 'Protecting Life', Ben Jones takes up that challenge and provides strategies for navigating it.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Introduction

The Scope of the Problem

Common Ground in a Polarized Debate

Policing and Distributive Justice

Should Different Rules Apply to Police?

Some Remarks on Methodology

Key Terms

Overview of What's to Come

PART I Ethical Framework for Deadly Force

1 Self-Defense, Policing, and War

Defensive Force

Core Justificatory Criteria: Just Aim, Proportionality, and Necessity

Which Aims Justify Police Deadly Force?

What Policing Shares with Self-Defense

What Policing Shares with War.

Policing as Its Own Domain of Defensive Force

2 The Priority of Protecting Life

A Principle with Broad Support

The Right to Life

Puzzle 1: Nonlethal Threats that Justify Deadly Force

Puzzle 2: Balancing the Right to Life with Other Rights

Puzzle 3: Weighing Lives Under Uncertainty

A More Nuanced Account of Prioritizing the Protection of Life

3 Distributive Justice and Deadly Force

Distributive Justice

A Muddled Debate: Distributive Justice and Defensive Force

Micro- and Macro-Level Justice

Culpability's Importance for Micro-Level Justice.

Vulnerability's Importance for Macro-Level Justice

Police's Role in Advancing Distributive Justice

PART II Contemporary Challenges

4 Aggressors with Mental Illness

Culpability, Vulnerability, and Mental Illness

Proposal 1: Diminished Protections Account

Proposal 2: Traditional Account

Proposal 3: Culpability Account

Proposal 4: Vulnerability Account

Proposal 5: Fusion Account

Addressing Objections to the Fusion Account

Implications for Police Administrators

Implications for Officers

Implications for the Law

5 Racial Disparities in Police Deadly Force.

What the Data Say

Explanation 1: Individual Bias

Explanation 2: Disparate Enforcement

Explanation 3: Differential Involvement Hypothesis

The Moral Issues at Stake in the Debate over Racial Disparities

Structural Racism's Link to Violent Crime

Implications for Police Reform

The Limits of Police Reform

6 Police-Generated Killings

Obligation to Reduce the Risk of Deadly Force

The Problem of Police-Generated Killings

Accountability for Bad Tactics

Where the Law Falls Short

The Case and Tools for Reform

7 Fleeing "Dangerous" Suspects.

The Imminence Requirement

Police's Exemption from the Imminence Requirement

Garner's Limitations

Gesturing at the Imminence Requirement

Move Toward the Imminence Requirement in Policing

Doing/Allowing Distinction

Equality Before the Law

Objection 1: The Imminence Requirement Undermines Respect for the Law

Objection 2: The Imminence Requirement Undermines the Protection of Life

Clearer Guidance for Police

Conclusion

Appendix Model Deadly Force Policy

Model Policy

Acknowledgments

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (Oxford Academic, viewed on July 31, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version : Jones, Ben, 1985- Protecting life.

ISBN:

9780197823316

0197823319

OCLC:

1574527108

Publisher Number:

CIPO000359194

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license