PBS documentary “Shots Fired”

The new PBS Frontline documentary “Shots Fired,” available here, examines police shootings in Utah, where the numbers have increased in recent years. Persons of color have been over-represented among those shot, and mental health crisis has been a factor in many of the incidents. Almost all the cases have been ruled justified, based on officers’ objectively reasonable perceptions of the violent threats they were facing. The film raises questions about the state’s 16-week police academy training program, especially the prevalence of no-win scenarios in which deadly force is inevitable, which may heighten new officers’ fears for their own safety.

Tags: Utah