Yet there are also wider implications. Excessive force incidents severely erode the trust between the police and the public. Every single sustained allegation undermines the confidence that the community places in its police department, and therefore limits the effectiveness of the police to successfully fight crime and serve the public. When the community comes to mistrust the police, they withdraw the cooperation that is essential for police to perform their job safely and effectively (Lonsway, Wood, & Spillar, 2002). For all of these reasons it is imperative that police executives understand the dynamics of excessive force and the role that officer gender plays. Thus, it is important to view this information in light of past research on
