“Get out of the car!” Get on the ground now! Take your hands out of your jacket! Stop moving! The suspect is a Latin American who does not speak English. The police officer shot the suspect in the chest because he refused to obey. The police officer later discovered that the man was trying to give him his ID card. Was this a justified shooting? In Albuquerque, New Mexico, situations like this happen regularly. In fact, in the last 20 months, Albuquerque police have shot 20 people, 14 of them fatally (McKay C1). Are the police justified in defending themselves or are the police using excessive force and how does this ratio of shootings in Albuquerque compare to other cities of similar size and population? Methodology Through my research, it can be seen that this controversy has two very distinct sides, however, the facts that are not as evident in my writings fall into a gray area. I conducted my research by primarily browsing several online journals and newspapers using the database called News Bank. Since this issue is very local, I decided the Albuquerque Journal would be the best source. Most newspaper articles supported the idea that police were abusing their power or defended the police's right to defend themselves. However, several periodicals suggest neutral ground between the two extremes. These articles suggest that it was only biased on the situation each police officer was in and that one should never assume that all situations in which a police officer is faced with the decision to use deadly force will be the same or justified. along with many activists, say police-involved shootings are getting "out of control" and are considered "e...... middle of paper ...... could be a knife or gun, use also a deadly tool weapon” (Galvan A1). The best way to change this policy is through crisis intervention training (Galvan A1). Conclusion Are the police justified in defending themselves or are the police using excessive force and how does this ratio of shootings in Albuquerque compare to other cities of similar size and size? population? The results show the sides of two groups of people who believe they are right. Activists against police-involved shootings say Albuquerque police officers too often respond to situations with deadly force. Police supporters say shootings are higher in Albuquerque because suspects in the area give police more reason to use deadly force. Albuquerque has the highest population-to-police ratio involved in shootings of six cities of similar size and population..