Historically, public concern about police abuse of authority has constrained the police use of deadly force. Current issues in this area pertain to the conditions and standards for police firearm use, firing at fleeing felons, racial bias in police shootings, constitutional rights of victims of police shootings, police training in the use of deadly force, civil versus criminal sanctions against officers who shoot citizens, and officer stress as a factor in police shootings. Current figures on police shootings cover the percentage of off-duty officers involved in shootings, the percentage of police shootings that are fatal, the percentage of police shootings associated with various offense types, victim characteristics, and various factors associated with police shootings. Also considered are statistical and research design issues in measuring police-inflicted homicides. The paper lists policy for the use of deadly force by most police agencies, the FBI, and grand jury dispositions. The evaluation form for collecting data pertinent to a predictive risk typology for police shootings covers variables related to officers, department/administration, community and neighborhood, incident circumstances, and the victim. Examples of the application of the evaluation scale are provided, and requirements for additional research on the scale are listed. A scale form, sample calculations, and 13 references.