Police decisionmaking in violent encounters reflects styles of control, three of which are considered in this analysis: whether to arrest the combatants, to mediate the problem, or to resolve the matter by separating the disputing parties. Drawing on Black's theory of law and previous studies of police behavior, factors hypothesized to influence styles of control include characteristics of the parties involved such as race, sex, and relationship; aspects of encounter itself, such as weapon use, location, and whether the citizens involved have been drinking; and the context in which the encounter occurs, such as the type of neighborhood. The analysis indicates that how police handle these encounters reflects who is involved in addition to what has occurred, and that police may respond more to victims than to offenders. The implications of these findings for a more complete understanding of police decisionmaking are discussed. (Publisher abstract)