Data were obtained in 1991 through telephone interviews that asked respondents to indicate whether they approved or disapproved of police officers using deadly force to stop a person involved in one of several crimes (purse snatching, motor vehicle theft, larceny, drunk driving, selling drugs, burglary, rape, and armed robbery). Over 80 percent of respondents favored the use of deadly force to stop offenders who manifested past dangerousness in the areas of rape and armed robbery. In contrast, most respondents disapproved of using deadly force when felons had not committed a violent crime. Blacks were less likely than whites to endorse the illegal use of deadly force. Attitudinal cleavage appeared to be rooted in broad racial differences in crime ideology, with blacks being more liberal and whites being more conservative in their crime control views. 47 references and 2 tables