LAUSR

Abstract Scholarship has explored how representation influences policing services, but little is known as to what effect officer and citizen race influences outcomes related to police misconduct cases. This analysis of the Indianapolis and New Orleans police department applies representative bureaucracy theory to create expectations on how race impacts citizen complaint cases. The findings indicate that Black citizens are more likely to have their complaint sustained when filed against a White officer compared to a White citizen. Moreover, male citizens are less likely to have their complaint sustained compared to females.