A study examines fatality risks during police encounters. Racial disparity has been tied to police encounters in the United States, but the rates of fatal encounters remain unclear. To determine how age, race, and sex affect fatality risk from police violence, Frank Edwards and colleagues analyzed 2013-2018 data from the National Vital Statistic System's mortality files and Fatal Encounters, a journalist-led effort to document deaths involving police. Black men had the highest fatality risk, and the authors estimated 1 fatality from police use of force for every 1,000 black male births. Black men were 2.5 times more likely to be killed than white men, and black women were 1.4 times more likely to be killed than white women. American Indian men were approximately 1.45 times more likely to be killed than white men, and American Indian women were about 1.6 times more likely to be killed than white women. Although Latino men were approximately 1.35 times more likely to be killed than white men, Latina women were about 17.5% less likely to be killed than white women. Asian and Pacific Islander women had the lowest fatality risk. Across all groups, fatality risk peaked between the ages of 20 and 35 years. According to the authors, the study underscores links between racial disparities and police violence.
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Article #18-21204: "Risk of being killed by police use of force in the United States by age, race-ethnicity, and sex," by Frank Edwards, Hedwig Lee, and Michael Esposito.
MEDIA CONTACT: Frank Edwards, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ; tel: 312-608-1716; email: < frank.edwards@rutgers.edu >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences