About the Study: In this ecological cohort study, low neighborhood opportunity was associated with a higher county-level concentration of fatal police pursuit incidents. These patterns persisted above and beyond residence, demographic characteristics, and violent crime rates. These findings document the geographic concentration of fatal police pursuit incidents and identify low-opportunity communities as disproportionately affected. As data on total pursuit frequency become available, future research should examine whether the observed concentration of fatal pursuit incidents in low-opportunity communities reflects differences in pursuit frequency, pursuit lethality, or both.
Corresponding Author: Jemar R. Bather, PhD, Department of Biostatistics, New York University School of Global Public Health, 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003 ( jemar.bather@nyu.edu ).
10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.30679
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JAMA Network Open
Neighborhood Opportunity and Fatal Police Pursuits in the US