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Lethal Force Usage by Law Enforcement Officers Against Hispanics, 2011-2020

Authors:
James Price at University of Toledo
James Price
Jagdish Khubchandani at New Mexico State University
Jagdish Khubchandani
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Abstract

Most research on lethal force by law enforcement officers (LEOs) has focused on firearm deaths by LEOs among certain racial groups (e.g., African Americans). Specifically, not much is known about LEOs-induced lethal injuries among Hispanics. The purpose of this study was to characterize LEOs induced fatal injuries, the methods used, among various demographic groups of Hispanics, and the years of potential life lost before the age of 80 years due to lethal force by LEOs. Data from the Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) were analyzed for the years 2011-2020. LEOs killed 1,158 Hispanics; most were males (96.2%) with the majority being shot (89.9%). Two-thirds (66.9%) of those killed were Hispanics 20-39 years of age and from the Western U.S. These Hispanic deaths resulted in 53,320 YPLLs. Males and those ages 20-39 years lost the most YPLLs. The rate of fatal encounters with LEOs for Hispanics grew by 44.4% over the decade, with the highest rate in 2020. Mitigation of unnecessary Hispanic deaths by LEOs needs to include changes in law enforcement agency policies, hiring practices for LEOs, improved data collection for LEOs use of lethal force, improved mental healthcare and training for LEOs, use of less lethal strategies for citizen control by law enforcement, deference education for all young adults, and long-term changes in social forces that have created and maintained disenfranchised communities of color.
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Journal of Community Health (2023) 48:819–823
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-023-01222-8
lens can result in perceived disrespect for authority should
any encounters with citizens include non-compliance with
instructions, “talking back”, and trying to evade encounters
with LEOs, just to name a few scenarios that could end in the
use of excessive force by LEOs. Furthermore, LEOs often
perceive their job primarily as a crime-ghting mission.
As a result, they may bring a demeanor of righteousness
to their job; an us-versus-them mentality that is reinforced
by strong in-group loyalty (“thin blue line”). Ocers often
come from communities they serve and bring with them the
miasmas (e.g., prejudice, myths, and misconceptions) that
infect some individuals in all communities [1–3].
In the United States (U.S.), LEOs typically kill over a
thousand citizens each year, about three individuals per
day. They shoot the equivalent of two more individuals
every day who survive for each one who is fatally shot [3].
Homicides by LEOs do not solely result from just shoot-
ings (e.g., Philando Castile, Daunte Wright), but can also
include choking (e.g. George Floyd, Eric Garner), beatings
(e.g., Tyre Nichols), and taser-induced deaths (e.g., Ron-
ald Green). What these individuals have in common is that
The primary function of law enforcement ocers (LEOs)
is to protect and serve their communities. Protection of the
public hinges, in large part, on the provision of safety and
social control of citizens through surveillance, regulation,
and discipline. Sometimes, this may extend to violence or
the use of lethal force; the reports of which have gained
widespread and frequent mass media attention in the last few
years. Despite the recent media attention, overall, too many
Americans have remained oblivious to the highly prevalent
use of lethal force by LEOs and how anomalous their use of
lethal force is in comparison to other Western countries [1].
For many LEOs, the badge, uniform, and rearm become
a source of empowerment. Egos established through this
James H. Price
jprice@utnet.utoledo.edu
1 Emeritus Professor of Public Health, University of Toledo,
43606 Toledo, OH, United States
2 Professor of Public Health, New Mexico State University,
88003 Las Cruces, NM, United States
Abstract
Most research on lethal force by law enforcement ocers (LEOs) has focused on rearm deaths by LEOs among cer-
tain racial groups (e.g., African Americans). Specically, not much is known about LEOs-induced lethal injuries among
Hispanics. The purpose of this study was to characterize LEOs induced fatal injuries, the methods used, among various
demographic groups of Hispanics, and the years of potential life lost before the age of 80 years due to lethal force by
LEOs. Data from the Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) were analyzed for the years
2011–2020. LEOs killed 1,158 Hispanics; most were males (96.2%) with the majority being shot (89.9%). Two-thirds
(66.9%) of those killed were Hispanics 20–39 years of age and from the Western U.S. These Hispanic deaths resulted
in 53,320 YPLLs. Males and those ages 20–39 years lost the most YPLLs. The rate of fatal encounters with LEOs for
Hispanics grew by 44.4% over the decade, with the highest rate in 2020. Mitigation of unnecessary Hispanic deaths by
LEOs needs to include changes in law enforcement agency policies, hiring practices for LEOs, improved data collection
for LEOs use of lethal force, improved mental healthcare and training for LEOs, use of less lethal strategies for citizen
control by law enforcement, deference education for all young adults, and long-term changes in social forces that have
created and maintained disenfranchised communities of color.
Keywords Hispanics · Latino · Violence · Firearms · Law Enforcement · Police · Racism
Accepted: 11 April 2023 / Published online: 3 May 2023
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023
Lethal Force Usage by Law Enforcement Officers Against Hispanics,
2011–2020
James H.Price1· JagdishKhubchandani2
1 3
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... This analysis involves fitting a series of joined straight lines over successive segments of time on a logarithmic scale. The Monte Carlo permutation method was conducted to test at a significance level of p = 0.05 [10,11]. Analysis of publicly available deidentified data from government databases is not considered human subjects research; no IRB approval was needed for this analysis. ...
... There are a variety of methods suggested as potential alterations for reducing unwarranted LEO killings. These methods include but are not limited to creating a national police misconduct registry, requiring body-worn cameras, de-escalation, and conflict resolution training, implicit bias reduction training, education on the nature and impact of racism, civilian oversight as a part of police behavior reviews, reconsidering over-policing in communities of color, deploying non-police responders for mental health emergencies mandatory reporting to appropriate government agencies of all use of firearm incidents, and hiring more college-educated, female, and full-time officers, [11,[18][19][20][21][22] The primary limitation of this study concerns the reliability and validity of the legal intervention mortality data of WISQARS. Police reporting of firearm deaths to the federal government is voluntary. ...
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