Tag: Police Use of Force

Why Fatal Police Shootings Aren’t Declining: Some Uncomfortable Facts | RealClearInvestigations

By James Varney & Abigail Degnan, RealClearInvestigationsApril 18, 2024
When Dexter Reed died in a shootout with Chicago police on March 21, the incident was quickly grafted onto a narrative that
— Read on www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2024/04/18/why_fatal_police_shootings_arent_declining_some_uncomfortable_facts_1025760.html

Addictive Hypervigilance and Uncontrolled Police Use of Force by Jesse Cheng :: SSRN

Abstract
This theoretical chapter draws from Gilmartin’s (1986) conceptualization of police hypervigilance to present an “addictive hypervigilance” hypothesis of uncontrolled police use of force. The hypothesis proposes that officers can develop a behavioral addiction to a reactive, fight-or-flight physiological state that promotes the misperception of threats, impairing affected officers’ ability over time to exercise appropriate restraint in the use of force. Should the hypothesis prove valid, this chapter suggests that Gilmartin’s own clinical observations would require that hypervigilance’s fear-based, on-guard mentality be modulated through the deliberate cultivation of other professional roles.
— Read on papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm

Memphis police numbers dropped by nearly a quarter in recent years – were staffing shortages a factor in the killing of Tyre Nichols?

Police departments have faced recruitment and retention problems since the 2020 George Floyd protests. It has meant some agencies have had to lower standards to attract new officers.
— Read on theconversation.com/memphis-police-numbers-dropped-by-nearly-a-quarter-in-recent-years-were-staffing-shortages-a-factor-in-the-killing-of-tyre-nichols-199078

Taser And Social, Ethnic and Racial Disparities research programme

News report

Key findings from the research suggest:

  • There is a statistical relationship between ethnicity and increased use of Taser relative to other uses of force in some areas. This is mediated by other factors such as mental ill health, but police routine data collection needs to improve to properly understand these patterns;
  • The disproportionate use of Taser across different communities and populations stems from complex interactions between multiple factors, structures, and processes, both within and external to policing;
  • Policing takes place within a society fractured by inequality and structural racism in that Black and other ethnic minority populations are more likely than White people to live in areas of deprivation;
  • A combination of institutional priorities, policies, practices, and demands mean that policing is concentrated into areas of deprivation, which in turn disproportionately impacts on people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds relative to the White population;
  • Given that police are more active in deprived neighbourhoods, this in turn makes Taser use in those areas more likely;
  • Taser has become institutionalised as an organisational level response to perceived threat and risk, which increases its use in situations that previously have been resolved in other ways, such as through dialogue;
  • Police officers count Taser among the least dangerous use of force options available to them, and risks associated with its use are under emphasised during training. Insufficient time is dedicated to discussions of ethnic disproportionality and de-escalation during Taser training, which risks creating a further push towards the use of the weapon;
  • In contrast, affected communities experience Taser as a dehumanising and potentially lethal weapon. They also emphasised the psychological harms and racialised traumas generated through use of the weapon;
  • Public scrutiny mechanisms designed to hold police officers to account lack adequate support.

See the report here:

www.ucl.ac.uk/security-crime-science/sites/security_crime_science/files/taserd_report_13_dec_2023.pdf

Reversal of qualified immunity decision in LAPD fatal shooting

A deep dive into the 2018 case where LAPD Officer Edward Agdeppa fatally shot Albert Dorsey. Explore the subsequent federal lawsuit by Dorsey’s mother against Agdeppa for alleged unreasonable deadly force, and its implications on Fourth Amendment rights.
— Read on www.police1.com/legal/articles/ninth-circuit-reverses-course-and-issues-new-ruling-giving-lapd-officer-qualified-immunity-sntvJPP8OSuv0p1S/

One in Five: Disparities in Crime and Policing

As you read this report draw your own conclusions but I must highlight that the usual attacks are made on police. It almost amounts to “nothing works” in policing in it’s current state which is absolutely false. The usual attacks are: racial disparities in policing are driven solely by racism and nothing to do with offender accountability, police tactics like pedestrian and vehicle stops are bad, police in schools are bad, broken windows doesn’t work, reduce police use of force (not that it’s a function of police being attacked), Increase police oversight (where members have personal agendas that conflict with the community and police goals). This list of grievances is a broken record without viable or proven examples of what works without policing. Nonetheless I present their argument.

Executive Summary

This report interrogates the large footprint of policing—particularly of Black Americans— as, in part, a failed response to racial disparities in serious crimes.  The wide net that police cast across people of color is at odds with advancing safety because excessive police contact often fails to intercept serious criminal activity and diminishes the perceived legitimacy of law enforcement. Excessive policing also distracts policymakers from making investments to promote community safety without the harms of policing and incarceration. In addition, the large footprint of policing gets in the way of, as the National Academies of Sciences has called for, needed “durable investments in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods that match the persistent and longstanding nature of institutional disinvestment that such neighborhoods have endured over many years.”

Nate: There are several parts to this series.

Read more here: https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/one-in-five-disparities-in-crime-and-policing/

Get a .PDF of the report here: https://www.sentencingproject.org/app/uploads/2023/10/One-in-Five-Disparities-in-Crime-and-Policing.pdf