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. 2017 Feb;107(2):295-297.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303575. Epub 2016 Dec 20.

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Use of Lethal Force by US Police, 2010-2014

James W Buehler  1
Affiliations

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Use of Lethal Force by US Police, 2010-2014

James W Buehler. Am J Public Health. 2017 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: To update previous examinations of racial/ethnic disparities in the use of lethal force by US police.

Methods: I examined online national vital statistics data for deaths assigned an underlying cause of "legal intervention" (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, external-cause-of-injury codes Y35.0-Y35.7, excluding Y35.5 [legal execution]) for the 5-year period 2010 to 2014.

Results: Death certificates identified 2285 legal intervention deaths (1.5 per million population per year) from 2010 to 2014. Among males aged 10 years or older, who represented 96% of these deaths, the mortality rate among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic individuals was 2.8 and 1.7 times higher, respectively, than that among White individuals.

Conclusions: Substantial racial/ethnic disparities in legal intervention deaths remain an ongoing problem in the United States.

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References

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