TY - JOUR
T1 - Injuries Due to Law Enforcement Use of Force in the United States, 2006-2015
T2 - Trends in Severity and by Race
AU - Strömmer, E. M.F.
AU - Leith, Wendy
AU - Zeegers, Maurice P.
AU - Freeman, Michael D.
N1 - Funding Information:
Raw data were generated using the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS), as a part of a family of databases developed by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project by the Department of Health and Human Services, and sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, as well as the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System - All Injuries Program (NEISS-AIP), from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and expanded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author E.M.F.S. on request.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2024/10
Y1 - 2024/10
N2 - Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess incidence and severity of hospital reported injuries related to law enforcement Use of Force (UoF) in the US over time, and by race. Methods: Data from the National Emergency Department Sample from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS-AIP) from US Consumer Product Safety Commission were queried to identify UoF injuries. Regression analysis, t-tests, and chi-square tests were used in the analysis. Results: Between 2006-15, there were 529,259 emergency department admissions for UoF injury in the NEDS, and 870,779 admissions in the NEISS-AIP. In a model adjusting for year, sex, and age, the Injury Severity Score increased by 1.1% annually (p<0.0001). Black people were 6 times as likely to be admitted to the ED as White people or Native Americans/Alaska Natives, and 25 times as likely as Asians/Pacific Islanders. Black patients were 4 times as likely as White patients to be admitted as inpatients. Per arrest rate by race using FBI uniform crime reporting data, Black arrestees were 2.5-3.1 times as likely as any other race to be hospitalized for UoF injury. Conclusion: The results of the study demonstrate that US law enforcement are injuring civilians more frequently and severely over time, and that Black people are disproportionately affected.
AB - Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess incidence and severity of hospital reported injuries related to law enforcement Use of Force (UoF) in the US over time, and by race. Methods: Data from the National Emergency Department Sample from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS-AIP) from US Consumer Product Safety Commission were queried to identify UoF injuries. Regression analysis, t-tests, and chi-square tests were used in the analysis. Results: Between 2006-15, there were 529,259 emergency department admissions for UoF injury in the NEDS, and 870,779 admissions in the NEISS-AIP. In a model adjusting for year, sex, and age, the Injury Severity Score increased by 1.1% annually (p<0.0001). Black people were 6 times as likely to be admitted to the ED as White people or Native Americans/Alaska Natives, and 25 times as likely as Asians/Pacific Islanders. Black patients were 4 times as likely as White patients to be admitted as inpatients. Per arrest rate by race using FBI uniform crime reporting data, Black arrestees were 2.5-3.1 times as likely as any other race to be hospitalized for UoF injury. Conclusion: The results of the study demonstrate that US law enforcement are injuring civilians more frequently and severely over time, and that Black people are disproportionately affected.
KW - Emergency department
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Injury
KW - Law enforcement
KW - Race
KW - Use of force
U2 - 10.1007/s40615-023-01733-z
DO - 10.1007/s40615-023-01733-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 37552423
SN - 2197-3792
VL - 11
SP - 2699
EP - 2710
JO - Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
JF - Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
IS - 5
ER -