Injuries Due to Law Enforcement Use of Force in the United States, 2006-2015: Trends in Severity and by Race

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.