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50 Founders Plaza
East Hartford, CT 06108
50 Founders Plaza
East Hartford, CT 06108
The prevalence of excessive force used by police officers throughout the United States has received a great deal of attention over the past decade. Due to the widespread protests that took place in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd, many believed that steps would be taken to reduce police violence and ensure that people who interact with police officers would be less likely to suffer harm. Unfortunately, some reports that have been released recently have shown that this has not been the case.
People who have been arrested may not only need to defend against criminal charges, but they may need to take steps to address the harm they have suffered due to police misconduct. By working with an experienced attorney, defendants can make sure their rights will be protected, and they can fight to hold officers and police departments accountable for the failure to protect their safety and treat them with respect.
Since there is no official system that tracks the use of force by police throughout the United States, this task has been taken up by private organizations. The non-profit group Mapping Police Violence has taken steps to compile data from different law enforcement organizations, and it recently launched a database where this information can be viewed.
The database includes data compiled between 2017 and 2022 from around 2,800 agencies that cover 60 percent of the U.S. population. This has allowed analysts to estimate figures for the entire country. However, it is likely that the actual figures are higher, since the data only includes information disclosed by police officers and agencies.
An analysis of the data has revealed some striking findings, including:
There are around 300,000 cases in which police officers use force against suspects each year, as well as an additional 200,000 cases in which officers threaten to use force.
The most common uses of force involved stun guns or tasers. While these devices are considered to be less deadly than firearms, they can still inflict serious or fatal injuries. In 2022, there were more than 20,000 uses of stun guns by police officers.
Statistics for 2022 showed that other use-of-force cases involved chemicals such as tear gas or pepper spray (over 8,000 incidents), people being struck with batons or beanbags (over 4,300 incidents), and K-9 dogs (more than 2,100 incidents).
While only a small number of agencies disclosed information about whether suspects were armed in the reported encounters with police officers, this data showed that around 83 percent of suspects were unarmed when police used force.
Few agencies disclosed information about the reasons for police interactions involving the use of force, but the data provided showed that less than 40 percent of cases were related to violent crimes.
Racial disparities continue to be present in cases where police use force. Overall, police used force against Black people 3.2 times more often than white people. In cases involving lethal force, Black people were 2.6 times more likely to be affected.
Most agencies reported increases in the overall use of force by police officers in the years since the death of George Floyd. In addition, the use of force increased in jurisdictions where more funding was allocated to police departments.
While the use of neck restraints by police officers has decreased by nearly 90 percent since the death of George Floyd, this did not lead to a reduction in the overall use of force.
Based on these statistics, it is clear that police violence and misconduct is an ongoing issue in the United States that continues to affect many people despite increased scrutiny. Criminal justice advocates are continuing to work to determine what steps may be taken to limit the use of force and protect the safety of people who interact with police.
For those who are facing criminal charges, Woolf Law Firm, LLC can provide effective legal representation. We can not only determine the best defense strategies to help avoid convictions, but we can also address violations of our clients’ rights by police officers, ensuring that they will be able to receive justice after being affected by excessive force or other forms of misconduct. To arrange a free consultation with our Hartford criminal defense lawyer, contact us at 860-290-8690.
50 Founders Plaza
