Dissecting the Complexities of the Relationship Between Police Officer-Civilian Race/Ethnicity Dyads and Less-Than-Lethal Use of Force

To examine how sublethal use-of-force patterns vary across officer-civilian race/ethnicity while accounting for officer-, civilian-, and situational-level factors. We extracted cross-sectional data from 5630 use-of-force reports from the Dallas Police Department in 2014 and 2015. We categorized each...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	American journal of public health (1971) 2017-07, Vol.107 (7), p.1164-1170
Main Authors:	Jetelina, Katelyn K, Jennings, Wesley G, Bishopp, Stephen A, Piquero, Alex R, Reingle Gonzalez, Jennifer M
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	AJPH Research Arrests Bivariate analysis Black or African American - statistics & numerical data Civilians Criminal investigations Cross-Sectional Studies Deadly force Dissipation Dyads Economic conditions Economic forecasts Economic indicators Epidemiology Ethnicity Hispanic Americans Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data Humans Mental health Minority & ethnic groups Multilevel Pepper spray Police Police - psychology Public health Race Regression analysis Statistical data Violence - prevention & control Violence - psychology Violence - statistics & numerical data White People - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:	To examine how sublethal use-of-force patterns vary across officer-civilian race/ethnicity while accounting for officer-, civilian-, and situational-level factors. We extracted cross-sectional data from 5630 use-of-force reports from the Dallas Police Department in 2014 and 2015. We categorized each officer-civilian interaction into race/ethnicity dyads. We used multilevel, mixed logistic regression models to evaluate the relationship between race/ethnicity dyads and the types of use of force. Forty-eight percent of use-of-force interactions occurred between a White officer and a non-White civilian (White-non-White). In bivariate models, the odds of hard-empty hand control and intermediate weapon use were significantly higher among White-Black dyads compared with White-White dyads. The bivariate odds of intermediate weapon use were also significantly higher among Black-Black, Hispanic-White, Black-Hispanic, and Hispanic-Black dyads compared with White-White dyads. However, after we controlled for individual and situational factors, the relationship between race/ethnicity dyad and hard-empty hand control was no longer significant. Although we observed significant bivariate relationships between race/ethnicity dyads and use of force, these relationships largely dissipated after we controlled for other factors.
ISSN:	0090-0036 1541-0048