On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, a 44-year-old and unarmed Black man, told New York City police officers as they administered an illegal chokehold to his neck, “I Can’t Breathe.” Over the course of a few minutes in a confrontation with the police, Mr. Garner repeated at least 11 times, “I Can’t Breathe.” Mr. Garner then succumbed to his injuries as a result of the illegal chokehold. Once video footage of this incident was released to the public, certain communities and organizations questioned the police tactic used that lead to his death. Civil unrest and political protests emerged in cities, such as, Boston, Chicago, New York City, and Washington D.C. Protestors expressed their anger for the unjust and extreme police force used to take Eric Garner’s last breath. In the aftermaths of the death and subsequent protests, many protestors called for accountability and transparency for police departments across the country in hopes to prevent another Eric Garner incident from happening.
Fast forward to May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old and unarmed Black man, wheezed, “I Can’t Breathe,” as a Minneapolis police officer pressed their knee into the back of his neck while he laid face-down in handcuffs. In the span of four minutes, it is reported that Mr. Floyd told police officers at least 12 times, “I Can’t Breathe.” Similar to Mr. Garner, Mr. Floyd then succumbed to his injuries as a result of police use of force. Civil unrest, political protests, and public outrage ensued in not only Minneapolis, but also across the country. Once again, the public is left trying to repair a fragile relationship that exists between the police and the people. Black communities across the country are asking the same set of questions that has plagued them since the Civil Rights era in the 1960’s. Black America is asking, “Why does the police target us?”
As police brutality protests continue to rage across the country, there are recent studies indicating that Blacks are the target of more extreme police force. In a recent article, Police Use of Force Interactions: Is Race Relevant or Gender Germane?, my colleague, Andrea Headley, and I argue that Black Americans are subject to higher levels of use of force compared to White Americans. Using data from Dallas and Indianapolis, we find that White police officers are about 1.15 times more likely to use higher levels of force on Black civilians compared to White civilians. We tested and analyzed all use of force data in Dallas and Indianapolis from January 2014 to December 2016. In the 3-year time period, we found that Black civilians represented 54% of total use of force in these two cities, yet, Black civilians only represented 40% and 27% of the respective population in Dallas and Indianapolis.
The takeaways from our study are that Black Americans are overrepresented in the number of police use of force cases and that Black Americans are more likely to have higher levels of force used by police officers. Unfortunately, this is not shocking as previous studies have shown similar findings in disadvantaged neighborhoods, primarily Black and Brown neighborhoods, who are privy to higher levels of force used against them by officers.
As police violence continues to plague Black communities at strikingly high levels, the issue arises as to what role social science can play in “solving” this issue. Social science has never had a problem in identifying, categorizing and quantifying an issue. However, we must move beyond solely quantifying the issue and begin collaborating and coordinating with policymakers and police organizations to help craft solutions to mitigate tense confrontations between police and Black Americans. All police violence researchers must ask themselves this fundamental question: How can we use our research to not just identify a problem, but help be part of the solution?
