Police Use of Deadly Force in Hispanic Communities Research Project

• NCJ Number: 97108
• Author(s): J Mandel
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 11 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: National Council of La Raza
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Testimony Before the Michigan Civil Rights Commission on the Police Use of Deadly Force, September 22, 1981

Annotation

This testimony on police use of deadly force criticizes standard writings on the subject and reports on a study of the subject conducted through interviews with Hispanic leaders in Albuquerque, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and New York.

Abstract

Statistical studies of police shootings, studies of police stress, and works on police policy and administration all have some value, but they rarely recognize the views of minority leaders. To fill this gap, the National Council of La Raza interviewed between 40 and 55 primarily Hispanic leaders and 8 to 15 victims of police shootings in each of the 5 cities. Although few police killings of Hispanics occurred, these were viewed as situations in which the police should not have been involved at all or where the officers had reputations for being violent. Other police killings which caused major concern were those associated with police encounters with masses of people who were peaceably assembled, as well as those not officially noted as police homicides. Leaders were critical not only of officers with longstanding reputations for brutality but also of police administrators who did not publicly condemn or take steps against such officers. Superiors who did scrutinize offending officers were regarded as being part of a 'whitewash' or coverup. Although statistics on police homicides are useful, administrators who wait for that indicator have not been attentive to community complaints and have let a basic communications mechanism break down. Police departments should welcome external reviews of police shootings. Making the procedures and results of these reviews public would increase their usefulness. Other procedural and policy changes needed are the maintenance of statistics on Hispanics, strict limits on the use of weapons, restrictions on the carrying of powerful weapons, and improved police training regarding sensitivity to minorities. Improved methods for handling complaints and the hiring of more Hispanic officers are also needed. A data table is supplied.