NCJ Number
235541
Date Published
June 2010
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes findings for the last three quarters of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010 (April 1, 2009 - March 31, 2010) in the on-going effort to collect information on deaths in "police custody" in South Carolina, which is broadly defined as "persons who died while being restrained without the intent to arrest, were in the process of being arrested, or were in the custody of law enforcement officers."
Abstract
Based on information obtained from coroners and media searches, 25 deaths in police custody were identified for the study period. The date of death, the proximate cause of death, and basic demographic information are provided. Information on seven of the deaths is based solely on media accounts and should be considered preliminary. Twenty-eight percent of the decedents were female. The age range for the total sample ranged from 15 to 71, with a mean of 37.2 years; 32 percent were Black; 60 percent were White; and race/ethnicity was unknown in two cases. Forty-four percent of the deaths were determined to be suicides, and 32 percent were due to the application of force by law enforcement officers. Of the latter cases, seven involved firearms and one involved the use of a neck restraint. Two deaths were due to illness or natural causes; one was due to a motor-vehicle accident; one was due to an assault by a third party; and one was due to a drug overdose. The cause of death was not yet known in another case. Brief narratives are provided for each death, and media accounts are presented for cases that gained media attention. 2 tables