Firearm Mortality of Non-Hispanic Black Americans by Law Enforcement, 2011-2020

Law enforcement officers in the U.S. are more likely to use lethal force against non-Hispanic Black citizens than on their non-Hispanic White counterparts. The purpose of this study was to assess estimates of the national prevalence of fatal firearm violence by law enforcement officers (LEOs) against non-Hispanic Black Americans. The Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were analyzed using descriptive statistics and joinpoint regression from 2011 to 2020. During the decade (2011-2020) LEOs fatally shot 5,073 citizens and 1,170 were non-Hispanic Black (23%). The vast majority (96%) were males and two-thirds (66%) of those killed were ages 20-39 years. The region with the highest number of LEO fatal shootings was the Western U.S. Firearm deaths of non-Hispanic Blacks were the dominant (82%) method of LEO-induced deaths. Non-Hispanic Black Americans experience LEO firearm-related injuries and deaths at a much higher rate than their non-Hispanic White counterparts. In the context of the racial disparities among people who die following LEO-related gunshot wounds, changes to police training systems and an examination of implicit biases among LEOs should be investigated as the next step in reducing the use of lethal force practices.