The Role of Race in Police Use of Force in a Transit Agency

• In Event: Use of Force in a Transit Agency

Abstract

Although research on the intersection of race and police use of force is vast, our understanding of use of force in a transit environment is still unknown. Using arrest and response to resistance data from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's Transit Police between 2009 and 2015, the current study examines whether the race of the officer and the offender affects the type of force used and if the introduction of conductive energy devices (CED) impacts the amount of response to resistance reports by race.

Authors

• Carla Lewandowski, Rowan University

• Evan T. Sorg, Rowan University

• Natalie Schell-Busey, Rowan University

• Kimberly Houser, Rowan University