Charges Filed for Death of Civilians Caused by Police: Does Race Matter?

• In Event: Artifacts of Police Conduct and Accountability

Abstract

Deaths of civilians caused by police have reignited racial tension since media narratives have focused on the racial and ethnic components of such cases. The media has also publicized the cases in which police have not been charged in these deaths. With limited scholarly attention to the factors that affect the likelihood of police being charged in these cases, the present study aims to contextualize the role of race/ethnicity in these police homicides by taking into account state-level structural disadvantage factors. Using data from the Fatal Encounters dataset which contains 13,996 police homicides from 2000 to 2016, we use multilevel nonlinear modeling techniques to explain whether charge were filed for these police homicide cases. Preliminary results indicates that lower likelihood of police being charged in police homicide cases was associated with Hispanic victims and victims who are other races, with actual or suspected mental illness, and when the homicide occurs in the South. Police are also more likely to be charged in cases of shootings. Further analysis is expected to find the importance of state-level social structural factors such as poverty and percentage of Black citizens in explaining charge filing. We discuss implications of the findings and suggest additional research.

Authors

• James L Williams, Texas Woman's University

• Celia Lo, Texas Woman's University

• Daniel G Rodeheaver, University of North Texas