1,900 people died while arrested in 2015. Two-thirds intentionally killed

by | Dec 27, 2016

1,900 people died while arrested in 2015. Two-thirds intentionally killed

by | Dec 27, 2016

There has been a lot of debate recently over excessive force by police, especially after several high-profile deaths during arrests. Now a government agency is adding some vital statistics to that conversation.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics released its findings on arrest-related deaths on Thursday, which estimated about 1,900 people had died while being arrested in 2015. That estimation was based on media reports and police reports for June, July and August of 2015.

Of those deaths in June, July and August, 64 percent were homicides, defined as willful killing of another, 18 percent were suicides and 11 percent were accidents, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Homicides include those ruled justifiable, such as in cases of self-defense.

The Bureau defined arrest-related deaths as any deaths that occur while a person is being detained by law enforcement in an official capacity, when their freedom to leave is limited by an officer prior to or during an arrest, and any death in a lock-up or booking center.

 

Read the rest at McClatchyDC.

Our Books

Shop books published by the Libertarian Institute.

libetarian institute longsleeve shirt

Support via Amazon Smile

Our Books

15 books

Recent Articles

Recent

TGIF: The Unfortunately Forgotten Sumner

TGIF: The Unfortunately Forgotten Sumner

Some things haven't changed since 1883. In that year Yale University professor William Graham Sumner, the anti-imperialist laissez-faire liberal and pioneer of American sociology, noticed that "we are told every day that great social problems stand before us and...

read more
How the Captive Media Divides Us

How the Captive Media Divides Us

Most political differences in America today aren’t a result of moral differences, or even policy opinions. Rather, they are generated by divergent media consumption. There’s a huge difference between those whose news comes primarily from the corporate Big Five...

read more
Forty Years Sniping at Leviathan

Forty Years Sniping at Leviathan

I have spent decades trying to turn political dirt into philosophic gold. I have yet to discover the alchemist’s trick, but I still have fun with the dirt. I was born in Iowa and raised in the mountains of Virginia. Wheeling and dealing with old coins as a teenager...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This