In firearm homicides, police fire more shots than civilians, study finds
In homicides with police as shooters, victims get shot more times than in homicides with civilian shooters, according to a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study.
The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, was featured in an April 23 MedicalXPress article.
Researchers analyzed data from the National Violent Death Reporting System from 2005 to 2020. They found that victims shot and killed by police had an average of six bullet wounds, while victims shot and killed by civilians had an average of four. Additionally, victims who were 25–44 years old, were Black, or lived outside of the Northeast U.S. had high rates of being killed in police firearm homicides, and those who died had a high number of gunshot wounds.
“Our findings suggest that rates of gun-related crime as well as police practice on firearms differ greatly across regions, underscoring the complex interplay of factors involved in police killings,” said study co-author David Hemenway, professor of health policy and director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center (HICRC).
Co-author Vageesh Jain, former HICRC researcher, noted that police kill more than 1,000 civilians each year, and that, in more than half of these killings, victims have more than four gunshot wounds. Getting shot multiple times generally increases the lethality of a shooting, he said.
“Efforts to address inequities in risk of police homicide must consider both the prevention and management of such incidents, to effectively build trust with the communities most affected,” said Jain.
Read the MedicalXPress article
Police officers fire more shots than civilians in homicides, research shows
