Policing the black community: History, reality, and the rudiments of change

In recent years the much-publicized deaths of Alton Sterling, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, John Crawford, and Philando Castille at the hands of police continues to affirm the ongoing antagonism between the black community and law enforcement. The death of these men and countless others is emblematic of the potential for death associated with black encounters with police. The killing of blacks by police has become so prevalent that a recent analysis has concluded that, "for young men of color, police use of force is among the leading causes of death" (Edwards, Lee and Esposito 2019, 16793-16798). When you add to this the fact that, police being charged in these shootings is rare and convictions even rarer, (Stinson 2017) police use of violence, and especially police violence against black communities, is increasingly being seen as a threat to public health (American Public Health Association 2015).