Excessive use of force by police: A survey of academic emergency physicians

H. R. Hutson, D. Anglin, P. Rice, D. N. Kyriacou, M. Guirguis, J. Strote*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To determine the clinical experience, management and training of emergency physicians in the suspected use of excessive force by law enforcement officers. Methods: Surveys were mailed to a random sample of academic emergency physicians in the USA. Results: Of 393 emergency physicians surveyed, 315 (80.2%) responded. Of the respondents, 99.8% (95% CI 98.2% to 100.0%) believed excessive use of force actually occurs and 97.8% (95% CI 95.5% to 99.1%) replied that they had managed patients with suspected excessive use of force. These incidents were not reported by 71.2% (95% CI 65.6% to 76.4%) of respondents, 96.5% (95% CI 93.8% to 98.2%) had no departmental policies and 93.7% (95% CI 90.4% to 96.1%) had not received training in the management of these cases. Conclusions: Suspected excessive use of force is encountered by academic emergency physicians in the USA. There is only limited training or policies for the management of these cases.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)20-22
Number of pages3
JournalEmergency Medicine Journal
Volume26
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine
  • Emergency Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Excessive use of force by police: A survey of academic emergency physicians'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this