A study of the use of force by police commissioned by Fairfax County found that officers used too often and more force than expected against both black and white civilians.
The results and recommendations of the study, conducted by researchers from the University of Texas at San Antonio, were presented at the District Board’s Public Safety Committee meeting yesterday (June 29).
The study looked at the 1,360 cases of violence in which the Fairfax County Police Department was involved over a three-year period from January 2016 to December 2018.
About 42% of the cases were directed against blacks and 38% against whites. Hispanic and Asian civilians accounted for 16% and 3% of these cases, respectively.
In addition, black civilians were 1.8 times more likely to have a gun such as a taser or firearm aimed at them by the police.
Some of the results surprised the researchers. For example, there was higher levels of violence against whites than might be expected and, in general, police used less violence against Hispanic civilians than expected.
“In my experience, such results are a little unusual,” said Professor Michael R. Smith of the University of Texas, one of the researchers who presented the study. “But they were here in Fairfax County.”
For blacks, who make up approximately 10.6% of the Fairfax County’s population, violence rates exceeded proportional rates in most categories – differences Smith noted were expected.
Some of the disparities can also be traced to specific district stations.
Violence against black civilians was more common in the Mount Vernon District, Franconia, McLean and West Springfield.
It is also noteworthy that the use of violence against Asian civilians, who now comprise 20% of the county’s population, was lower across the county overall than other ethnic groups, but the proportional benchmarks exceeded Mount in Reston, Fair Oaks, West Springfield and Mount Vernon.
Men are also used much more violently against them than women, which the researchers say is not uncommon.
One data point that upset some county officers was whether pointing a gun (firearm or taser) constituted level 1 or higher violence.
For the purposes of the study, and after consulting with the FCPD, the researchers admitted that they had reduced the difficulty of aiming a weapon, which altered the data.
“After some preliminary talks with senior police officers, we recoded the aiming of a weapon – typically a taser or a firearm – to level one,” said Smith. “This showed … the disparity that prevailed against African Americans was largely” [having to do with] aiming the weapon. “
The data showed that black civilians were almost twice as likely to have guns pointed at them than white civilians.
“These coding decisions are important. It’s a conceptual question, ”said Smith. “Police departments across the country and their communities are grappling with this … How serious is it to point a gun at someone?”
During the question-and-answer question, Hunter Mill’s District Supervisor Walter Alcorn made it clear that the re-encoding of the data wasn’t a good fit for him. After confirming that the guns the officers are carrying are loaded, Alcorn said that having a loaded gun pointed at someone should be considered a severe use of force.
“I think … this is definitely an L3 and not an L1,” he said. “Restrained, gentle hand control does not include the potential use of lethal force.”
Based on their findings, the researchers made a number of recommendations to the Public Safety Committee, including the need to collect more specific data on the circumstances of the use of force in order to better understand what led to the use of force.
From a political point of view, they also recommended further defining “de-escalation” in the sense that civil servants only use the minimum level of violence that is reasonably necessary in a situation. For example, they suggested that lethal force should only be used in situations involving an escaping felon if the suspect creates the risk of fatal or serious injury to officers or others.
“It is unfortunate that people sometimes resist arrest and that violence is required,” said Smith. “The question is how much force?”
With training and organizational recommendations, the report suggests stepping up training related to de-escalation, adopting the ICAT training guide, and having collaborative responses to calls involving behavioral health issues and people with disabilities.
The researchers also suggested switching officers from high-crime patrol areas and district stations on a regular basis.
“When you are routinely and repeatedly exposed to trauma in situations in high-risk communities, there is a desensitization for officers,” said Robin Engel, a researcher from the University of Cincinnati who was also involved in the study. “They may not react the way we’d like … they might lack some kind of empathy.”
At the end of the researchers’ presentation, Chief Kevin Davis was given the opportunity to respond. Davis was hired as the new district police chief two months ago and was interviewed by the community about his own past excessive use of force.
He said police are already working on some of the recommendations, including collecting more specific data, providing training on implicit biases, setting up a performance review committee and implementing the ICAT, which he believes will come by the end of the year.
Davis also said he believes that at least a third of the incidents of violence in the county have a gun aimed at a person and rhetorically asked, “Why is this happening and what can we do to reduce that number?”