Psychology Commons^™

How Suspect Race Affects Police Use Of Force In An Interaction Over Time, Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, Joel S. Steele, Jean M. Mcmahon, Greg Stewart

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although studies often find racial disparities in policing outcomes, less is known about how suspect race biases police interactions as they unfold. This study examines what is differentially occurring during police–suspect interactions for White, Black, and Latino suspects across time. It is hypothesized that racial bias may be more evident earlier in interactions, when less information about the situation is available. One hundred thirty-nine (62 White, 42 Black, and 35 Latino) use-of-force case files and associated written narratives from a medium to large size urban police department in the United States were analyzed. Trained coders broke down the interaction narratives …