UConn Study says Police in [white liberal] Connecticut Use Force on Black People More Often than Whites. Although Blacks Account for Only 34% of All Arrests, 41% of all Force Incidents Involved Blacks

From [HERE] A new report shows that police appear to use force more often on Black people during arrests than on white arrestees, according to one of its authors.

The report by the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at the University of Connecticut also shows it is unusual for police to use force in Connecticut, and that a small group of departments may be responsible for most of it, said Ken Barone, the institute’s associate director.

The 74-page report is the result of the second statewide use-of-force study produced under a state law. It is based on an analysis of 1,516 use-of-force incidents reported by 83 police agencies across the state. The study period was from July 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2023.

The study looked at race and saw a disparities when comparing the number of times force was used on Black people when compared to how many Black people were arrested during the 18-month time period: Black individuals represented 41% of all subjects in use-of-force incidents, but only 34% of arrests, the study found. 

With white people, it was just the opposite, with Caucasians making up 56% of people on whom force was used, compared to 63% of those arrested.

“What that says is force is used more frequently on a Black person who is arrested than on a white person who is arrested,” Barone said. But he said more study is needed on the race issue.

More than half of the cases in which force was used involved the same 10 police departments, the report stated.

The 10 cities and towns that used force the most during the study period were New Haven, with 124 incidents; Hartford, 109; Waterbury, 108; East Hartford, 100; Norwalk, 63;  Meriden, 55; Manchester, 45; Stamford, 40; and New London and West Hartford, which both said they had 36 incidents of force during the study period. [MORE]