The Value of Human Life: Acknowledging and Addressing Deaths at the Hands of Police

Brought to you by RAC.org; By Claire Shimberg

According to The Guardian’s investigation, the deaths of Isiah Hampton, 19, in New York City, and Quandavier Hicks, 22, in Cincinnati on Wednesday, brought the number of people killed by police in the United States in 2015 to 500. The total number includes both unarmed victims and encounters when responding violent altercations. Through a project called The Counted, The Guardian is using reports and crowd-sourcing to keep track of American deaths at the hands of law enforcement. The Counted keeps track of data such as the names, races, ages and other information about those who have died. 

The lack of official, federal reporting of the number of people who die in police custody each year represents a significant obstacle to addressing the problem. Fortunately, in late December of 2014, Congress passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act. The law mandates that all states receiving federal criminal justice assistance grants must report, by gender and race, all deaths that occur while people are in law enforcement custody- from arrest to release. Additionally, the law requires the collected data to be reported to the US Attorney General for analysis. The RAC was proud to advocate for the Death in Custody Reporting Act and is optimistic that it will increase accountability, transparency and trust between law enforcement and communities.

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