TYLER and LONGVIEW, Texas. Car accidents, drug overdoses, and slip and fall accidents are all major causes of injury. Every year, the Centers for Disease Control releases a chart outlining the major causes of accidental death, braking down the causes by age. In 2016, for example, unintentional injury was the leading cause of death for individuals between age 1 and 44. Among people aged 10 to 44, suicide is the second leading cause of death, with homicide being the third among people between the ages of 15 and 44. While counting the number of people who are hurt or killed due to a certain type of accidental injury is certainly one way to consider how a certain kind of injury affects Americans, there are other ways to gauge impact.
Bad things happen in life.
Yet, QZ reports that a recent study indicates that police violence could also be considered a major health issue. The study focused on the years of life lost. A younger person killed due to an injury or violence will suffer more years of life lost compared to an older person. The average life expectancy was used to gauge how many years of life were lost. When considering years of life lost, police violence affects younger people. When compared to other causes of death among young people, police violence is just as serious as maternal deaths and meningitis.
On average, 3.5 people die due to police violence per million. Black Americans were at higher risk of dying, with 7.2 people dying per million. Black men were reportedly between 9 and 16 times more likely to die due to gun violence than white men.
According to the Atlantic, 57,375 years of life were lost due to police violence. The median age for a person killed due to police violence is 35. In fact, more people die due to police shootings than due to accidental gun deaths.
According to the Atlantic, about 25% of people shot by police showed signs of mental illness. Proper mental illness crisis training could help police better understand the symptoms of a person undergoing a psychotic episode. Individuals who suffer from psychosis are more likely to be killed or to suffer violence than to kill. Communities affected believe that police need to be better trained in how to de-escalate police encounters. Others believe that officers should be asked to be braver when encountering dangerous situations, only using a gun when other people’s lives are at risk.
Yet, until police receive better training and until police culture changes, individuals will likely continue to suffer at the hands of officers. More victims are fighting back by suing officers and precincts when their loved ones are shot or injured. If you or a loved one was hurt in a police encounter, you may have certain rights under the law. Visit the Cooper Law Firm, personal injury lawyers in Tyler and Longview, Texas today to learn more. Our firm can review the circumstances of your case and help you seek justice, if possible. Visit us at https://www.cooper-law-firm.com/. We may be able to help.
Cooper Law Firm
501 N Third St,
Longview, TX 75601
Telephone: (903) 297-0037
