Research Assessment #7

Date: ​February 8, 2019

Subject: ​Civil Unrest, Police Use of Force, and the Public’s Health

MLA Citation:

Bylander, Jessica. “Civil Unrest, Police Use Of Force, And The Public's Health.” ​Health Affairs,​

Aug. 2015, www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0717.

Assessment:

As part of my final product, I am trying to find other existing data on police-involved

deaths, or explanations that could make light of my findings. This article falls mostly under the

latter half of those. This article really dives in on the issues that the justice system faces in light

of growing unrest over police shootings specifically, analyzing the way that communities most

impacted by these shootings have gotten in this position.

This information is highly relevant to me at this point in time because it offered a lot of

very interesting analysis about why certain communities and races might be disproportionately

affected by police shootings. The historical aspect is definitely something I had originally

thought of through my own data collection, but I had not realized the extent it could be drawn

out to. Historical movements like segregation, redlining, and centuries of disenfranchisement do

not just go away overnight and the lack of trust this has caused, coupled with the socioeconomic

impacts it has taken on so many lives, seems to be an all-too-perfect formula for these situations.

I think that, if I use this article as a starting point, I can really begin to look into some of these

causes more extensively and use them when piecing together my final product.
 Something that stood out to me in this article was the wide-ranging impacts this

phenomenon can have on a person’s life. It does not stop at crime or even somewhat dangerous

living conditions, it extends into public health, something the article really focused on. While

this does not directly concern forensic pathology, it could in the long run. The people in these

conditions are the ones that are most likely brought into morgues in the highest numbers, and

that is concerning. The effects that history has on everyday life always confounds me. It also

makes me wonder: when people suffer such deep, historical setbacks, how are they to overcome

them? It has to be hard to sit back and watch these people who have experienced such hard lives

continue to flow in in body bags, and that is something that I do not think I consider enough.

While I know I will have to compartmentalize these issues when I reach my career, I hope this

thought continues on with me, and that I can see the circumstances grow even a little bit better.

One thing that the article confirmed for me was the genuine lack of numbers that really

exist concerning police-involved deaths. To me, this makes my final product overwhelmingly

worth it. I want to be able to illuminate the issue further, so that people can have a more

informed discussion about it. Hopefully, by adding in some reliable data to the conversation, I

can do something to help those that just want answers. That is my ultimate goal through this

project, and I am glad that I have this article to use as a starting point on my way to realize the

goal that I have set.