National Death Rates from Firearms due to Legal Intervention for Native Americans

According to the CDC, deaths from legal intervention are defined as deaths caused by injuries inflicted by law enforcement officers. Although some studies have examined high rates of fatal legal intervention shootings among African Americans, rates for Native Americans have not been adequately examined, despite similar racial biases and stereotypes. This study aims to examine national data and examine the association of fatal legal intervention shootings and Native communities. The available data provided on legal intervention (CDC) was studied to understand death rates for different races. The data was then analyzed to examine changes over time between 2008 and 2018. Lastly, different subsets of the Native American population were looked at to determine demographics suffered from higher rates. The death rates for Native Americans by legal intervention from firearms across the U.S were higher than any other racial group in the United States, as Native Americans were 2.25 times more likely than White Americans to die from legal intervention shootings in 2018. Since 2008, deaths from legal intervention by firearms have increased, particularly among Native Americans. The most affected Native American demographic were men aged 18-34. Native Americans suffer from a disproportionately high rate of legal intervention deaths. Few studies, especially in Public Health, have focused on the disproportionate effect of legal intervention shootings against Native Americans. In the future, better data is also needed to accurately find how many people die from shootings due to law enforcement