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Abstract: 

This paper addresses the serious and increasingly notorious problem of the use of excessive force by law enforcement personnel against vulnerable members of our society, the most vulnerable of which are persons with chronic mental illness who engage in potentially threatening behavior. In the worst of these cases, the mentally ill person is killed by police, appropriately leading to public outcry, as was seen in the infamous Eric Garner (“I can’t breathe”) case. Here, Amy Bennett discusses the intersection between police violence and civilian disability and offers suggestions for greater accountability on the part of law enforcement organizations.

Keywords: destabilization; deadly force; police interactions recorded on video; electronic control weapons; crisis intervention; the “Memphis Model”; media coverage

Affiliations:  1: Editor, Victimization of the Elderly and Disabled.