FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Fairfax County police engaged in over 1,300 instances of force against civilians between 2016 and 2018, with both Black and White residents disproportionately involved in these incidents, according to a newly released investigation commissioned by the department.
Comparing documented use of force incidents against the racial proportions of suspects and arrestees in the county-- including suspects of all crimes, violent criminal suspects with and without weapons, people arrested for crimes and people who resisted arrest -- The University of Texas at San Antonio report found that use of force against Black people was disproportionate to their representation in four benchmarks, while force against White people was disproportionate in all categories.
However, Black people -- who only make up about 11% of Fairfax County's population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau -- were most likely to experience force during a police altercation compared to all other examined racial groups, and were around two times more likely to have a weapon drawn on them during a police response, according to the study.
The analysis recorded 572 instances of force against Black people -- which constitutes around 42% of all cases -- despite Black people only making up around 37% of all arrests in Fairfax. Use of force against White people was recorded at around 38%, with their arrest proportion documented at around 32%.
Black civilians were also particularly targeted in certain areas within the county including Mount Vernon, Franconia, McLean and West Springfield, according to the report. The study also stated that being Black was positively correlated to the severity of force used.
The study provided a set of recommendations intended to reduce violent police altercations, including collecting all instances of use of force and resistance, redefining the use of force threshold to include any significant physical contact, conducting training for officers to make sure they're following the use of force policy, and rotating officers regularly out of high-crime areas.
A spokesperson for Fairfax police said that the department has partnered with the Police Executive Research Forum for training to mitigate force tactics.
"While the department’s low use of force overall among millions of contacts with community members is a testament to the training and compassion of FCPD officers, there is always room for improvement," said Anthony Guglielmi, director of public affairs for the department. "This report will serve as a roadmap to help ensure that we continue to train, mentor and lead our police officers with an eye towards constitutional and community-driven policing, predicated on fairness, trust and respect."