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Police Violence Against Afro-Descendants in the United States

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Police Violence Against Afro-Descendants in the United States Cover Art Concept This IACHR report concludes that the United States has systematically failed to adopt preventive measures and to train its police forces to perform their duties in an appropriate fashion. This has led to the frequent use of force based on racial bias and prejudice and tends to result in unjustified killings of African Americans. This systematic failure is represented on the cover of the report by a tombstone in the bullseye of a shooting range target, which evokes the path of police violence from training through to these tragic outcomes. The target is surrounded by hands: hands in the air trying to stop the bullet, hands asking for help because of the danger that police officers represent in certain situations, and hands expressing suffering and pain over the unjustified loss of human lives. Cover design: Pigmalión / IACHR OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 156 26 November 2018 Original: English INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS African Americans, Police Use of Force, and Human Rights in the United States 2018 iachr.org OAS Cataloging-in-Publication Data Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. African Americans, police use of force, and human rights in the United States : Approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on November 26, 2018. p. ; cm. (OAS. Official records ; OEA/Ser.L) ISBN 978-0-8270-6823-0 1. Human rights. 2. Police misconduct--United States. 3. Race discrimination-- United States. 4. African Americans--Civil rights. 5. Racism--United States. I. Title. II. Series. OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc.156/18 INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Members Margarette May Macaulay Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño Francisco José Eguiguren Praeli Luis Ernesto Vargas Silva Joel Hernández García Antonia Urrejola Flávia Piovesan Executive Secretary Paulo Abrão Assistant Executive Secretary for Monitoring, Promotion and Technical Cooperation María Claudia Pulido Chief of Staff of the Executive Secretariat of the IACHR Marisol Blanchard Vera Approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on November 26, 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9 CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION 17 A. Sources of Information 20 1. Hearings during Periods of Sessions 21 2. On-Site Visit 23 3. Press Releases 24 4. Additional Sources 25 B. The Inter-American Commission’s Jurisdiction with regard to the United States 26 CHAPTER 2 | STRUCTURAL DISCRIMINATION AND EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE IN THE U.S. 31 A. Initial Considerations on Structural Discrimination 34 B. Historical Overview of Discrimination and Racism in the United States 37 C. Key issues Identified through IACHR Monitoring Mechanisms 46 1. Aspects of Racial Discrimination in Policing Practices and Outcomes 47 a. Over-Policing and Racial Profiling of African Americans 48 b. Militarization of Police Forces 56 c. Police Use of Excessive Force 58 d. Impunity in Cases of Police Killings 65 e. Police Responses to Protests 72 2. Aspects of Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System 76 a. Racial Disparities in Arrests 76 b. Racial Disparities in Access to Counsel, Pleas, Sentencing, Incarceration, and Re-Incarceration 79 c. Consequences of Contact with the Criminal Justice System 83 3. Related Structural Issues of Racial Discrimination 85 a. Social Context: Stigma, Hate Speech, and Hate Crimes 85 b. “Stand Your Ground” Laws and Violence by Private Citizens 88 c. Intersectional Discrimination: Women, Persons with Disabilities, and LGBTI Persons 90 d. Poverty and Access to Health, Education, Housing, Work, and other Rights 93 D. Information about Federal Initiatives 95 1. Actions and Initiatives by the Department of Justice 95 2. President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing 96 3. Community Policing and other Initiatives 97 E. Considerations of the Commission 97 CHAPTER 3 | INTER-AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES REGARDING NON-DISCRIMINATION, USE OF FORCE, AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE 101 A. International Framework regarding Equality and Non-Discrimination 104 B. International Framework regarding the Use of Force: Legality, Absolute Necessity, and Proportionality 110 1. Domestic Legal Framework Governing Use of Force 114 2. Institutional Reform and Guidelines for Policing 116 a. Hiring and Training of Police 116 b. Adoption of Protocols regarding the Use of Force 118 c. Preventing Violations of the Prohibition against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment 120 3. Militarization of Police 123 4. Use of Force and Social Protest 124 C. International Framework regarding Access to Justice: Due Diligence, Accountability, Institutional Independence, Remedies, and Reparations 127 1. Due Diligence 128 a. Collection of Statistics and Active Transparency 131 b. The Duty to Investigate and Principles for Investigation 133 2. Institutional Design 135 3. The Duty to Prosecute and Punish all Responsible Parties 137 4. The Right to an Effective Remedy 139 5. Reparations 143 CHAPTER 4 | CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 153 A. General Recommendations 157 B. Recommendations regarding Non-Discrimination 159 C. Recommendations regarding the Use of Force 160 D. Recommendations regarding Due Diligence and Accountability 162 E. Recommendations regarding Access to Justice and Reparations 163 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Executive Summary | 11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. This report examines the persistent situation of structural discrimination against African Americans in the United States and, in particular, deep- seated racial disparities in policing and the criminal justice system. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the “Commission,” “Inter- American Commission,” or “IACHR”) has previously considered that racial bias forms the backbone of many problems of police abuse, overrepresentation of African Americans in arrests and in the prison system, and unequal access to justice, as well as wider issues of racialized poverty and unequal access to economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights in the U.S. Since the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a series of high-profile deaths of African Americans at the hands of police or in police custody—including Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and Terence Crutcher, among many others—as well as public pressure from civil society groups and movements like Black Lives Matter, have made issues of racial bias in policing and the criminal justice system topics of increasing public discussion. In light of extensive information of concern received in recent years regarding this issue, the Commission undertook to write this report examining the situation. 2. While problems of racism in policing and criminal justice are addressed as pressing civil rights issues nationally, the Commission highlights that they also raise concerns regarding the United States’ international human rights obligations. Under its mandate to monitor and promote human rights in the Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Commission has drafted this report on the basis of information gathered from the State, civil society organizations, and victims of police violence in several public hearings held since 2014 on issues related to racism in policing and criminal justice in the U.S.; during a 2015 visit to the states of Florida, Louisiana, and Missouri; through the publication of press releases; as well as information gathered via its petitions and cases mechanism, and other public sources of information, including from government agencies, reports produced by United Nations mechanisms, and by civil society and the media. 3. This report evaluates the current panorama of policing and criminal justice issues in light of the historic situation of racism and discrimination in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR 12 | African Americans, Police Use of Force, and Human Rights in the United States United States (“U.S.” or “State”), highlighting the structural nature of discrimination and the corresponding need for systemic reforms to fully address past abuses and ensure non-repetition. The Commission considers that the historical legacy of subjugation, enslavement, terror, marginalization, segregation, and exclusion from enjoying the rights of citizens in the U.S., both de jure and de facto, has continuing repercussions for African Americans’ full enjoyment of human rights today in virtually every sphere. In this regard, a reckoning with the legacy of racism and discrimination in the U.S. is necessary to effectively transform the situation in the future. 4. In this light, the Commission analyzes information received regarding issues of over-policing and racial profiling; the militarization of police forces; police use of excessive force; impunity in cases of police killings; police responses to protests; racial disparities in criminal arrests, convictions, and sentencing; and the lifelong consequences of prior incarceration and felony convictions. The Commission further considers that issues of discrimination in policing and criminal justice in the U.S. are inseparable from social stigma and hate speech; violence by private citizens; an enduring situation of racialized poverty; and intersectional discrimination; as all of these are also governed by a structural situation of discrimination and racism. These issues are reviewed in the report from a human rights perspective considering the obligations of the United States under international law. 5. The Commission highlights that the issues of police brutality and excessive use of force, racially biased policing practices, and racial
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