Black men most frequent victims of killings by U.S. off-duty officers: YaleNews

NEW YORK, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Black men are the most common victims of killings committed by off-duty police officers in the United States, YaleNews on Wednesday cited a new study published in the journal Health Services Research.

In an analysis of 242 incidences in which people were killed by police officers when they were off duty between 2013 and 2021, a research team found that nearly 40 percent of the victims were Black men. White men (25.2 percent) and Hispanic men (11.2 percent) were the second- and third-most common victims.

The study, based on information from the Mapping Police Violence database and news reports from Media Cloud, also revealed that the presence of off-duty officers frequently escalated confrontational situations, many incidences occurred while off-duty officers were performing side jobs as security officers, and that these officers often obscured information about their involvement in situations that turned deadly.

"The findings suggest the need for more concrete regulations and deeper consideration of off-duty officers' roles," said the report.

While a growing body of research is evaluating various aspects of policing, the actions of off-duty police officers remain understudied, it added.