Unsubstantiated use of force in the killing of Atatiana Jefferson: A critical policy analysis

Abstract

A sustained history of white supremacy is in the system of policing. Police engage in state‐sanctioned murders of African American women. Too many times, police state‐sanctioned violence is disregarded. A critical analysis and applicable theoretical frameworks were used to examine the Fort Worth Police Department's (FWPD's) Use of Force Policy in the case of Atatiana Jefferson's murder. The findings show cultural situatedness impacted this case. In other words, the normed cultural, social and environmental factors versus policy components influenced the case. The employed theoretical perspectives provide policymakers and researchers with critical viewpoints to deconstruct hierarchical systems of power that perpetuate injustices.

A scoping review of police civilian oversight literature 1992–2022

“…Oversight offers alternatives to traditional police accountability and may be more amenable to citizens' grievances based on excessive force (Task Force on Policing, 2021). Excessive force by municipal police includes George Floyd, killed in Minneapolis, MN; Atatiana Jefferson in Fort Worth, TX; and Tyre Nichols in Memphis, TN, are examples of why oversight is pursued (Jackson et al, 2023;Keyes et al, 2023;Schweikert, 2023). According to De Angelis et al (2016), 97 public oversight boards indicated that about 80% of those boards were developed due to police use of excessive force and police treating marginalized communities as criminogenic based on racialization.…”

“…Excessive force by municipal police includes George Floyd, killed in Minneapolis, MN; Atatiana Jefferson in Fort Worth, TX; and Tyre Nichols in Memphis, TN, are examples of why oversight is pursued (Jackson et al. , 2023; Keyes et al. , 2023; Schweikert, 2023).…”