Delaware County Medical Society Summer/Fall 2020 - 11

T

he AMA is urging Congress to "find common
ground on a path forward on effective and
equitable policing reforms" and has outlined a set
of steps to address the long-standing problems
of police brutality, systemic racism and racial injustice.
In a letter to Democratic and Republican congressional leaders
in the U.S. House and Senate, AMA Executive Vice President
and CEO James L. Madara, MD, detailed physicians' support for
the following changes, among others:
1.	 Research into the public health consequences of violent
police interactions.
2.	 States requiring the reporting of legal-intervention deaths
and law-enforcement officer homicides to public health
agencies.
3.	 For appropriate stakeholders, including law enforcement
and public health communities, to define "serious injuries"
for the purpose of systematically collecting data on law
enforcement-related nonfatal injuries among civilians and
officers.
4.	 Law-enforcement departments and agencies having in place
specific guidelines, rigorous training and an accountability
system for the use of conducted electrical devices, often
called Tasers.
5.	 Research into the health impacts of conducted electrical
device use and development of a standardized protocol
developed with the input of the medical community for the
evaluation, management and post-exposure monitoring of
subjects exposed to these devices.
6.	 Increased use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement
officers, as well as funding for the purchase of body-worn
cameras, training for officers, and technical assistance for
law enforcement agencies.
7.	 Training for law enforcement at all levels on implicit or
unconscious bias and structural racism.
8.	 School discipline policies that permit reasonable discretion
and consideration of mitigating circumstances when
determining punishments rather than "zero tolerance"
policies that mandate out-of-school suspension, expulsion
or the referral of students to the juvenile or criminal justice
system.
9.	 More research to identify programs and policies that are
effective in reducing disproportionate minority contact
across all decision points within the juvenile justice system.
10.	 Reauthorizing federal programs for juvenile justice and
delinquency prevention, which should include incentives
for community-based alternatives for youth who pose
little risk to public safety, reentry and aftercare
services to prevent recidivism, and policies that
promote justice to reduce disparities.

The AMA also opposes "choke and sleeper holds as
the use of deadly force with the potential to kill," says
Dr. Madara's letter.

Why police brutality is a
matter of public health

"These are but a few of the necessary reforms to
address the national disgrace of excessive use
of violence against individuals who are part of
minoritized and marginalized communities," Dr.
Madara wrote. "We are at a critical point in our
nation's reckoning with issues of police use of violence,
racism, and discrimination. The use of excessive
police force is a communal violence that significantly
drives unnecessary and costly injury, and premature
morbidity and death. Police brutality and racism must
not be tolerated. We urge Congress to act now on
meaningful and effective policing reform legislation."

Why it is important

Research shows that "racially marginalized
communities are disproportionally subject to police
force, and there is a correlation between policing and
adverse health outcomes," says the AMA's letter. "An
increased prevalence of police encounters is linked to
elevated stress and anxiety levels, along with increased
rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, and asthma-
and fatal complications of those comorbid conditions."
Other medical research has found "that law
enforcement-involved deaths of unarmed Black
individuals were associated with adverse mental
health consequences among Black American adults-
regardless of whether the individual affected had a
personal relationship with the victim or the incident
was experienced vicariously," Dr. Madara noted.

www.delcomedsoc.org

James L. Madara, MD
AMA EVP/CEO

DELAWARE COUNTY MEDICINE & HEALTH

9
http://www.delcomedsoc.org
Delaware County Medical Society Summer/Fall 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Delaware County Medical Society Summer/Fall 2020
