Getting arrested can be deadly

by Agence France Presse - Oct 12, 2007

More than 2,000 died in police custody in just two years

More than 2,000 people died in the United States during arrests between 2003 and 2005, according to data published by the Department of Justice for the first time Thursday.

As many as 54 percent were killed by police, 12 percent died because of a drug or alcohol overdose, 11 percent committed suicide, seven percent succumbed to accidents and five percent died due to illnesses or natural causes, according to statistics from 47 US states, and the US federal capital city, released in accordance with a 2000 law.

By comparison, over the same period of time, security agencies carried out more than 41 million arrests, a number that does not include detentions as a result of traffic violations.

At the same time, more than 174,000 police officers were assaulted, 380 were killed, 41 percent of them in the course of a crime, the statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed.

Among the 1,095 suspects killed by police and other security forces, 80 percent were armed, 62 percent threatened police officers, 36 percent made an attempt to escape, and 18 percent were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

About 45 percent of those killed were white, 30 percent were black and 20 percent were Hispanics.

According to the statistics, almost all succumbed to gunfire, while 17 were killed by "Taser" stunguns.

Among the 234 suspects who committed suicide, more than half were detained for violent crimes. Two-thirds killed themselves with a firearm in the course of their arrest. Meanwhile, others hanged themselves in detention cells.