Abstract
This study investigates black immigrants’ perceptions of police-black civilian deadly encounters in North America. Twenty semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted among black immigrants in Edmonton, western Canada. The respondents perceived racism, police brutality, black criminality, gun violence and police perception of black people as ‘violent’ as the causal factors in deadly encounters. There was also the perception of criminal injustice and conspiracy among the agents of the criminal justice system (CJS) in the treatment of victims and suspects. This study suggests that personal and media experiences can influence how people de/re/construct deadly encounters and the treatment of victims and suspects by the CJS. Findings also reveal that when members of a racial (immigrant) minority perceive themselves as the target of a discriminatory CJS, they may adopt cautious and cooperative actions rather than aggressive or deviant behaviour to avoid criminalization and victimization. The study concludes that the perception of criminal injustice in police deadly violence against black (minority) civilians could influence: (i) where (black) immigrants locate themselves within the CJS in North America, and (ii) how (black) immigrants perceive and respond to the agents of the CJS, such as the police, when they encounter them.
Highlights
Drawing on the opinions of 20 black immigrants from a western Canadian city, this study investigates the perceptions of police-civilian deadly encounters in North America
When the author asked why the respondents feel that the criminal justice system (CJS) in North America is unfair to the black people, Majik, male, said: “I think I remember five cases in the United States
The findings of this study demonstrate that black immigrants in Edmonton hold a rather nuanced understanding of police-black civilian deadly encounters in North America
Summary
Drawing on the opinions of 20 black immigrants from a western Canadian city, this study investigates the perceptions of police-civilian deadly encounters in North America. The disproportionate victimization of black minorities in police-civilian deadly encounters in North America is a major concern among the black immigrants in the region. Martins—involve white police officers as suspects and black civilians as victims. Blacks are a minority in North America, but experience a higher rate of victimization in police-involved killings when compared with whites [3,4,5]. When cases of deadly encounters are taken to court, the police suspects are usually not convicted or accused of any wrongdoings [6,7]. The deadly violence against black civilians by police officers and the non-conviction of police suspects by the court have created a situation whereby black immigrants in North America are concerned about their safety at the hands of police and judges
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