• H R Hutson, D Anglin, P Rice, D N Kyriacou, M Guirguis, and J Strote.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
• Emerg Med J. 2009 Jan 1;26(1):20-2.

ObjectiveTo determine the clinical experience, management and training of emergency physicians in the suspected use of excessive force by law enforcement officers.MethodsSurveys were mailed to a random sample of academic emergency physicians in the USA.ResultsOf 393 emergency physicians surveyed, 315 (80.2%) responded. Of the respondents, 99.8% (95% CI 98.2% to 100.0%) believed excessive use of force actually occurs and 97.8% (95% CI 95.5% to 99.1%) replied that they had managed patients with suspected excessive use of force. These incidents were not reported by 71.2% (95% CI 65.6% to 76.4%) of respondents, 96.5% (95% CI 93.8% to 98.2%) had no departmental policies and 93.7% (95% CI 90.4% to 96.1%) had not received training in the management of these cases.ConclusionsSuspected excessive use of force is encountered by academic emergency physicians in the USA. There is only limited training or policies for the management of these cases.

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