Citation

Baker D, Norris D, Cherneva V. Omega (Westport) 2019; ePub(ePub): 30222819846420.

Affiliation

Vulnerability and Exploitation Intelligence Team, Bedfordshire Police, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Sage Publications)

DOI

10.1177/0030222819846420

PMID

31060419

Abstract

This article examines the experiences of family members when a loved one dies after police contact in the United States. It uses qualitative data from semistructured interviews with the bereaved families of 43 U.S. citizens who died after police contact and considers their experiences as covictims of homicide. It examines how they experience grief in the aftermath of such a death and considers Doka's concept of disenfranchised grief in evaluating how social norms affect their grieving process. It argues that individuals affected by deaths after police contact are often unable to grieve in a way that is socially legitimized. The article finds that disenfranchised grief has a racial dimension with regard to deaths after police contact with non-White families being deeply affected by it due to their position within society, the context in which their loved one died, and in terms of how the deceased was socially constructed.

Language: en

Keywords

covictims of homicide; deaths after police contact; disenfranchised grief; racism; the social construction of grief