It has been five years since California legislation limited the legal justifications for police officers’ use of deadly force. The primary impetus was to reduce the number of people seriously injured or killed during police encounters. In addition, how and whether officers provide timely medical aid is of key concern. How has this change affected police incidents in which people are seriously injured?

To examine this question, we looked at data from the last six years of California Department of Justice’s detailed information on serious injuries and deaths that occur during police encounters. Between 2017 and 2023, fatal injuries declined from 172 to 136. Non-fatal injuries had a different trajectory. A slight downward trend beginning in 2019 was followed by an uptick in 2023, at which point the numbers were nearly identical to 2017 (439 and 441 respectively). These changes occurred amidst precipitous declines in arrests and police stops because of the COVID pandemic.

To mitigate the harm caused in police use of force incidents, timely medical care—especially for serious injuries like gunshot wounds—is important. Medical aid, rapid requests for medical care, and/or transit to care by police officers can be critical to a positive outcome. Indeed, the state commission that sets police officer standards and training have highlighted the imperative to carry out these duties when safe to do so.

Around 70% of people seriously injured or killed during a police encounter received medical care at a health facility; another 20% died in transit or at the scene. Only about 2% of the seriously injured did not receive any medical aid at all. (Current data does not distinguish whether they refused care or officers did not provide it—an important distinction that we hope will be rectified.)

Although most people with non-fatal or non-gunshot related injuries end up being treated at a medical facility, only about 17% of people killed during a police encounter do. Most die in transit (69%) or only receive medical treatment at the scene (12%). Among those who are shot, only about half make it to a hospital or medical facility.

There are no differences across racial/ethnic groups in getting medical aid. However, there do seem to be differences across regions. Sacramento, the Bay Area, and San Diego have lower shares of fatal incidents and higher shares receiving aid at a medical facility. “Scoop-and-run” policies—where police officers transport the injured person to emergency medical services rather than wait for an ambulance—may benefit people with the most severe injuries. Though it is not clear how often this happens, some California municipalities—such as Sacramento—do permit police transport.

As California makes efforts aimed at reducing the number of people injured in encounters with the police, it will be important to monitor trends and work toward rigorous evaluations of the impact of related policies.