Police-related deaths were high in 2022 in Vanderburgh. They're already higher this year

Sarah Loesch, Evansville Courier & Press
·4 min read

EVANSVILLE — For the third year in a row, Vanderburgh County is in the state's top 10 for people dying while in police custody.

In 2022, six people died, according to the annual Death in Custody Reporting Act data released in April. Of those six, the report shows two were killed by police, two died by suicide and two died due to natural causes or illness.

Previous reports show four people died in 2021, and six people in 2020.

For reporting purposes, "in-custody" is defined as any person who is:

  • Detained;

  • Under arrest/in the process of being arrested; or

  • En route to being incarcerated/incarcerated in a jail, state prison, state-run boot camp prison, boot camp prison contracted out by the state, any state or local contract facility, or other local or state correctional facility. This includes juvenile facilities.

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute is mandated by the Death in Custody Reporting Act to collect the numbers and manners of deaths that occur while a person is in custody in Indiana. They are then reported to the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Vanderburgh County is the eighth-most populated county in Indiana, with a population of 180,136 in 2020, according to the most recent U.S. census data.

Vanderburgh County had the ninth most in-custody deaths in 2022 across all Indiana counties, the ICJI report states. But the ranking doesn't tell the full story.

'Police-related deaths'

In 2022, Vanderburgh County had the most "police-related deaths" statewide.

Of the six in-custody deaths, two were due to police shooting and killing the person, which, as a percentage of total in-custody deaths, tops all other Indiana counties.

For reporting purposes, "police-related deaths" are any deaths that occur during an interaction with police, according to the ICJI.

This can include deaths that occur:

  • During an arrest;

  • While serving a warrant;

  • Responding to a disturbance call; or

  • During a vehicle pursuit

That makes police killings total about 12% of all deaths of people who were in police custody. In 2021, that total stood at 10%, the second-highest percentage statewide.

The deaths in 2022 started and ended the year.

Philip Dill, 34, was shot and killed by police in his home in February after calling dispatch to report he was "losing his mind" and preparing to kill his family.

Mauricio Cisneros, 47, was shot and killed in his home just before Christmas while in the middle of a mental health episode.

Nine percent of Marion County's in-custody deaths were police-related, followed by Lake, LaPorte, St. Joseph, Allen, Grant, Hancock and Harrison counties, which each reported 6%.

2023 already exceeds 'police-related deaths' for 2022

Five months into the year, local law enforcement have already exceeded the number of deaths for 2022 that would be considered "police-related."

In January, police shot and killed Ronald Mosley, 25, an active shooter in the West Side Walmart who had entered the store and shot an employee.

In March, Evansville police shot and killed Gary Deal Youngblood, 37, during a standoff.

Later that same month, Nicole Ann Bell died in a car crash while being pursued by the Vanderburgh County Joint Drug Task Force.

In April, Vanderburgh County sheriff deputies shot and killed Steven Howard Goldstein, 49, during a standoff on the North Side.

168 deaths across the state

In total, 168 people died in 2022 while in the custody of Indiana law enforcement. Thirty-three of Indiana's 92 counties had in-custody deaths reported.

Top 10 Indiana Counties

  • Henry - 24 deaths

  • Miami - 22 deaths

  • LaPorte - 18 deaths

  • Marion - 18 deaths

  • Hendricks - 17 deaths

  • Madison - 8 deaths

  • St. Joseph - 6 deaths

  • Sullivan - 6 deaths

  • Vanderburgh - 6 deaths

  • Vigo - 6 deaths

The report shows nearly 65% of those deaths occurred in state prisons, 19.5% due to police interactions and more than 12% occurred in county jails.

When the ICJI broke the data down by manner of death, natural causes/illness led all other categories, followed by suicide, use of force, accidental death, homicide and “other.”

Twenty-eight deaths were still pending investigation when the report was released.

Henry County, which topped the report's list with 24 in-custody deaths, had a population of just 48,914 in 2020 — far lower than counties such as Marion and Vanderburgh. According to the ICJI report, Henry County accounted for the highest number of deaths in Indiana Department of Corrections facilities.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville among the highest in Indiana in police-related deaths