JUXTOPIA, LLC — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: NIMHD

Description

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACTPolice violence against black males, in the United States (U.S.), is a public health disparity [37]. Physical andpsychological violence that is structurally mediated by systems of law enforcement, results in deaths, injuries,trauma, and stress that disproportionately affect blacks in the U.S. According to a 2019 study, published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Americans’ risk of being killed by police is highest for black men, who face ~1 in 1,000 chance of being killed by police over their lifetime. White men have ~1 in 2,500chance of being killed by police over their lifetime, and Latino men a ~1 in 1,900 chance. Women less likely thanmen to be killed by police. Their lifetime risk is ~1 in 33,000, compared to 1 in 2,000 for men. Moreover, blackmen, in the U.S., are up to 3.5 times more likely than whites to be killed by law enforcement; and 1 in every1,000 black men will die at the hands of police. In Baltimore, Maryland (MD), The Department of Justice (DOJ)revealed, in a 163 page report, that African Americans were targeted and abused by Baltimore police indicatinga conspiracy against black citizens. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates the overallcost of fatal and nonfatal injuries, by law enforcement, is ~$1.8 billion including medical costs and work lost.Public health policy experts suggest that mandatory training shall be implemented to reduce implicit bias oflaw enforcement officers against communities of color. However, little is known about effects of implicit biaseson behavior, and no experimental studies have been conducted to measure the impact of implicit bias reductioninterventions among law enforcement officers. Likewise, officers receive limited de-escalation training;w/training efforts met w/ resistance from police chiefs and national Fraternal Order of Police.During the NIH SBIR Phase 1 effort, Juxtopia team will address the aforementioned public health disparityto help mitigate the police violence endemic against black males by investigating the technical/commercialfeasibility of engineering Juxtopia® CAMMRAD Police augmented reality (AR) goggles to distribute an artificialintelligent (AI) police e-trainer and e-evaluator, built upon the Juxtopia® augmented reality (AR)hardware/software platform to achieve the following SBIR Phase I Specific Aims.A. Prototype CAMMRAD Police to e-train/e-evaluate police on de-escalation and use of non-lethal force: B. Evaluate CAMMRAD Police w/ Baltimore police in controlled and austere settings during learning stages.