Arrest
The act of detaining in legal custody. An "arrest" is the deprivation of a person's liberty by legal authority in response to a criminal charge.

Cause of death
A description of the specific factors leading to the termination of the biological functions that sustain life

Homicide
Killing of a human being by another human being. The ARD program gathers data on homicides that occur during an arrest process regardless of whether the homicide was attributed to law enforcement personnel or a civilian. Homicides by law enforcement personnel were included in the ARD collection because they resulted from a direct use of force by law enforcement officers. However, not all homicides by law enforcement personnel involve shooting deaths. Other types of homicides by law enforcement officers included deaths attributed to asphyxia during restraint, injuries sustained during an altercation, and the use of technologies such as, chemical sprays and conducted energy devices.

Manner of death
An explanation of how a person died, typically illustrated by a one word description of the intentions and circumstances that led to the stated medical cause of death. Essentially, the manner of death is the way in which death was caused and is typically listed as natural, accident, homicide, suicide, or undetermined.

Natural
Deaths attributed to natural agents such as illness or internal malfunctions of the body. The majority of arrest-related deaths recorded as "natural" were due to heart complications. Other natural deaths included complications from long term illnesses.

Process of Arrest
Any actions by law enforcement officers in an attempt to apprehend a criminal suspect. For the purposes of the ARD program, a death occurring during the "process of arrest" can happen any time after a law enforcement officer invokes his or her authority to detain a criminal suspect and before custody of the suspect is transferred to a correctional authority.

Suicide
Intentional killing of oneself. BJS recorded arrest-related deaths as suicides only if medical staff deemed the decedent deliberately took his or her life. The most common type of suicide reported to the ARD program included decedents engaging in armed standoffs with law enforcement prior to taking his or her life. Other suicides occurred while law enforcement officers were attempting to apprehend the deceased, who committed suicide to avoid being taken into custody. Drug and alcohol overdoses were not considered to be suicides unless there was evidence the overdose was intentional. Unintentional over use of alcohol or drugs for recreational purposes were coded as intoxication deaths. Deaths that were submitted as suicide by cop, were recorded in the ARD collection as homicides because the death was directly attributed to actions taken by law enforcement personnel.