US police killings headed for 1,100 this year, with black Americans twice as likely to die

[KamaAina]

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/01/us-police-killings-this-year-black-americans

Police in the United States are killing people at a rate that would result in 1,100 fatalities by the end of this year, according to a Guardian investigation, which recorded an average of three people killed per day during the first half of 2015.

The Counted, a project working to report and crowdsource names and a series of other data on every death caused by law enforcement in the US this year, found that 547 people had been killed by the end of June.

In total, 478 of those people were shot and killed, while 31 died after being shocked by a Taser, 16 died after being struck by police vehicles, and 19 – including 25-year-old Freddie Gray in Baltimore – have died after altercations in police custody.

When adjusted to accurately reflect the US population, the totals indicate that black people are being killed by police at more than twice the rate of white and Hispanic or Latino people. Black people killed by police were also significantly more likely to have been unarmed.

[SheilaT]

1. When I see headlines like that what I most want to ask

is something along the lines of: So once they've reached that quota then they'll stop?

Obviously, extreme sarcasm is intended.

[bettyellen]

2. And I just read here it's insulting to POC to bring up these issues! Their boats will be lifted with

everyone else or not at all! Then they can afford lawyers, and um... some other bullshit like that.

[Number23]

3. Only white people are allowed to speak for poc. And then they they do it, they get accused of being

"too focused" on poc.



This is all water under the bridge. Nothing to see here. BlacksforBernie is up to almost TWO HUNDRED whole members so all is well!1

[bettyellen]

4. I thought I wasn't allowed to say anything! Now you can't either? Damn, I had a feeling that was

coming next! Mission accomplished!

[Number23]

10. Yes, apparently no one in the AA forum is black. Or we're all black but just pretending to care

about black issues. It's hard to keep up.

And the white people that actually participate and have befriended the few remaining black posters here are "poseurs" but the white posters that most of the black posters wouldn't spit on if they were on fire, that saunter into every single thread about racism or threads discussing how candidates are discussing race and declare them "unimportant" and the people discussing them "privileged" are somehow the TRUE champions of race issues on this board. Did I mention how most of the black posters here wouldn't spit on these people if they were on fire? Hell, what am I saying -- alot of white ones wouldn't either!

They never step a toe in the AA forum because there would be a literal TSUNAMI of links from a half dozen posters going back for YEARS of all the nasty, racist garbage they've spewed and all the folks calling them out on it but somehow, they have anointed themselves The Authority to speak for us even though most of us wouldn't spit on them if they were on fire. Did I mention that already?

Oh yeah. And social issues are fake and only the 1% benefits from people talking about them.

[bettyellen]

11. It's interesting that they're basically trying to tell everyone to just shut up about racial issues

And then also want to claim they give a rats ass. I'm thinking its actually a low priority.
The meme a few days ago was "a politician can't solve racisim" yesterday it was an "Atwater tactic". How many excuses can they find to dismiss the issue? They're working on it.

[Comrade Grumpy]

7. This is much more important issue than petty primary ax-grinding.

I think people across the spectrum here find this appalling. It's blood-drenched evidence of, to put it politely, racially disproportionate use of deadly force against black people, as well as the more general problem of excessive police use of deadly force.

What are we going to do about it?

I've long advocated for a national commission on law enforcement standards and practices. Obama could do that.

Tracking the police killings is a good start. Good thing we have the Guardian to do that. No one in the US government seems very interested in it. Maybe there's a chance for legislation there.

The racism in policing shows up all over the place. Pick your state, pick your measure. Pot arrests? Traffic stops? Street searches? Death penalty? Crack laws? More chances for legislation.

Dealing with this isn't just going to happen with Congress passing some law, either. There's bad rot in our civic culture and in our law enforcement culture. We do need to fix it. Using this for intramural sniping doesn't take us down that path.

[bettyellen]

9. The "Atwater" axe been getting plenty of grinding here all of a sudden, and it's fucked up!

[99th_Monkey]

5. I have to ask: is the Labor Movement enabling these so-called "Police Unions"?

Cop "unions" are the most bellicose hate-filled "unions" on the block,
how do they get away with calling themselves a "part of the union
movement", with nary a peep from the progressive unions?

Yes, it would likely create "a schism in the labor movement" .. ok .. never mind.

[Uncle Joe]

6. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, KamaAina.

[Glassunion]

8. 'Merica! 'Merica!

Fuck yeah!