General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPolice killed vs Police killing
Just the raw numbers tell a story. And it's tough to find the raw numbers because there is no US database on people killed by police. There is, however, The Counted, which is
maintained by The Guardian (a British publication) and documents the stories of people in the US killed by police and tracks the information by state, gender, age,ethnicity, whether armed
or unarmed.
Despite making up only 2% of the total US population, African American males between the ages of 15 and 34 comprised more than 15% of all deaths logged this year by an ongoing investigation into the use of deadly force by police. Their rate of police-involved deaths was five times higher than for white men of the same age.
Paired with official government mortality data, this new finding indicates that about one in every 65 deaths of a young African American man in the US is a killing by police.
This epidemic is disproportionately affecting black people, said Brittany Packnett, an activist and member of the White House taskforce on policing. We are wasting so many promising young lives by continuing to allow this to happen.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/01/the-counted-police-killings-us-database
To date in 2016 there have been 793 people in the US killed by the police. For Black citizens, the number killed by police is 4.86/million; for White citizens the number killed by police is 1.96/million.
How many police have been killed in the line of duty? For 2016 to date, 92 and of those 92, 40 are from gunfire.
https://www.odmp.org/search/year
I think it's important for people to be informed about who is really at risk here. I ran into someone--just out and about here in NC--who thought police were much more likely to be killed
in the line of duty by people than the other way around. I suspect it's not uncommon to find a lot of people in the country who think this way.
I was very happy to see a group of about 75 students at the UNC football game yesterday sit--some with fists raised--during the national anthem.
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/unc/unc-now/article103999981.html
This 65 year old white woman kept
her seat this past Thursday when the NC Symphony opened its season at Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill with the playing of the national anthem. My husband--a veteran--kept his seat, too,
but I wish there had been more who had joined us.
It's time to do whatever any of us can to raise awareness of the problem. Black Lives Matter.
Response to mnhtnbb (Original post)
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Archae
(46,385 posts)malaise
(269,515 posts)Response to Archae (Reply #5)
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malaise
(269,515 posts)I'll enjoy you weeping election night
JustAnotherGen
(32,116 posts)I was on the jury when they zapped her!
malaise
(269,515 posts)Moron
Avalux
(35,015 posts)But I can see that member had been here since before 2003. They finally crossed the line!!
malaise
(269,515 posts)probably a new user name
Avalux
(35,015 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(49,114 posts)dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)to change my name to ...."name removed".
malaise
(269,515 posts)Response to malaise (Reply #2)
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malaise
(269,515 posts)malaise
(269,515 posts)One more RW racist lie
citood
(550 posts)malaise
(269,515 posts)Thanks
mythology
(9,527 posts)mnhtnbb
(31,450 posts)at most risk for the largest disparity.
When you look at the total figures, you still see a big disparity between races. The numbers don't lie. Black Americans are disproportionately at risk
of being killed by police compared to White Americans, even though they are a much smaller percentage of total population.
Response to malaise (Reply #2)
Bernardo de La Paz This message was self-deleted by its author.
exboyfil
(17,867 posts)of stories of police shooting deaths for 2015 and 2016. It includes a summary of the shooting.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings-2016/
In 2015 494 white and 258 black. A recent crime statistic for violent offenders shows white only 42.9% of total and black only 22.4% of total.
http://www.amren.com/news/2015/07/new-doj-statistics-on-race-and-violent-crime/
mnhtnbb
(31,450 posts)What is included in The Counted?
Any deaths arising directly from encounters with law enforcement. This will inevitably include, but will likely not be limited to, people who were shot, tasered and struck by police vehicles as well those who died in police custody.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/01/about-the-counted
BUT, for instance, they do not include deaths in police custody that are ruled suicides (you won't find Sandra Bland).
mnhtnbb
(31,450 posts)It is a really good resource.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/01/the-counted-police-killings-us-database
mountain grammy
(26,693 posts)I written many letters and emails and donated to victims' GoFundMe sites. This is a widespread problem that's tearing families apart and it should be given national attention on a daily basis. It's been hidden for too long.
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,114 posts)That's people with arrest powers, mostly police officers.
I attempt to answer the question posed by the thread title ("Police killed vs Police killings" , which the OP does not seem to address directly.
The most recent figures I could find were from 2008 with 765,000 full-time sworn personnel (defined as those with general arrest powers) and about 44,000 part-time. So I upped the figures to "about one million" to make them comparable.
In 2016 to date 40 police officers died by gunfire. That's about 40 per million.
In 2016 to date, per excerpt in OP, about 5 per million blacks died by police gunfire and about 2 per million whites.
Two conclusions:
1) Police get killed at a greater rate than police kill.
2) Blacks get killed at a greater rate than whites get killed.
Neither conclusion paints a pretty picture and both states of affairs should be improved by reducing gun deaths and gun violence.
malaise
(269,515 posts)Doesn't that matter?
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,114 posts)BumRushDaShow
(130,394 posts)because ya know, we "all look alike" and "fit the description" -
http://articles.philly.com/2016-03-17/news/71606020_1_police-officer-narcotics-officer-shooting-spree
This was a big thing here back when it happened in March since the deceased officer was originally from the local Philly area.
Black undercover and plain-clothes officers are targets just like the rest of young black men.
mnhtnbb
(31,450 posts)according to this: http://www.nleomf.org/facts/enforcement/
Is anyone surprised that LEO's carrying firearms are killed in a country where there are 350 million guns?
It doesn't happen in other countries: police are not killing their citizens at rates that happen in the US and police themselves are not being killed at similar rates that happen in the US.
Some interesting explanations as to why may be found in these articles:
http://www.newsweek.com/why-do-american-cops-kill-more-people-other-countries-399169
http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3592&context=facpubs
tblue37
(65,590 posts)mnhtnbb
(31,450 posts)when I ushered for the play "Detroit '67" which was up at Playmakers here in Chapel Hill, the Repertory Company associated
with UNC-Chapel Hill.
I came home totally depressed. This was almost 50 years ago. The precipitating event for the riots was a raid
of an after hours, unlicensed bar in a poor, black neighborhood. Police brutality was center stage.
http://www.blackpast.org/aah/detroit-race-riot-1967
Here we are--50 years later--and white people of privilege still don't get it.
Rex
(65,616 posts)What level of self loathing have they reached in life, one wonders?
mnhtnbb
(31,450 posts)less is better--determines superiority.
Skittles
(153,428 posts)ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)these numbers only reflect deaths, and not the other forms of systematic oppression, which is significantly more common.
The police are the most dangerous hate group in the US.
bighart
(1,565 posts)Protective equipment I would be curious to see the data on how many were shot and survived.
The average civilian that is involved in a police shooting is not likely to have that advantage and is much less likely to survive as a result.
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