Where Do Most Fatal Police Killings Happen
A common assumption is that fatal police shootings most often occur in urban locations, because some of those areas are perceived to be plagued by high levels of community gun violence. But a study by the Harvard School of Public Health and published in the Journal of Preventive Medicine in May 2020 found fatal police shooting rates were as high in rural areas as in urban areas. Suburban locations were found to have somewhat lower rates.
And a separate, 2019 study from Harvard suggests that different neighborhoods present disparate risks of police violence: Researchers found that the risk of Black people being killed by police was highest in predominantly white neighborhoods.
People Are Also Reading
A. No. Once all U.S. troops have left the country, the Afghan government must stand on its own. President Biden said the United States will monitor terrorists threats, reorganize counterterrorism capabilities and keep substantial assets in the region to respond to threats to the United States emerging from Afghanistan.
Q. Has the Democratic Party given those that are coming to our border a vaccine?
A. No. The Democratic Party is a political party, not a medical provider.
Q. When will they bring criminal charges against President Trump for inciting a riot on Jan. 6?
A. Michael Sherwin, the departing acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, said in March that the former president was still under investigation over the January insurrection. But many Washington insiders say it is extremely unlikely Trump will be prosecuted.
Q. How much is the Terrace Hill wrought iron fence going to cost and who will be footing the bill?
A. The state of Iowa will pay $400,000 to design and build a wrought iron fence around the historic Des Moines mansion used as the residence for Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Associated Press reported. The taxpayers will foot the bill, from the budget of the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
Q. What is the phone number for Meals on Wheels?
A. In Waterloo, call 779-8707.
Q. Does the Courier charge for obituaries?
Q. Will you replace Dennis Clayson in your paper?
Fatal Police Shootings Of Unarmed Black People In Us More Than 3 Times As High As In Whites
Overall fatal shooting rate not budged in 5 years public health emergency say researchers
The rate of fatal police shootings of unarmed Black people in the US is more than 3 times as high as it is among White people, finds research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
And the total numbers of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour killed in police shootings hasnt budged over the past 5 years, prompting the researchers to describe the figures as a public health emergency.”
Deaths caused by police violence in the US are disproportionately high among BIPOC, but its not clear if the rate of these deaths might have changed over time.
The researchers therefore looked at trends in fatal police shootings, overall, and according to whether the victim was armed, to quantify years of life lost across racial/ethnic groups between 2015 and 2020.
They drew on publicly available data compiled by The Washington Post on every person killed by on-duty police officers in the US during this period.
The data, which were sourced from local news reports, independent databases, and additional reporting at the paper, include details of the race, age and sex of the victims, as well any item in their possession perceived to be a weapon.
Estimates of years of life lost were based on national historical life expectancy data for US citizens in the victims birth year compared with their actual age at death.
Don’t Miss: How To File A Police Report For An Accident
At Least 25 Americans Were Killed During Protests And Political Unrest In 2020
Findings from Armed Conflict Location and Event Data raise concerns about continued violence during and after election day
At least 11 Americans have been killed while participating in political demonstrations this year and another 14 have died in other incidents linked to political unrest, according to new data from a non-profit monitoring political unrest in the United States.
Nine of the people killed during protests were demonstrators taking part in Black Lives Matter protests. Two were conservatives killed after pro-Trump patriot rallies. All but one were killed by fellow citizens.
The new data highlights the danger of the presence of guns during politically charged protests, and raises concerns about continued violence during and after election day, when many Americans anticipate delays, confusion and protests before the winner of the presidential race is confirmed.
Thoughts On Opinion: Police Shooting Statistics Of Unarmed Suspects Show The Young More Likely To Be Killed
Well guess what. If black Americans on the average commit 54 per cent of all murders are they more dangerous or not? It has nothing to do with prejudice its statistical data. Again, a black person is about 6 times more likely to kill someone. What are we even talking about? Stop dancing to the BLM tune for gods sake.
9 unarmed black men were shot by the police in 2019. Wanna guess how many whites boys were killed ??? 19.
Now that was a nice little outburst freedom speech and all but every statistic you put out there is false 90% of all black ppl getting killed are from other black ppl not from white ppl not even close. On the other side white ppl dont commit nearly as much crime as black ppl not that it matters but I had to prove wrong your anecdotes
Dear Mr. Males, may I ask what the racial demographic breakdown is of the 183 victims you cite in this article?
Recommended Reading: How Much Is It To Get Into The Police Academy
Reginald Leon Boston Jr
Jacksonville, Florida
According to CBS affiliate WJAX, 20-year-old Reginald Leon Boston Jr. was fatally shot by Jacksonville police who said they had set up an undercover operation to find a man who robbed someone at gunpoint. Police had three suspects, including Boston.
Officers attempted to arrest Boston and two others when suspects allegedly displayed a gun that they would not put down, WJAX reported. Officers shot two suspects, including Boston. Boston was killed at the scene.
It is not clear if Boston was the person holding the gun.
Darwin Darrin Barnell Foy
Webster City, Iowa
According to the Associated Press, 35-year-old Darwin Barnell Foy was shot and killed by Iowa State Troopers who said they were responding to a 911 call from a woman who said that a man had fired shots at her.
Police said they negotiated with Foy for hours but he threatened to shoot the woman within a specific amount of time. The troopers then went into the home and shot Foy.
Don’t Miss: How To Report Car Accident To Police
Cities And States With The Highest And Lowest Levels Of Police Violence
Over the past year since Floyd was murdered, 25 states saw a decrease, 19 states an increase and seven states had the same number of police killings compared with the same period a year ago.
New Mexico had the highest rate of police killings at 10 people killed by police for every million inhabitants followed by Montana and Alaska, both with 8 people killed per million inhabitants. The East Coast states of New Jersey, followed by Connecticut and Rhode Island, had the fewest police killings at less than 1 person per million inhabitants over the past 12 months.
The rate in the state of Minnesota, where George Floyd lived, increased from 10 police killings per million inhabitants the year before Floyd was killed to 13 one year after his murder. This includes Daunte Wright who was shot and killed by police officer Kim Potter during a police stop on April 11, 2021.
What The Data Say About Police Brutality And Racial Bias And Which Reforms Might Work
Body-worn cameras can increase the accountability of the police, but studies on their use have produced mixed results.Credit: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty
For 9 minutes and 29 seconds, Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into the neck of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man. This deadly use of force by the now-former Minneapolis police officer has reinvigorated a very public debate about police brutality and racism.
As protests have spread around the globe, the pressure is on police departments and politicians, particularly in the United States, to do something from reforming law-enforcement tactics to defunding or even abolishing police departments.
And although researchers are encouraged by the momentum for change, some are also concerned that, without ample evidence to support new policies, leaders might miss the mark. Many have been arguing for years about the need for better data on the use of force by the police in the United States, and for rigorous studies that test interventions such as training on how to de-escalate tense interactions or mandating the use of body-worn cameras by officers. Those data and studies have begun to materialize, spurred by protests in 2014 after the deadly shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the death by chokehold of Eric Garner in New York City.
You May Like: How To Report Information To Police
Darrell William Mobley Sr
Syracuse, New York
According to CBS affiliate WRGB, 48-year-old Darrell Mobley was shot and killed by a Syracuse police officer after police responded to reports of a burglary in progress.
Police said when they arrived at the scene, Mobley was holding a knife. Mobley allegedly stabbed an officer in the neck, prompting the officer to fire multiple rounds at Mobley, hitting him once. The officer was not wearing a body camera.
Mobley died at the hospital.
Racial Disparity In Police Shootings Unchanged Over 5 Years
Over the past five years there has been no reduction in the racial disparity in fatal police shooting victims despite increased use of body cameras and closer media scrutiny, according to a new report by researchers at Yale and the University of Pennsylvania.
Using information from a national database compiled and maintained by The Washington Post, researchers found that victims identifying as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color , whether armed or unarmed, had significantly higher death rates compared with whites. And those numbers remained relatively unchanged from 2015 to May 2020. The report appears in the Oct. 27 edition of the Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health.
While the data are already publicly available, the researchers decided to enter it into the scientific literature and present it using methods that are accepted by science as rigorous and robust. Its critical, said author Dowin Boatright, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Yale, that fatal police shootings of BIPOC are recognized and treated as a public health emergency.
Those killed by police on average are young people the average age for all victims is 34, Boatright said. For Black people, the average age is 30. For Hispanics killed, the average age is 33 for Native Americans, 31 and for white people, 38.
Recommended Reading: When’s The Next Police Auction
The Claim: Us Police Killed Eight Unarmed Black Men In 2019
In response to the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement after the death of George Floyd, Charlie Kirk, the founder and president of the conservative group Turning Point USA, posted a statement on Facebook.
Kirk claimed in a during the Blackout Tuesday campaign that, according to the Washington Posts database of police shootings, police killed eight unarmed Black men in 2019. Other Facebook pages have reposted the video, adding to its viewership.
Kirk uses this figure while arguing that systemic racism does not exist within law enforcement. He did not mention in the video that Black Americans make up 13% of the population but are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white Americans, as the Post reported. He also did not mention, as explained by Naomi Zack in her book on racial profiling and police homicide that “when 4.4 million random stop and frisks were conducted in New York City, during the period from 2004 2012, even though Blacks were disproportionately singled out, the incidence of further police action was less for Blacks than for whites.”
Kirk’s claim that police killed eight unarmed Black men in 2019 is incorrect for several reasons.
Leonard Charles Parker Jr
Gulfport, Mississippi
According to CBS affiliate WKRG, 53-year-old Leonard Parker Jr. of Covington, Georgia, was killed by a Gulfport police officer.
Fox and CW affiliate WXXV reported that the officer was responding to calls of a disturbance in the area. As an officer was approaching the area, Parker was allegedly driving away and drove toward the officer. The officer then shot Parker, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Read Also: How To Be A Police Officer In Virginia
July 201: Eric Garner
Eric Garner died after he was wrestled to the ground by a New York police officer on suspicion of illegally selling cigarettes.
While in a choke hold, Mr Garner uttered the words “I can’t breathe” 11 times.
The incident – filmed by a bystander – led to protests across the country. The police officer involved was later fired, but was never prosecuted.
It came a year after the Black Lives Matter movement emerged in response to the acquittal of the man who killed teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida.
Fatal Police Shootings Of Unarmed Black People Reveal Troubling Patterns
- EmbedEmbed
Demonstrators raise their arms and chant, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” in August 2014 as they protest the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.hide caption
toggle caption
Demonstrators raise their arms and chant, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” in August 2014 as they protest the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.
Ronell Foster was riding his bicycle through the hushed streets of Vallejo, Calif., one evening when a police officer noticed that the bike had no lights and that he was weaving in and out of traffic.
The officer, Ryan McMahon, went after Foster with lights flashing, siren blaring and the car’s spotlight pointed directly at him. Foster stopped. The pair exchanged words before Foster, who was on community supervision for a car theft conviction a month earlier, fled, eventually ditching the bicycle. McMahon caught up with Foster and jumped on top of him. The two struggled. McMahon, a rookie on the force, used a Taser on the father of two and struck him several times with his department-issued flashlight. Gunfire erupted seven shots total. When it was over, Foster, 33, lay dying in the bushes in a darkened courtyard near an apartment complex.
Ronell Foster was fatally shot by Vallejo, Calif., police Officer Ryan McMahon in 2018 after being stopped for riding his bicycle without a light. Foster was unarmed. Foster familyhide caption
toggle caption
A year later, he shot again.
Among NPR’s other findings:
toggle caption
Read Also: How To See Police On Google Maps
In 2020 How Many White Police Officers Were Shot By Black People Your Call The Courier Questions Answered
- May 5, 2021
Q. In 2020, how many white police officers were shot by Black people?
A. In 2019, the most recent year for which complete FBI statistics are available, 48 white officers died as a result of felonious acts, 44 by gunfire 40 were white 28 of the alleged offenders were white, 15 were Black/African American, and 1 was Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander.
Q. Can you put the Sudoku in one of the corners on the page as its easier to cut out that way?
A. The placement of Sudoku is determined by the ads on the page.
Q. How do I restart a Courier subscription?
A. The easiest way is to contact customer service at 291-1444.
Limited time offer — $1 for 6 months
Q. Since our property taxes are being raised in Waterloo, shall we cancel our idea of a new police logo? Otherwise its more reason to add even more taxes
A. Waterloos total general fund budget for FY2021/22 is $36.4 million. The police department estimates the total logo replacement will cost more than $150,000. So yes, the city could conceivably reduce tax bills by .004% by not replacing the logo.
Q. After the U.S. pull troops out of Afghanistan, will the Afghans still be able to call us to give air support if needed?
William Howard Green Jr
According to CBS affiliate WUSA, 43-year-old William Howard Green was fatally shot by a Prince George County police officer while he was handcuffed.
Police said that the officer was responding to a 911 call alleging a male driver struck multiple cars along a road. The officer was told at the scene that Green was asleep in his car. The officer then took him out, handcuffed him and put him in the front seat of the police cruiser, police said.
Minutes later, a second officer heard gunshots and found that Green had been shot seven times. He later died at the hospital.
You May Like: How Much Does Police Training Cost
Police Are Almost Never Charged After Killings
Despite the large number of police killings annually, police are almost never charged for excessive force violations. Between 2013 and 2019, 99% of killings resulted in no charges, according to Mapping Police Violence.
Prosecutors are often wary of bringing charges against police because of the steep hurdles to obtaining a conviction.
A doctrine known as “qualified immunity” also protects police from excessive force lawsuits in cases that don’t involve a “clearly established” violation of the law.
An investigation by Reuters published last month showed that, over the past three years, police won more than half of the excessive force suits in which they claimed qualified immunity, a sharp increase from prior periods. Qualified immunity was “making it easier for officers to kill or injure civilians with impunity,” the news service reported.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, who announced the charges against Chauvin, acknowledged the difficulty of bringing charges against police officers in a press conference on Friday.
“This is by far the fastest we’ve ever charged a police officer,” Freeman said.
Floyd’s family has called for charges to be brought against the other three officers involved in his arrest, and for Chauvin’s murder charge to be escalated from third degree to first degree, which would carry steeper penalties.