The Counted: People killed by police in the US

[sheshe2]

The Counted People killed by police in the US

Interactive Here. Click on the states and click on the images below.

Steven Hawkins, the executive director Amnesty International USA, described the racial imbalance as “startling”.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/01/the-counted-police-killings-us-database#

Black Americans killed by police twice as likely to be unarmed as white people



Black Americans are more than twice as likely to be unarmed when killed during encounters with police as white people, according to a Guardian investigation which found 102 of 464 people killed so far this year in incidents with law enforcement officers were not carrying weapons.

An analysis of public records, local news reports and Guardian reporting found that 32% of black people killed by police in 2015 were unarmed, as were 25% of Hispanic and Latino people, compared with 15% of white people killed.

snip

The Guardian’s statistics include deaths after the police use of a Taser, deaths caused by police vehicles and deaths following altercations in police custody, as well as those killed when officers open fire. They reveal that 29% of those killed by police, or 135 people, were black. Sixty-seven, or 14%, were Hispanic/Latino, and 234, or 50%, were white. In total, 102 people who died during encounters with law enforcement in 2015 were unarmed.

The figures illustrate how disproportionately black Americans, who make up just 13% of the country’s total population according to census data, are killed by police. Of the 464 people counted by the Guardian, an overwhelming majority – 95% – were male, with just 5% female.

Steven Hawkins, the executive director Amnesty International USA, described the racial imbalance as “startling”. Hawkins said: “The disparity speaks to something that needs to be examined, to get to the bottom of why you’re twice as likely to be shot if you’re an unarmed black male.”

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/01/black-americans-killed-by-police-analysis?CMP=share_btn_tw

I find the statistics disturbing. That said, it does not come close to the emotions I feel about this.

[daleanime]

1. K&R.....

This needs to stop, and simple 'window dressing' little changes are not going to do it. There will have to be deep, solid changes in the 'justice system' to end this.

[Journeyman]

2. As I commented earlier, this is a very useful chart . . .

Over 50% white, better than 25% over 45 years old, 25% unarmed. . .

Information such as this may provide the impetus needed to move the conversation forward. It shouldn't have to be this way, but as the nation begins to perceive that the targeted and dead encompass all of us, and not just "young black thugs," perhaps needed reforms will be adequately addressed.

I'm just glad to see the media has begun to collect and document this, instead of simply relying on out-of-date, poorly sourced data provided by the FBI. The more that's known, the better the opportunity to effect meaningful change.

[niyad]

3. a very disheartened k and r

[Logical]

4. It amazes me how few Recs this is getting, apathy I guess! nt

[mountain grammy]

5. This is the third time I've seen it posted... it's getting plenty of views and recs

I'll be happy to recommend this post every time I see it.

The Guardian is the best newspaper in America. Oh, right, it's not in America.

This is a very important story. Every newspaper in America should sign on to this project. The American press remained mostly silent while thousands were lynched and tortured in America, and has remained mostly silent about America's unequal and unjust justice system. The American press has remained mostly silent about America's problems because the news might make us too depressed to buy the crap their selling us.

[Logical]

6. +1000 for the Guardian! nt

[qwlauren35]

7. I am sorry for your pain.

I have become numb. I think it was Walter Scott that did it, but I'm near Baltimore and also just experienced the reaction to Freddie Gray's death. I have a girlfriend on Facebook who is in the city, loves Baltimore with her very breath, and what happened in the city broke her emotionally. The death, the protests and how they weren't covered, the riots, the "thugs" who were really just misguided kids, the indictments, the curfew, the National Guard... all of it. She wants to leave the city. I am sorry for her pain, also.

For me, the statistics are so unsurprising, it's pathetic.

Now I just sit back to see whether it is swept under the rug or becomes a clarion call for racial justice. What would truly blow me away would be if this became part of the party platform.

But I'm definitely not holding my breath.