Epidemic of racially motivated police shootings? University report says no.
 

The media has been portraying white police officers as having a bullseye on the black population. Here are the facts you will never here from the media.

Credit: CC0 Public Domain
Reports of racially motivated, fatal shootings by police officers have garnered extensive public attention and sparked activism across the nation. New research from Michigan State University and University of Maryland reveals findings that flip many of these reports on their heads—white police officers are not more likely to shoot minorities citizens than non-white officers.


"Until now, there's never been a systematic, nationwide study to determine the characteristics of police involved in fatal officer-involved shootings," said Joseph Cesario, co-author and professor of psychology at MSU. "There are so many examples of people saying that when black citizens are shot by police, it's white officers shooting them. In fact, our findings show no support for the idea that white officers are biased in shooting black citizens."

The findings—published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS - are based on an independent database Cesario and his team created that catalogued each police shooting from 2015. The team—led also by co-author David Johnson from University of Maryland—contacted every police department that had a fatal police shooting to get the race, sex and years of experience for every officer involved in each incident. The team also leveraged data from police shooting databases by The Washington Post and The Guardian.

"We found that the race of the officer doesn't matter when it comes to predicting whether black or white citizens are shot,"

Terrible when facts get in the way of what the media is pushing.

Some years ago they media ranted and raved about all the churches that were destroyed or heavily damaged and low and behold it was a steady number for years.

I didn't know that "black people being *shot* by white police" was the issue, so much as black people being chased, shot, tazed, accused, jailed, charged, beat up, battered, physically assaulted by white police, more than white people who were under suspicion of the same crimes.

And the statistics to support this are?

Statistics to support an opinion? Pretty sure I don't need any. I was under the assumption that the "issues" were not "white cops shooting - exclusively - black people."

It's based on what I thought. So - 100% of all people who use the handle OrangeBlossomBaby on websites dedicated to Talk of the Villages - agree.

There's your statistic.

Well, that is perfectly intuitive to the most casual observer , with a minimum of observation!

All people are chased, tased, and shot when they don’t obey the law and try to injury police officers. Obey commands to live another day, disobey and put yourself in danger. When you fill the shoes of police officers and being shot at often you tend to be jumpy trying to stay alive. This happens daily in some crime ridden cities.

Don’t mean it’s right or true.

Meanwhile, here's another report, also from a university. It's not exclusively about white cops shooting black criminals.

It's about the use of force by police, use of force policies, and basic human rights, and how police departments are really screwing it up.

https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/...4&context=ihrc

Warning - it's an actual report, not just a 4-paragraph article about a report. It's 100 pages long. A good read though. With real facts and everything.

If you can watch movie shadowgate on YouTube how government contractors use Ipsy social media to influence with propaganda - they are pushing this white cop narrative - they want to defund the police and be in charge

Could that possible be because blacks are committing more crimes and when confronted by police, either try to flee or resist arrest?

[QUOTE=100%[/QUOTE]

Speaking of “100%”, I’m guessing that 100% of the people that resist a police officer and do not comply with their instructions run the risk of the encounter escalating, regardless of skin color.

13% of the population is committing over 60% of the crimes.

Nonsense.
 

As the author so states: "The report is attempting to "predict" shooting scenarios." Please raise your hands high, and you might as well assume the position, if you've ever read of a police shooting involving a black officer and a black "suspect."
Since most police departments don't even employ minority officers, and the few that do have only a minimal staffing, how accurate is the report?

In my opinion,
100% of the people who resist a police officer or do not comply with their instructions run the risk of the encounter escalating, regardless of skin color.

That’s it exactly. And there are many studies showing black people are anywhere from three to eight times more likely to be shot during a police encounter than white people. Why anyone would try to infer the opposite in the face of facts is just another instance of systemic racism in this country.

Why is it that "Black Lives Matter" only when white police are involved in an incident? Don't they matter when a black on black incidents occur? What about the little black girl shot in Chicago a few weeks ago? Who speaks up for her? Her death was just incidental to the bigger story of another weekend of gang violence. Why is it that most of the sensationalized incidents occur with individuals who have been in trouble before and are resisting the authorities?

Correct!!!!!!!!!

Let's acknowledge that there needs to be a constant heightened awareness that there is an appropriate way to treat suspects in stopping, chasing, questioning, and arresting them. No stereotyping by race, ethnicity, or looks. Even though a suspect's behavior may be undesirable and suspicious in nature, a suspect should be treated in a authoritative humane civil manner. The police need to maintain control of the situation with humanity and dignity. No short order. A high duty and responsibility.
Proper, thorough vetting recruits, training, evaluation, and retention of officers needs to be done in a way to best ensure that racial bias and inappropriate behavior does not appear in officers. And, when all is said and done, there needs to be a realization that bad things happen, especially in the heat of the moment, and not to throw out the proverbial baby with the dirty bath water. Rioting, defunding the police, and lawlessness certainly are not justified in any way; they are counterproductive and destructive.

Could it be that more blacks commit crimes, then resist arrest?

What you said appears to be the common thought among CERTAIN GROUPS but if you watch Orlando's evening news consistently, it is obvious what is really happening.

Or if you watch Cincinnati's evening news, as we did for a very long time it was obvious as well. Cincinnati used to publish once a year in our Newspaper pictures of all people murdered and it was a shock.

Many people are not racist in the fact that they try very hard NOT to attribute certain negative events to groups of people.

When it is brought to the attention in a public way of the high rate of crime among certain groups, there are many who explain that poverty is a contributing factor, also that some groups do not have the opportunity for good jobs that others have. And certain groups have had a history going back well over a hundred years of terribly unfair and inhumane treatment.

I try very hard to be fair but now I hear some local campaign speeches by the person who seems to be another Aramis Ayala who is berating the well connected wealthy people as if it is a crime to be financially successful.

I have never been other than white, but I have been poor. I have only lived where there was no segregation for most of my life. There was no people who were Indian or Asian that I knew in school and only five black students in our graduating class of 366.

I think that many of us have gone over and over in our minds if we are racist after the huge propaganda campaign BLM. It doesn't ring true to me that police forces are unfairly singling out black people. It appears they are following people a lot who leave known high drug areas and may stop them on a non working tail light, but I don't think they target people in cars in the dark whose color is not visible. Not most of the police officers. This whole new defunding the police seems to me to be some sort of retaliation against police by people who have been in trouble with the law.

This would be more convincing As a race issue if it included whether they were resisting arrest. Maybe THAT is the issue and not race. A better statistic that might point to race being a factor is how many are shot that aren’t resisting. But the media is cherry picking “facts” to support a narrative

I have never heard of anyone , any color, who didn’t resist arrest being tased, beat, etc. If you are being arrested and are resisting a fighting, that’s another story. Certain drugs in the system can make even the smallest woman like Superman. What should the officers do, ask to sing Kumbaya. It is getting harder and harder for police to do their jobs. Most people won’t care, might even be glad. This will affect all of us, not just criminals. We all might have to have encounters with police officers not only for criminal reasons. When they are defunded and don’t show up to help maybe a little Kumbaya might. Also, if you haven’t been in a police officers shoes, don’t talk like they fit you!

Change the phrase "black people being chased----" to "poverty stricken and criminals --" and from" white police" to "police'". Do you realize that most of these problems are in regions that "white police are less than 50% of the police force.
Stop spreading a biased narrative and start working to help this great country heal.

Bingo

Thank you for posting this.
 

Following is a link to ABC's coverage of this.

In fatal police shootings, race of officer not predictive of civilian'''s race: Study - ABC News

They do matter. And until everyone is on board with that fact, "all" lives will not yet matter.

Now you are using a Chicago based report where the murder and shooting rate is worse than most terrorist countries?

Can you tell me the difference between...beat-up, physically assaulted and battered. You list all three as if they are three different issues.
FYI the issue in US (all the riots and looting) is blacks being “killed” by white officers.

I wonder what the stats are on the race of the shooter in most COPs shot every year.

According to the FBI, about half the COPs killed in recent years have been by black suspects. Hmmm, considering that America is populated about 13.4% by black Americans, that seems like a very large ratio. If black suspects are more apt to kill police than white suspects, it seems logical to think that the police would be a bit leery when interacting with black suspects. Oh, and in most years (other than 2019) 100% of the COP killings were perpetrated by males. In 2019 one killing was by a female.

So your using a fact that most police departments don't employ minorities in the country? Yet you fail to say that most communities in the country have less than 1% minorities. I live in a town, in the liberal state of Massachusetts, and the minority population in my town and the surrounding towns are about 0.7%. In my town of 12 policemen there are 2 minorities and 3 women. Does that mean that as a white man I am being unjustly represented? So much for your argument. Anybody can find a fact that suit their needs but few are willing to do proper research to determine the true facts.

People that make ludicrous assumptions about police brutality should try walking a mile in their shoes. Perhaps if they were to do a ride along, they could better appreciate the difficult job in which they are being underpaid to perform. And by the way, most ride alongs only see the less dangerous part of police duties, because the police are trying to protect them while still performing their duties.
Most police enforce the law while being color blind. A law broken is the same regardless of the color of the perp. I know that many prefer to conveniently avoid that perspective, because it does not fit their narrative.

Unfortunately only about 14% of America is black and a vast majority of urban crime in committed by African Americans. Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit and NewYork are currently being vacated by those who can.leave.

Coming from Chicago, it was preordained to be 100 pages long.

Dont resist and cooperate when stopped by police and none of your statements occurs. Quote your sources for your hate of police comments

I was wondering if you had any reports or analysis on the phenomenon of the excessive number of shootings of blacks, BY BLACKS in areas such as Chicago, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. Far more blacks have lost their life at the hands of other blacks then at the hands of police.
Some STAGGERING numbers from 2011 Chicago PD:
VICTIMS

83.4% of deaths were from shootings, 6.7% stabbings, and 6.5% assaults. Of the 362 firearm homicides, 351 (97%) were from handguns. 77% of all homicide victims had a prior arrest history. Victims were 90% male.

Victims By Race:
Black 326 75.3% Hispanic 82 18.9% White 20 4.6%. Other 5 1.2%

Offenders By Race:
Black 122 71.3% Hispanic 42 24.6% White 6 3.5% Other 1 .6%

It may be more beneficial to focus on the bigger cause of unnecessary deaths in America than to sensationalize other causes of deaths In our communities.

the cops do target blacks, whether the cop is black or white or pink or blue. don't kid yourself

I do not agree. Tell us why you say this.

“Under suspicion of the same crimes” is an interesting distinction. Thanks. It’s important. It gives a different answer than say, comparing one neighborhood with another. Poorer, more densely populated neighborhoods are more likely to have a higher crime rate, irrespective of skin color, and so to have more police personnel assigned to it. More crimes happen, more are seen, more attempts at arrest are made, more criminals resist arrest in many ways, and so more violence between criminals and cops occurs. Again, this is irrespective of skin color. I don’t believe cops often think, “This suspect has dark skin, so I’m going to beat him hard as I attempt to arrest him as he resists me and threatens my life,” or “This suspect has a pinkish tan complexion, so if he threatens my life while resisting arrest, I’m just going to politely ask him to comply without laying a finger on him.” (I’m not talking about a general level of anger, fear, mistrust, or racism many cops develop because of how they are treated in a community that leads to an aggressive and authoritarian response to provocation of any sort by darker-skinned people.)

I believe many cops have highly prejudiced attitudes against people with darker skins, generally conditioned by experience, and many people with darker skins (but not most!) have highly prejudiced attitudes toward light-skinned people in general but especially against police officers of any sort, ALSO generally conditioned by experience. However, I think the evidence shows that when it comes to attempts at arrest, cops tend to react the normal way they react to resistance, and the worse the resistance, the worse the response. If the criminal happens to have darker skin, that is seen as racism. If the criminal happens to have lighter skin, that is usually not seen as racism. In fact, neither one is primarily racist, but hatred of criminal action and a desire to make the arrest. Another element is that when lighter-skinned people who resist arrest are arrested after police violence, this usually happens in some other neighborhood than one with mostly darker-skinned people, so the darker-skinned people don’t witness it and come to believe that the violence must be due to their skin color.

I very much want to see relations between the police and the community improve. I want cops to learn effective ways of defusing situations. I also want community members to respond to law enforcement officers with respect, both verbal and physical. I’d like to see them cooperate more with police by telling them where to find criminals so they can be arrested. The old habit of not telling the police harms people. Sometimes a law-abiding mother or brother can save the lives of others by calling the police and saying, “I know my son did this, and here is where you will find him.” This goes against human nature, but it is part of being a good citizen. People should be rewarded for this citizenship.

My problem with statements like this from certain groups is not that I don't agree with them, but they are very idealistic and lacking in realism. Most humans in today's world are far more able to see people as people because of the overwhelming information we are shown and absorb.

Those who grew up in multi-diverse heavily populated areas and those who grew up in areas of relatively low crime have completely different life experiences.

I moved here from Cincinnati after living on a street with many ethnicities, BUT they were all employed by General Electric or Proctor and Gamble or The Lakota School System and made quite a bit of money. The area where I was a child had no murder committed in my whole going to school time. We did have drunks and domestic abuse.

I was called a liar by my next door neighbor in Hadley when I told him that. He was a cop from the Bronx. And he wasn't like any police officer I had ever known or either of the two family members who were life long police officer or like the dads of kids in my class who were police officers. Most of us have had very different life experiences so we can't be lecturing others thinking we walked in their shoes.

I have changed from one way of "thinking" as a young person to another way of "thinking" as an older person who has travelled through being poor and very unrealistic to being financially secure. And like most people, after weathering many serious storms including cancer and death of people I love and observing heartbreak and awful things that happened to friends. I am a realist now and I try very hard to see things as they ARE and not some unrealistic dream that can never be real life, no matter how we want it to be. I ask many questions as to WHY some survive and prosper and some do not. I know that we are not all born equal. AND we cannot legislate morality. If we ban guns, the bad guys will still have guns. If we give people what others work hard for there will be resentment at the very least. We do not do enough for the truly disabled and there are scams out there to the hopeful including college for folks who are learning disabled and not really capable to going to college. We all wish for dreams that will not and cannot be realized. WE MUST SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE.