Police shootings and brutality in the US: 9 things you should know

9 Cards

EDITED BY German Lopez

2016-08-13 10:00:00 -0400

  1. American police shoot and kill far more people than their peers in other countries
  2. There are huge racial disparities in how US police use force
  3. Cities across the country have been riddled with accusations of police abuse
  4. There's no good data on how many people police kill each year
  5. Police can use deadly force if they merely perceive a threat
  6. Cops are almost never prosecuted and convicted for use of force
  7. Killings of police officers on duty are near record lows
  8. The federal government has helped the militarization of police
  9. Reforms have focused on community policing and accountability — but that may not be enough

  1. Card 1 of 9

    American police shoot and kill far more people than their peers in other countries

  2. Card 2 of 9

    There are huge racial disparities in how US police use force

  3. Card 3 of 9

    Cities across the country have been riddled with accusations of police abuse

  4. Card 4 of 9

    There's no good data on how many people police kill each year

  5. Card 5 of 9

    Police can use deadly force if they merely perceive a threat

  6. Card 6 of 9

    Cops are almost never prosecuted and convicted for use of force

    Police are very rarely prosecuted for shootings — and not just because the law allows them wide latitude to use force on the job. Sometimes the investigations fall onto the same police department the officer is from, which creates major conflicts of interest. Other times the only available evidence comes from eyewitnesses, who may not be as trustworthy in the public eye as a police officer.

    "There is a tendency to believe an officer over a civilian, in terms of credibility," David Rudovsky, a civil rights lawyer who co-wrote Prosecuting Misconduct: Law and Litigation, told Vox's Amanda Taub. "And when an officer is on trial, reasonable doubt has a lot of bite. A prosecutor needs a very strong case before a jury will say that somebody we generally trust to protect us has so seriously crossed the line as to be subject to a conviction."

    If police are charged, they're rarely convicted. The National Police Misconduct Reporting Project analyzed 3,238 criminal cases against police officers from April 2009 through December 2010. They found that only 33 percent were convicted, and 36 percent of officers who were convicted ended up serving prison sentences. Both of those are about half the rate at which members of the public are convicted or incarcerated.

    police_incarceration_and_conviction_rates.0.png

    The low conviction and incarceration rates have fed into the idea among critics of law enforcement that police can get away with using deadly force even in situations that don't call for it. This poses concerns for those who want to hold police accountable, but critics also worry it has fostered a police culture that's too lenient in using force because cops believe there most likely won't be legal consequences even if they make a bad call.

  7. Card 7 of 9

    Killings of police officers on duty are near record lows

  8. Card 8 of 9

    The federal government has helped the militarization of police

  9. Card 9 of 9

    Reforms have focused on community policing and accountability — but that may not be enough