San Diego Criminal Lawyers Blog
Since 2020 this country has seen thousands of protestors standing up to excessive police use of force. The aim was to bring awareness to a serious issue affecting countless communities across the United States and to get the police to rein in tactics that historically resulted in serious injury or death during police encounters. Have the protests made a difference?
Racial Statistics
Police killings of civilians topped out in 2022 with 1,176 deaths. But that number exploded to over 1,200 in 2023, making it the deadliest year for deadly law enforcement actions in the last decade. It is likely no surprise to many that Black people fared the worst:
- They are the most likely demographic to be killed by police in numbers disproportionate to their population;
- The rate at which they are killed is triple the rate for white people;
- They are more likely to be unarmed than white people;
- The biggest group of unarmed people who were killed were people of color;
- Most killings by police occur as a result of non-violent offenses, mental health checks, or relating to traffic stops.
Other Facts
While killings are on the decline in urban areas, they are on the rise in rural areas. The numbers remain steady in suburban zip codes. More incidents are occurring involving county sheriff’s offices. Over 30% of victims were killed while fleeing from police on foot or in a vehicle. 98.1% of deaths related to law enforcement interactions have not resulted in criminal charges for any officers involved in the incident.
California’s Numbers
The statistics here in California are nothing to shout about. Of 1,478 killings by police, Black people were nearly four times as likely to be killed, and Latinx people were 1.5 times more likely to be killed than white people. However, not all police misconduct results in death. Of more than 60,000 complaints of police misconduct over a five-year period, just nine percent of cases were ruled in civilians’ favor. In terms of use-of-force complaints, only 3% of the more than 4,500 complaints ruled for civilians. Overall, the state of California earned a score of 35% by the Police Scorecard based on data from both local and state law enforcement. The lower the score, the more spent on policing, the more arrests for low-level offenses, the more use of force, and the less likely errant officers are held accountable for their actions. On a bright note, the racial disparity in police killings is below the national rate—though still high enough to be of serious concern. Continue reading