Blacks shot dead by US police by threat level, January – April 2016

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Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

This is what the Washington Post and The Guardian said on the 5 blacks the Washington Post classified as unarmed and not attacking police:

“Antronie Scott, an unarmed 36-year-old black man, was shot on Feb. 4, 2016, in San Antonio, Tex. Undercover San Antonio police officers were monitoring Scott, who had outstanding arrest warrants. When a uniformed officer approached Scott, he spun around with something in his hand. Police later determined that Scott was holding a cellphone.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

"David Joseph, an unarmed 17-year-old black male, was shot on Feb. 8, 2016, in Austin, Tex. Austin police were responding to reports of an erratic, aggressive person. Joseph, who was naked, rushed toward the officer." Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

"Calin Roquemore, an unarmed 24-year-old black man, was shot on Feb. 13, 2016, in Beckville, Tex. Roquemore fled a traffic stop by a Texas state trooper. Roquemore refused the trooper’s orders to show his hands. No weapon was found at the scene."  Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

"Marquintan Sandlin, an unarmed 32-year-old black man, was shot on Feb. 21, 2016, in Inglewood, Calif. The man was a passenger in a car stopped at an intersection. Inglewood police approached the car and noticed that the woman who was driving had a gun. Officers shot and killed Sandlin and the woman, Kisha Michael."  Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

"Peter Gaines, an unarmed 37-year-old black man, was shocked with a stun gun and shot on March 12, 2016, in Houston, Tex. A Houston police officer approached Gaines after he vandalized a traffic sign. Gaines lunged at the officer.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

I will leave it up to readers to work out how many of these police shootings were suspicious and indicate police misconduct.

322 killed by US police by threat level, January – April 2016: updated

Again, surprisingly few people who are unarmed and not attacking police end up being shot by police.

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Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

I reworked the data published by the Washington Post because as usual it does not put it in a form that illustrates how many people were armed or attacking police when shot.

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Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

This is what the Washington Post and The Guardian said on the 12 the Washington Post classified as unarmed and not attacking police:

“Ciara Meyer, an unarmed 12-year-old white female, was shot on Jan. 11, 2016, in an apartment in Penn Township, Pa. A Pennsylvania constable was serving Meyer’s father with an eviction notice. Meyer’s father pointed a rifle at the constable, who opened fire. The bullet travelled through the father’s arm, striking Ciara.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

“Kelsey Rose Hauser, an unarmed 25-year-old white woman, was shot on Jan. 16, 2016, in El Cajon, Calif. Hauser was a passenger in a stolen car that El Cajon police were pursuing. After a high-speed chase, the driver of the car drove toward an officer, who opened fire.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

“Daniel Shaver, an unarmed 26-year-old white man, was shot on Jan. 17, 2016, in a hotel in Mesa, Ariz. Mesa police were called to the hotel to investigate reports that a man pointed a rifle from a window. When police questioned Shaver in a hallway, he reached toward his back and didn’t cooperate with the officer’s orders.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

“Antronie Scott, an unarmed 36-year-old black man, was shot on Feb. 4, 2016, in San Antonio, Tex. Undercover San Antonio police officers were monitoring Scott, who had outstanding arrest warrants. When a uniformed officer approached Scott, he spun around with something in his hand. Police later determined that Scott was holding a cellphone.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

“David Joseph, an unarmed 17-year-old black male, was shot on Feb. 8, 2016, in Austin, Tex. Austin police were responding to reports of an erratic, aggressive person. Joseph, who was naked, rushed toward the officer.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

“Calin Roquemore, an unarmed 24-year-old black man, was shot on Feb. 13, 2016, in Beckville, Tex. Roquemore fled a traffic stop by a Texas state trooper. Roquemore refused the trooper’s orders to show his hands. No weapon was found at the scene.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

“Marquintan Sandlin, an unarmed 32-year-old black man, was shot on Feb. 21, 2016, in Inglewood, Calif. The man was a passenger in a car stopped at an intersection. Inglewood police approached the car and noticed that the woman who was driving had a gun. Officers shot and killed Sandlin and the woman, Kisha Michael.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

“Travis Boyd Bradley, an unarmed 36-year-old white man, was shot on March 2, 2016, in Bel Air, Md. Harford County deputies responded to a report of a person who was suicidal. After a standoff, Bradley came out of the residence and charged toward a deputy.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

“Peter Gaines, an unarmed 37-year-old black man, was shocked with a stun gun and shot on March 12, 2016, in Houston, Tex. A Houston police officer approached Gaines after he vandalized a traffic sign. Gaines lunged at the officer.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

“Joshua Grubb, an unarmed 30-year-old white man, was shot on March 13, 2016, in Lenoir City, Tenn. Lenoir City police were investigating the report of a drunken driver. Grubb attempted to flee with an officer in the back of his pickup truck.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

“Cristian Rene Medina, an unarmed 23-year-old Hispanic man, was shot on March 16, 2016, in Florence, Calif. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were responding to a report of a robbery. When they encountered Medina, who matched the description of the robbery suspect, he held his hands together as if he was holding a gun and pointed toward deputies. His family said he suffered from depression.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

“Eric John Wilson, an unarmed 22-year-old man, was shot on April 17, 2016, in El Paso, Tex. El Paso police responded to a call about a suicidal person. Wilson told officers that he had two handguns and an assault rifle. He reached behind his back and pulled out a dark object, which turned out

to be a cellphone.” Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States – interactive | US news | The Guardian.

@billclinton absolutely nails #blacklivesmatter

Killed by US police by threat level and weapon, January – March 2016

I had to download the file from the Washington Posed and reorganise the coding so you can actually work out the threat level and the weapon carried. This was previously possible with the 2015 database. The 2016 database filters changed to make it more difficult to work out how many people were killed by police while an attack was in progress. The improvement is the Washington Post now has filters for the type of weapon present.

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Source: Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016 – Washington Post.

U.S. police shootings by threat level, January 2016

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Source: Investigation: People shot and killed by police this year – Washington Post.

2015 police shootings of unarmed blacks by cause

Despite what you see on TV, surprisingly few unarmed people are shot because they are reaching for a weapon. Most unarmed suspects shot by police last year were resisting arrest. A few were killed in crossfire or by mistake. The chart below does not include unarmed Blacks who were attacking police when they were shot and killed according to Washington Post database.

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Source: Investigation: Police shootings – Washington Post.

Police killings of the mentally ill by threat level in 2015

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Source: Investigation: Police shootings – Washington Post.

Police killings of Blacks in 2015 by threat level

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Source: Investigation: Police shootings – Washington Post.

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Why 788 people were shot dead by police so far this year

The Washington Post also compiles a list of Americans shot dead by their police. The police hate speech host site, The Countered at The Guardian has some competition.

Source: Investigation: Police shootings – Washington Post.

The Washington Post counts 788 police shot dead by police. The Counted counts 922 because it includes deaths in custody, Taser deaths and people collapsing after a struggle. The Countered even included one poor sod who was lost at night-time and accidentally run over by the police cruiser searching for him. He wasn’t on the run. He was just run over at night.

Source: Investigation: Police shootings – Washington Post.

In common with The Counted, the Washington Post does not present the data on police shootings in the simple pie chart graphics to get a handle on how many times police shot armed criminals. That is why I am posting this pie chart today presenting this most basic information necessary for a balanced view.

728 shot by police by race, 2015 @thecounted @radleybalko @Mark_J_Perry

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States in 2015 – interactive | US news | The Guardian accessed 20 September 2015 New Zealand standard time.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States in 2015 – interactive | US news | The Guardian accessed 20 September 2015 New Zealand standard time.

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@thecounted How did the 24 unarmed Hispanics/Latinos killed by police in 2015 die @radleybalko @Mark_J_Perry

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States in 2015 – interactive | US news | The Guardian accessed 1 p.m. 20 September 2015 New Zealand standard Time.

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@thecounted People killed by American police by race (%), 2015 @radleybalko @Mark_J_Perry

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States in 2015 – interactive | US news | The Guardian Accessed 12.50 a.m. New Zealand standard time, 18th September 2015.

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@thecounted How did the 62 unarmed Blacks killed by police in 2015 die @radleybalko @Mark_J_Perry

I followed the coding by the Guardian despite reservations. Including those struck by police cars in routine accidents, none of them police chases, conflates one database with another and does not touch on the issue of the wisdom of police car chases. Including people who drive cars at police or flee with kidnapped children in a car is stretching the definition of unarmed. The wisdom of shooting at a car with children in it is a separate issue. The safety of the hostage taker is not a responsibility of the police, the safety of the children kidnapped in that car was.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States in 2015 – interactive | US news | The Guardian accessed 1 p.m. 16 September 2015 New Zealand standard Time.

About 10% of police shootings of unarmed people resulted in murder charges and a few of those still under investigation read as suspicious and may result in charges as well as more evidence is gathered.

That 10% figure of police shootings that result in murder charges is much higher if you exclude people who collapsed while in contact with police from underlying poor health either in a struggle or after being tasered – 20 or more out of 62, drove cars at police (3), killed in crossfire (2) or were killed in police car accidents (5). The figure is even higher when you exclude a good number of those who are struggling with police and the police fired in self defence lawfully. That is, if a police officer shoot someone at a safe distance without good cause, they face a high probability of being charged with murder.

The database I used today for the above figure on shooting of unarmed Blacks takes less than an hour to work your way through to code them for yourself, so if you doubt my coding, do your own coding and put up a rival figure. I will even consider a guest blog by you if you lack a forum.

Update: When I shared this post on the dataisbeautiful sub-reddit, the first comment on that post was to denounce me as a racist for sharing.

How did White, Black and Latino Americans killed by police die in 2015?

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States in 2015 – interactive | US news | The Guardian Accessed 1 a.m. New Zealand standard Time 15th September 2015.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States in 2015 – interactive | US news | The Guardian Accessed 1 a.m. New Zealand standard Time 15th September 2015.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States in 2015 – interactive | US news | The Guardian Accessed 1 a.m. New Zealand standard Time 15th September 2015.

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The 820 people killed by police by race in 2015 – updated again

I am surprised that the Guardian did not do this graphical analysis themselves. My analysis below shows the quite a few people were unarmed but many more were carrying guns, knives or other weapons.

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Source: The Counted: people killed by police in the United States in 2015 – interactive | US news | The Guardian Accessed 1 a.m. New Zealand standard Time 15th September 2015.

You have to read through every individual data entry to work out how many of those killed had guns, and the many of these were shooting at police when they were shot dead. The same legwork is required to find out how many officers are on murder charges after killing civilians.

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