Report Shows Police Almost Always Justified In Fatal Shootings

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A new Washington Post analysis shows that in almost all fatalpolice shootings, police are totally justified. The report analyzed800 fatal police shootings.

“But only a small number of the shootings— roughly 5 percent —occurred under the kind of circumstances that raise doubt and drawpublic outcry, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Thevast majority of individuals shot and killed by police officerswere… armed with guns and killed after attacking policeofficers or civilians or making other direct threats.”

Only 5 percent raise doubt and concern, which doesnot mean the officers did anything wrong. Of those that raisedoubt, police are almost never found guilty of any wrongdoing.Critics will say it’s because the system gives them specialtreatment, but it is still a telling data point.

In 74 percent of fatal police shootings, police pulled thetrigger only after the other person fired, brandishedtheir gun, or attacked someone, the Post analysis points out.

An additional 16 percent occurred when a person was acting in adangerous and threatening manner, such as refusing to put down aknife.

As for the 5 percent of cases that cause doubt, police reportedthat the person refused to follow orders and did something likemake a sudden movement. In some cases, police said theyaccidentally shot the person.

“My supposition is that the Post set out to prove howtrigger happy police were and now they’re stuck with thisresult that by and large police are responding to animminent threat and are taking appropriate action,” RonHosko, former assistant director of the FBI and president of theLaw Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, told The Daily Caller NewsFoundation.

Four percent of the cases did not have enoughdetails for the Post to report an analysis. Half of those killed bypolice were white, a fourth black and one sixth Hispanic.

These numbers appear to contradict the growing belief thatunprovoked violence, particularly against minorities, is the normfor police departments across the country.

While there have been some officers who made gravemistakes, Hosko told TheDCNF these numbers prove theclaims of widespread brutality are exaggerated. He said sinceMichael Brown’s death in Ferguson the media isquick to run misleading headlines that are critical of cops whilegiving the full picture which explains the cop’s reasoningmuch further down in the story.

“I think the Post, if you were to weigh it by the wordtheir articles, they have been predominantly anti-cop for monthspost Ferguson,” Hosko told TheDCNF. “You’ll seemultiple articles in any given paper that are anti-cop.I think the Post relishes their anti-copthemes.”

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