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Enough that whenever it happens, there are plenty of people keen to manufacture justifications for it being the dead person's fault. If hundreds of Americans were being shot every year by terrorists, there would be an outcry and a demand to invade somewhere. If hundreds of Americans were being killed every year by a faulty product or staff negligence, there would be legal outcry and improved procedures and quality control.

Reducing deaths caused by police requires recognising that every death caused by a police gun - which includes those of violent people with criminal records - as a failure of process.



In the US, most homicide victims are killed by another person of their own race, not by the police. This is true for whites, blacks, hispanics, etc. for the simple fact that races tend to segregate into neighborhoods. For all I know it's also true for non-racial demographics such as homosexuals. Simply put, if you're killed, it's most likely by someone you are related to if not by family then by proximity. This doesn't get a lot of media attention or create a lot of outrage, even though the numbers are much, much higher than police involved killings.

Just to take one example: Hundreds of people kill each other every year in cities like Chicago. Thousands more sustain non-fatal injuries. Sometimes dozens are killed in a single weekend. Homicides and shootings are way up, but police involved shootings by contrast are way down. This does get some local media attention but there is comparatively little national media or public outrage over this compared to relative few killed in police involved shootings.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-superin...

We have a much bigger problem with citizens killing each other than with police killing citizens. That's not to say that police are perfect, or not often overzealous, or that they shouldn't be held to a higher standard. But the reality is not nearly what is being portrayed by many media and political organizations.


but police involved shootings by contrast are way down.

Not sure if you are referring to Chicago here, but (reported) police _killings_ in the US are way up during the 2000s:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforc...


Yes I was referring to Chicago (based on the Chicago Trib story I referenced).


Killings by police, though, are killings ostensibly on our behalf. The blood is on our hands.




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