The Five States With The Highest Police Killing Rates Will Surprise You

The Five Deadliest Police States Of 2014

 

 

 

 

” If you had to guess which states had the most per-capita police involved deaths, would you include states like California, Texas, or New York? Or maybe Florida, Missouri, or Washington? Strange as it may seem, although these states do have many police involved deaths, they do not fall within the five deadliest.

  California has a population of approximately 38,802,500. In 2014 there were around 106 killings, which calculates to about 2.73 police related deaths per million residents (PRDPMR). Texas had a population of about 26,956,958, and 53 killings, calculates to about 1.97 PRDPMR. With a population of about 19,746,227 and 19 killings, New York’s rate of deaths from police officers is only 0.96 PRDPMR. Florida’s rate is 2.01 PRDPMR, Missouri’s is 2.14 PRDPMR, and Washington’s is 2.55 PRDPMR.”

Get the specifics at CopBlock.com

” Six things you can do to reduce the slaughter:

1. Write letters to your state legislators and city councils demanding that they require police to get trained on de-escalation strategies and less-than-lethal methods, and that police and sheriff’s departments enact stricter rules for using lethal force.
2. Vote out prosecutors that refuse to charge officers who needlessly take life.
3. Write your local police chiefs and sheriffs demanding that they hold their officers and deputies to higher standards when it comes to the use of force. Let them know that you will hold them accountable for any loss of life that results from the excessive use of force from members of their agency.
4. Always keep a video recording device with you, record every police encounter you see.
5. Email the link to this article to all of your friends.
6. Visit VictimsofPolice.com and look up the police related deaths that have recently occurred in your state. “

 

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Whites Killed By Cops In Greater Numbers Than Blacks

Police Kill More Whites Than Blacks, But Minority Deaths Generate More Outrage

 

 

 

” Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison says she wants to see an officer shoot an unarmed white teenager in the back before agreeing that the “conversation about race” is over, but she almost certainly already has received her wish.

  An analysis released last week shows that more white people died at the hands of law enforcement than those of any other race in the last two years, even as the Justice Department, social-justice groups and media coverage focus on black victims of police force.

“ People keep saying, ‘We need to have a conversation about race,’” Ms. Morrison told the (U.K.) Telegraph in an April 19 interview.

  As researchers are quick to point out, FBI data on police shootings by race is notoriously incomplete, which may explain why Peter Moskos, assistant professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York, decided to use figures from the website Killed by Police.

  Based on that data, Mr. Moskos reported that roughly 49 percent of those killed by officers from May 2013 to April 2015 were white, while 30 percent were black. He also found that 19 percent were Hispanic and 2 percent were Asian and other races.

  His results, posted last week on his blog Cop in the Hood, arrived with several caveats, notably that 25 percent of the website’s data, which is drawn largely from news reports, failed to show the race of the person killed.

  Killed by Police lists every death, justified or not, including those in which the officer had been wounded or acted in self-defense.”

Read more

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Texas Man Killed By Cops On Live TV As Family Watches

Frank Ernest Shephard: Texas Man Shot And Killed By Police Officers On Live TV

 

 

” Frank Ernest Shephard, known also as “Trey,” led police officers on a high-speed chase early Wednesday morning in Houston, Texas. Once the chase ended, the officers opened fire on Shephard, and it was all caught on live television.

  According to KTRK, police were attempting to pull over Shephard for what they described as “suspicious activity.” But as the officers began approaching Shephard’s vehicle for questioning, he took off, leading them on a high-speed pursuit.”

 

 

   The shooting occurs at about 6:40 point in the video and note that there is an innocent driver directly behind the suspect as the cops kill the man . A still photo on the Inquisitr’s page shows at least ten bullet holes in the passenger side windows of the suspect’s car and we would like to know how many of them went through the car and struck the innocent motorist’s vehicle that was tangled in the wreckage . 

  Compare the angles in the video at the 6:41 mark with the damage shown in the still photo while taking into account the location of the cop with his gun drawn and it seems inconceivable that the by-standing driver was not in danger of becoming “collateral damage” . Regardless of the “threat” posed by the suspect this shooting was not “protecting and serving” anyone but the cops . 

  

Inquisitr has more

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Seeking The Truth Of The Numbers Of Citizens “Killed By Police”

The Counted: Inside The Search For The Real Number Of Police Killings In The US

 

 

 

” If a police officer fatally shoots an unarmed citizen in the United States – and it was happening on average more than twice a day even before the killing of Michael Brown seven months ago in Ferguson, Missouri – most people find out about it not from law enforcement but from the 24-hour news cycle.

  The best counts America currently has of killings by police are the work of activists and journalists – online databases like Fatal Encounters, Facebook compilations like Killed By Police, or Operation Ghetto Storm, which estimates that one African American is killed by police, security guards or vigilantes at least “every 28 hours”.

  Citizen activists keep the best national counts. But there are corners of the country where the police track use-of-force more closely than any outside activist could. For example if an officer intentionally fires a gun in Montgomery County, Maryland – even if no one is hit or hurt – the police department posts a detailed description of the circumstances on its home page, usually within 24 hours. It is policy.

  But transparent police departments are by no means the norm: the United States has no uniform count of people killed by police officers. The problem of missing data stems from more than just police obstructionism or oversight. A national infrastructure for data collection has never been built. Instead a confusing mosaic of city, state and county reporting leaves too many cracks for data to fall through, without imposing consequences for local police failing to report when they kill those they are sworn to protect.

“ The reality is that there is not a good national data – or even a regional, state or local data on officer-involved shootings,” Laurie Robinson, a professor of criminology at George Mason University and co-chair of Barack Obama’s task force on community policing, told the Guardian.”

 

 

   Read more as the Guardian continues to do the job that the US MSM refuses to do … namely , report facts and not serve as a state-run propaganda machine and be sure to check out this companion piece “The Uncounted” that deals with efforts to create a TRUE national database of police killings …

 

 

 

 

 

     Keeping an accurate count of citizens killed by police should not be a daunting task for a government that is so good at counting:

 

 

” The federal government counts many things very well. It counts the number of children who die each week from flu (11 during the week ending 17 January). It counts the average number of hours American men spend weekly on lawn care (almost two). It counts the monthly production of hens’ eggs (8.31bn in November). It counts nut consumption by non-Hispanic white men over the age of 20 (42.4% enjoyed nuts on any given day in 2009-2010). It counts how many women aged 15-44 use contraception (60.9 million, or 61.7%).

  The US government is a virtuoso counter. So why can’t it count people killed by police?

  Some people think Washington already does keep count. The government publishes two statistics every year that look an awful lot like, and are regularly mistaken for, comprehensive counts of deaths from interactions with police. The first is the FBI’s count of “justifiable homicides by law enforcement”, based on police reports submitted by state and local agencies.

  The second is the Centers for Disease Control’s count of “deaths by legal intervention”, based on medical records and death certificates. Considerable scholarly exertion has gone into describing the flaws in each count. Not all police agencies participate in the FBI’s count, which is limited to deaths involving a weapon, for example, while the CDC misses cases, among others, in which medical examiners certify a homicide but fail to note police involvement.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Killing Of Civilians By Police Is More Than Double What FBI Reports Due To “Creative Accounting”

Over 1000 People Killed By Cops In 2014, FBI Trying To Falsely Report Actual Numbers

 

 

 

 

 

” (ANTIMEDIA) Another year has come to an end, which means another set of Unified Crime Reports (UCR) will be published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The reports are supposed to be the most authoritative set of data on crime in the US. 

  As has become the habit with most federal documents, the numbers are cooked. They could have honestly just made them up. In 2013, the FBI reported that there were 461 people killed by cops in the US.

  461 seems to be a fairly good number. It fits with the estimates of 500 per year that most believe to be accurate. The problem is that the actual number of people killed by cops in 2013 is much higher.

  On May 1^st, 2013 activists began keeping track of

 

“ Corporate news reports of people killed by nonmilitary law enforcement officers, whether in the line of duty or not, and regardless of reason or method.

  Inclusion implies neither wrongdoing nor justification on the part of the person killed or the officer involved. The post merely documents the occurrence of a death.”

  Even though they missed the first four months of the year, they logged over 763 people killed by cops from May until the year’s end.

  The results can be found here, complete with links to the stories about the individual killings.

  2013 wasn’t an exceptionally high year. The website catalogs over 1000 people killed by police in 2014. The UCR has never reported anything even remotely close to this number.

  Readers are left with choosing from three options:

  The Federal Bureau of Investigation, an agency known for investigating things, can’t simply count up news reports of people killed by cops.

  The FBI has set the criteria for inclusion in the report so narrowly that more than half of those people killed by cops just don’t make the cut.

  The FBI is intentionally lying about the number of people killed.

  The answer is a combination of all three.

  The FBI has no desire to publicize the number of people killed by cops. After all this is the same government entity that has shot 150 people, and cleared themselves in every single case. Even in the case that resulted in the US taxpayers having to fork over $1.3 million to the victim of an FBI shooting, it was deemed justified. If the government wanted to disclose accurate numbers, they could. It isn’t difficult. Apparently, literacy is not a requirement to work for the FBI because they certainly aren’t reading the papers.

  The criteria is exceedingly narrow and vague all at the same time. To be included, the case must involve a justifiable homicide of a felon by a law enforcement officer while on duty. So when cops kill someone for selling loose cigarettes, it isn’t included because it’s a misdemeanor. When a cop guns down an unarmed kid in a Wal-Mart, it isn’t included because there was no crime being committed by the suspect. When an off-duty cop flips out and shoots a woman in the head because he didn’t like her driving, it isn’t included.

  In other words, the report intentionally leaves out the cases most likely to be unjustified. People shot for committing petty crimes aren’t included, and those that were shot for committing no crime are not included.

  The report is predetermined to only include good, old-fashioned, bad guys that were shot and killed by a cop wearing a white hat before he rode off into the sunset with Miss Kitty while his still smoking peacemaker hung at his hip.

  Given that the FBI has found a way to intentionally filter out cases and has made no effort to reconcile their report with the facts, it must be concluded that they are intentionally lying to the American public and to the policy makers who rely on this data to make decisions.

  If the reader is in the mood to have news of a killing by police hit their Facebook newsfeed about 3 times a day, the Killed by Police Facebook page posts incidents in real time as they are discovered.”

 

 

Reprinted with permission from The Antimedia and author Justin King

 

    Below is a list of those killed by police in the US during the course of 2014 as researched and provided by “Killed By Police” :

 

FBI Report Reveals The Facts About The Dangers Faced By The Beat Cop In America Today

FBI Report Accidentally Exposes The Severity Of The Police State

 

 

 

” (TheAntiMedia) A recently published FBI report accidentally proves that while the police claim cops face growing threats from rowdy populations–like in Ferguson–the opposite is true. The report presents law enforcement deaths in 2013.

  The report found that across the entire country, only 76 LEOs were killed in “line-of-duty” incidents. 27 died as a result of “felonious” acts and 49 officers died in accidents–namely, automobile (ironically, of the 23 killed in car accidents, 14 were not wearing seat belts–a violation for which cops routinely ticket drivers). More officers die from accidents than actual murders on the job. The report also outright admits that intentional murders of cops were down from 2004 and 2009.”

 

 

 

” Further, 49,851 officers were assaulted–a statistic that seemingly proves police are at risk. 29.2%, or 14,556, were actually injured (an admittedly high number). Still, a suspect fact is that 79.8% of the time, “assailants used personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.).” This means that in a vast majority of cases, there was no physical evidence that assault occurred (outside of potential bruises and cuts,but this information is not public). Punches and kicks can be damaging, but nowhere near firearms and knives, which constituted a very small percentage of “assaults.” The report also does not specify what constitutes an “injury,” making designations of injury potentially arbitrary and subjective.

  This means that the common police tactic of misrepresenting scuffles and charging people with assault could be at work (such as when a cop squeezed the breast of an Occupy protester so hard he left a bruise and in the chaos, she accidentally elbowed a cop. She went to jail for “assaulting” an officer). Of course, it’s a possibility that all 49,851 officers were simply “doing their jobs,” but at the very least it is important to be skeptical.”

 

 

 

 

” But besides direct contradictions to the logic behind institutional myths of heroic cops and dangerous bad guys, what are the implications of this FBI report?

  First, that police are schizophrenic in their belief that they are in danger (this fear is proven in the recent Ferguson protests and presence of the National Guard). The overzealous militarization of local cops is enough to prove that they might as well be hiding under blankies from the American populace in spite of the fact that violent crime has been dropping for decades.”

 

 

 

 

” However, considering how well cops are armed and how efficiently the justice system protects them from prosecution for their crimes, they prove to be paranoid. 27 police officers in a country with over 300 million people died last year. Law enforcement deaths-by-murder are included in the 49,851 “assaults” against officers, which means that .05 (half a percent) died as a result of alleged attacks. Crime against cops has dropped to a 50 year low. It’s more dangerous to drive a car than be a cop (this is bolstered by the fact that the number of cops who died in car accidents almost equals the total number of cops murdered–23 to 27).

  Second, militarization is working for the police. It is not working for the rest of us. Though there is little reliable, official data about the number of people police kill every year, tenuous reports claim it is around 400. This is already almost 15 times more than police who are intentionally killed. However, the 400 figure is a result of 17,000 local police agencies being allowed to self-report. The numbers could be far higher.

  As Tech Dirt said of a 2008 FBI report that found cops had killed 391 people in 2007:

“That count only includes homicides that occurred during the commission of a felony. This total doesn’t include justifiable homicides committed by police officers against people not committing felonies and also doesn’t include homicides found to be not justifiable. But still, this severe undercount far outpaces the number of cops killed by civilians.”

  The number of “justifiable” homicides was on the rise in 2008 (to be fair, it was rising among private citizens as well) in spite of the inconvenient fact that overall crime has been declining.”

 

 

 

” Unfortunately, the most important implication of the FBI report is the simple fact that the report exists. When the FBI takes the time to construct a meticulous report (you can read more details here) of all the ways that a tiny percentage of cops were killed–but cannot be bothered to officially count civilian deaths at the hands of cops, the reality is obvious:

  The government places a higher priority on their own than on the lives of those they claim to “serve,” “protect,” and “work for.” It cares more about exonerating the police of their crimes than providing justice to those they abuse. There is no justice when the criminal is the cop. “

 

Much thanks to The Anti-Media for this enlightening piece

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ohio Cops Cleared Of Gunning Down John Crawford While Trying To Buy Pellet Rifle

Grand Jury Returns No Indictment For Wal-Mart Shooting

 

 

 

 

” The Greene County special grand jury called to examine the case of the police shooting of John Crawford III did not return an indictment in the case. The jury was in session for two days, heard the testimonies of 18 witnesses and heard and saw hours of audio and video evidence relating to the shooting of Crawford in the Beavercreek Wal-Mart.

“ They decided that the police officers, and the police officer in particular that fired the shots, was justified in doing what he did,” special prosecuting attorney Mark Piepmeier said. Piepmeier presented the evidence to the grand jury while it was seated.

  The official report returned by the grand jury stated that no indictment was found in the investigation of Sean Williams, one of the officers involved in the shooting. The grand jury considered the charges of murder, reckless homicide and negligent homicide and returned no indictment in the case.

  Seven or more of the nine grand jurors would have had to have been convinced that there was probable cause that a crime had occurred in relation to the incident for an indictment to have been returned. The actual vote tally of the grand jury is kept secret.”

 

 

 

 

Xenia Gazette

 

 

 

 

 

Key West Cops Lie Repeatedly About Charles Eimers’ Death At Their Hands

Retiree Dies In Police Custody After Traffic Stop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

” Florida authorities are investigating the death of a man in Key West after he was arrested by police.

  The Michigan retiree moved to the island paradise for sun and sand, but that came to a sudden end after a routine traffic stop.

  Eimers had just arrived from Michigan when Key West police pulled him over in front of a Pizza Hut for reckless driving. According to police, he fled the scene and several officers followed him to a beach.

  Official documents obtained by CBS News offer differing accounts of Eimers’ encounter with police and what happened next. In the police report, Eimers was charged with resisting an officer “with violence.“

  But officers on the scene told paramedics a different story. An EMS report indicates Key West police told paramedics that Eimers left his vehicle and ran, then collapsed on the beach. He never regained consciousness.”

 

 

 

 

 

” Hospital records say that Eimers “was found without a pulse by police” and later died at the hospital from lack of oxygen to the brain.

  But a cell phone video – shot by a bystander and released nearly two weeks after the arrest – shows none of those versions are accurate. Eimers can be seen walking away from his car and surrendering before police approach with guns drawn.

  Treavor Eimers said, “I watched the video, and I had no words. Everything that I was told while I was here was a lie.”

 

   A suspicious death involving the police and yet there was to be no autopsy , a clear violation of Florida law ? Hospital records destroyed ? A quick cremation ? WTF ? Can you spell coverup ?

 

 

CBSNews

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Eyewitness Disputes Police Account Of Dontre Hamilton Killing In Milwaukee

Witness Tells Different Story About Wednesday’s MPD Killing Of Man At Red Arrow Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

” Even though this only happened three days ago, I’ve recounted this story more times than I can count. But that’s okay, because this is a story that needs telling. This story has been told in multiple places, multiple times and almost always slightly different than how I actually remember it happening. This story will not just be a retelling, but a discussion, and a realization of what is happening to not just this city, but to our American society on the whole.

  This story is about Dontre Hamilton, a 31-year-old black man that lived in the Milwaukee area. I didn’t know him before this incident, but it’s clear to me that his passing leaves many friends and family in its devastating wake. On Wednesday, April 30th, Dontre lost his life in an event that was totally unnecessary and preventable.”

 

Read more of this senseless tragedy here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Man Shot And Killed By Sheriff’s Deputy In Pompano Beach Identified

ID Released Of Man Fatally Shot By Broward Deputy

 

 

 

 

 

 

” The Broward Sheriff’s Office on Monday identified Deosaran Maharaj as the man fatally shot by a deputy after a woman reported that she was threatened by a man with a machete.

  She pointed out the man and his white Chevy Silverado pickup truck at a nearby Marathon gas station and convenience store, according to the Sheriff’s Office.  The truck was carrying a load of coconuts in its bed.”

 

 

   Mr Maharaj was in his truck and posing no threat as he drove away … whereupon Deputy Yesbeck pursued the deceased and pulled him over …

 

 

” Maharaj failed to comply with the commands of Deputy Paul Yesbeck to show his hands and get on the ground, the agency said. When Maharaj began rifling through his truck, Yesbeck fired multiple shots, at least one of which was fatal, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

 

 

     During the traffic stop the slain driver at no time displayed any aggressive moves towards the Deputy nor , according to the story , did Deputy Yesbeck ever even see any type of weapon let alone be threatened with one . Yet the mere gesture of reaching back into the cab of the truck , granted , one of numerous mistakes made by the late Mr Maharaj , yet that lone move away from the officer was reason enough to apply deadly force ? 

 

   Was this all a misunderstanding ? Was a man killed by police unnecessarily ? We can’t say what was going through Mr Maharaj’s mind and we’ll never know . Some pertinent questions that leap to mind are ; “How well did the man speak English? ” “Could the woman who started this whole affair have misunderstood what happened between herself and the victim ? ” “Was the man just reaching for his ID?” , Trying to get back in the car , where he should have stayed in the first place ? “

 

   Given what we know from this small article , and the fact that police nationwide have adopted the “officer safety before public service” policy , we are inclined to think of this shooting as another case of an innocent citizen gunned down in cold blood by the police state .

 

 

” Maharaj, who neighbors said used a machete to break open the coconuts he sold, was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Read the rest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Witnesses Dispute Police Version Of Second Killing By Albuquerque PD In Ten Days

Sister Of Man Shot By APD Says He Was Innocent

 

 

 

 

 

 

” KOB Eyewitness News 4 looked into the suspect police said shot at their officers. We’ve learned he does have an extensive criminal history, including charges of assault on officers.

  The stories KOB is hearing about what happened in Tuesday’s fatal shooting are completely different.

  KOB sat down with the suspect’s sister who said police are lying, and insists her brother did not have a gun.

  Tammy said her brother and some neighbors had gotten into an argument in northwest Albuquerque. She said one of the neighbors called 911 on Lionel, saying he pulled a gun on a kid. But Tammy insists, that’s not true.

  Next thing Tammy knew, she was standing outside of his house, on the phone with him. Also there, Albuquerque police. “He’s all no sister. He’s all they’re going to shoot me. He’s like, I know they’re going to shoot me sister. I told him, no they’re not. The lieutenant promised me that they will not shoot you. He’s not here for that. He just wants you to come out,” said Tammy.

  She said Lionel and her boys walked out. Lionel, she said, had one hand up, the other was holding a cell phone.

  That’s when shots were fired. “He never shot off no rounds. He never had no gun on him. He had a cell phone in his right hand,” said Tammy.”

 

    This story continues here , view the original report here and here is more on witnesses contradicting the police version of the killing .

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Woman Gunned Down By DC Police Identified As 34 Year-old Dental Hygienist

Meet Miriam Carey, Suspect Reportedly Killed In The Capitol Hill Shooting

 

 

 

 

This just shoots their narrative all to hell , doesn’t it ?

 

 

” Here’s what we know about Miriam Carey, the woman identified in news reports as the suspect in a shooting incident that left Capitol Hill on lockdown for a brief period Thursday afternoon, and has now reportedly been shot dead by police.

Carey, a 34-year-old dental hygenist has been identified by ­­­the New York Post and the New Haven Register newspaper as the suspect (victim) in a shooting incident that took place in the nation’s capital. 

ABC News reported that Carey had “a history of mental health issues.”

 

 

    It would appear that the latest “shooting” , which the minions of the State were preparing to use as a cudgel on the NRA , Tea Party and the rest of us “right-wing extremists” was in fact , another instance of the agents of the State doing the shooting and the unarmed citizens , disturbed or otherwise , doing the dying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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