Police Shootings

A New York Times columnist whose work I rarely cite, Charles Blow, cites some interesting research findings which suggest black and white police officers are equally likely to shoot black folks, including those who appeared to be armed but later turn out to have been unarmed.

Blow's interpretation suggests why I seldom cite his work - he typically gets it spectacularly wrong, including this time. He asks us to believe that policing is prima facie unfair to minority communities, regardless of race of officer. How likely is that?

Regular readers will remember we wrote:

Cop killers are 44% white, 37% black, 11% Hispanic, the balance "other." Comparing population percentage to cop killer percentage, whites and Hispanics are underrepresented, blacks are very overrepresented in the cop killer group.

Can you imagine there are police in our fair land, regardless of race, who don't know these statistics by heart? No? Neither can I.

The correct interpretation of the data Blow cites is that police, regardless of race, have a realistic knowledge that blacks are more likely to shoot them. In the split second when it appears a weapon is being drawn, and shooting may save the officer's life, that knowledge influences perceptions and behavior, as it must.

The first step in reducing police shootings of unarmed individuals is to convince civilians not to shoot at the police.