Newsweek reports the results of a study of the characteristics of cop killers, from the journal Violence and Gender. Non-Hispanic whites are 63% of our populace, Hispanics are 17%, blacks are 12.3%, the balance are Asian, native American, Pacific islander, or mixed race, according to NBC News.
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.
Understanding this reality, can you blame police for being extra-wary in the presence of African-Americans? I can't. It is, however, no excuse for violating anyone's civil rights or being abusive.
