Small percentage of US police killings result in conviction: Study
The number of police officers in the United States charged in deadly shootings has surged to the highest level in a decade this year, but only a small percentage result in convictions, new research shows.
A dozen police officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter in 2015 resulting from shootings, up from an average of about five a year from 2005 to 2014, said Philip Stinson, an associate professor of criminology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Public outrage over the killings of unarmed African American men by white police officers in New York, Missouri and elsewhere has spurred the uptick in prosecutions. Police body cameras and bystanders' cell phone videos also have helped bring charges.
However, even with the upturn in prosecutions, only a small percentage of police killings result in convictions, lawyers and analysts say.
Only 11 of the 47 police officers charged with murder from 2005 to 2014 had been convicted, Stinson said.
Moreover, the higher rate of prosecutions represents only a small fraction of total killings by US police.
A Washington Post database last week showed 796 fatal police shootings this year by officers, and one maintained by the Guardian newspaper recorded 927 deaths.
African American rights activists say prosecutions alone are not enough to curb police killings of black people and other minorities.
US police departments often resolve allegations of excessive force internally, and officers in many states are shielded by special legal protections, said Lawrence Grandpre with the Baltimore think tank Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle.
"Cops are going to have a massive incentive to, when in doubt, punch first, hit first, shoot first, and ask questions later," said Grandpre, whose father was a Baltimore police officer.
On Thursday, US President Barack Obama admitted that police violence against African Americans has become a “real” and “legitimate” issue that needs to be addressed.
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