1045 People Killed by Police in 2016

2016 is coming to its end, and it was certainly tensed and tempestuous year when it comes to U.S. violence rate. Police shootings, abuse, and brutality have shocked and upset every corner of the U.S. At this moment, the number of people killed by police is counting 1045, according to The Guardian’s Counter.

This database is based on news reports, public records, social media and other sources. In 2015, The Guardian counted 1140 killings by police and law enforcement.

The counter shows the rates per million residents are 8.02 for “Native American”, 6.14 for “Black”, 2,95 for “Hispanic/Latino”, 2.58 for “White” and 1 for “Asian/Pacific Islander”.

Almost 90 people killed by police every month

White people, according to The Guardian, were more often the victims of police than any other race or ethnicity group. Total white people killed in 2016 is 511, but only 19 of them were native Americans. The black people were victims of U.S. police 245 times, Hispanic/Latino 167, Asian/Pacific Islanders 18. 85 victims of police shooting are categorized Other/Unknown.

The number of people killed by police in 2016, depending on the race and ethnicity. Source: Guardian

Among all states, California is ranked first by the number of people killed by police, with 156 killed during 2016. But, California’s rank per capita is 17, since it has the population of 39,144,818. Los Angeles counts 20 victims of police brutality in 2016.

By the number of total killed, Texas holds the second place with 88 people killed. Florida comes next, where 88 people were killed by U.S. police.

New Mexico had 22 deaths caused by police shooting, but it is ranked first when it comes to percent of the entire population which counts 2,085,109.

Both North Dakota and Delaware had only 1 killing by law enforcement, which gives them lowest rank among all U.S. states.

The “deadliest” months of 2016, were February and March. Police killed 100 people in both months. The killing rate slightly dropped during the next months, but the number of victims never drops bellow 85. The only exception is the current month with 56 people killed by police far by now.

Black people killings remain controversial

The tension escalated in July when police killed Alton Sterling in Lousiana, and next day, on July 6, police killed Philando Castile on the streets of Minnesota. The victims were black people, and that was the trigger for resumption of protests and riots following the law enforcement killing of unarmed black men in 2014 and 2015.

On July 7, people took the streets across the U.S once again to protest peacefully the deaths of two black men. But, while people were peacefully protesting, a gunman Michael Xavier Johnson attacked law enforcement in Dallas and killed 5 police officers and wounded 9 more.

All these unfortunate events put focus on the presence of racial bias in deadly encounters of police and citizens during previous years.

In January this year, Professor James W. Buehler from Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health found in his study that black Americans are three times more likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts. Using data from 2010 to 2014, Buehler calculated that African Americans had died at a rate of 6.8 per million residents, markedly higher than the white rate of 2.5. The Hispanic rate, 4.1, was between the figures for blacks and whites, Philly.com explains.

64 police officers dead in the line of duty

But, the police officers and law enforcement had fallen too. Besides the unfortunate Dallas event, many police officers are killed in the line of duty.

According to CNN, at least 64 law enforcement officers have been shot and killed this year. That is the largest count in last 5 years. The decade’s highest total came in 2011, with 73 officers shot dead, CNN reports.

One is certain, the atmosphere in the United States is tensed tremendously at this moment as fear both among the citizens and police constantly grows.