Fatal police shootings more common in the U.S. than most wealthy nations

According to Mapping Police Violence.org 1,134 civilians were killed by on duty police officers in the United States in 2021. 

The Washington Post also has a database of fatal police shootings of civilians. Fatal Force, The Washington Post database, was established by the newspaper on January 1, 2015. This database has kept track of all of the people shot and killed by law enforcement officers in the United States since 2015. Since The Post started the Fatal Force database more than 5,000 people have been shot and killed in the United States by police. Over 95% of the individuals shot and killed by police during this time frame have been male. Approximately 1/2 of the people shot and killed by police have been between the ages of 20 - 40. The states with the highest rates of fatal shootings by law enforcement are New Mexico, Alaska, and Oklahoma.

The FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both keep track of the number of fatal shootings by police; however, their data is often incomplete. One of the challenges for law enforcement officers in the United States is that many civilians carry firearms. Police officers in the United States shoot and kill more civilians than most other industrialized nations. "Suicide by cop" is another challenge that police officers might encounter when interacting with civilians. Furthermore, on average, there are more police officers shot and killed in the line of duty than most other countries.

The United States does not have the highest rate of fatal police shootings in the world. Brazil, the Philippines, and Venezuela all have higher rates of fatal shootings of civilians by police. In other wealthy countries such as Australia, Denmark, Great Britain, and Japan fatal police shootings are rare.

Fatal police shootings of civilians have devastating effects on victims and police departments as well. LaMaurice Gardner, a police psychologist in Detroit, Michigan, was interviewed for a report from NPR news. "People don't realize the psychological effects a shooting takes on an officer and their family. You're investigated like you're a perpetrator. You can't work on the street. You can't get overtime. Your peer support is pulled away," Gardner said.

For more information regarding fatal police shootings in the United States visit:

"Fatal Police Shootings of Unarmed Black People Reveal Troubling Patterns," by Cheryl W. Thompson. www.npr.com January 25, 2021.

Mapping Police Violence

Police shootings database 2015-2022 - Washington Post

Inside The Counted: how Guardian US has tracked police killings nationwide | US policing | The Guardian

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