Just five months into 2015, police already have shot and killed nearly 400 Americans. That’s more than two deadly shootings a day, and about twice the rate of police shootings over the past decade, reports The Washington Post. The Post’s database shows that about half the victims were white, half minority. “But the demographics shifted sharply among the unarmed victims, two-thirds of whom were black or Hispanic.”
Although police are authorized to use deadly force only when they fear for their lives or the lives of others, the Post says, “So far, just three of the 385 fatal shootings have resulted in an officer being charged with a crime — less than 1 percent.”
“We have to get beyond what is legal and start focusing on what is preventable.” said Ronald L. Davis, a former police chief who heads the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. "Most are preventable."
