A brief history of police impunity in Black deaths
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Published 2020-06-30
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On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers killed an unarmed black man named George Floyd. After video of Floyd’s death spread on the internet, protesters filled the streets across the US, demanding an end to police brutality and a reckoning with the unequal treatment of Black Americans, but also with another, more direct demand: That his killers be punished.
Until recent years, there was no reliable data on how many people in the US were killed by police every year, or on the legal outcomes of those killings. But data collected by the Mapping Police Violence project provides some answers, including one that has held steady every year for which we have data: Police are almost never charged with killing someone, and are even less often convicted.
The data shows that less than 3% of police killings lead to the officer being charged with a crime, and fewer than 1% of them result in a conviction, and that these rates are the same regardless of the victim’s race. But it also shows that a Black American is three times more likely to be killed by police than a white American.
Here’s Mapping Police Violence’s data, which we rely on throughout the video:
mappingpoliceviolence.org/
The Washington Post also keeps a record of deaths caused by police shootings, which had similar findings:
www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/pol…
An interview with a historian on the history on police brutality:
www.vox.com/2020/6/6/21280643/police-brutality-vio…
Vox also interviewed experts on ways to reform American policing:
www.vox.com/2020/6/1/21277013/police-reform-polici…
The headline for this video has been updated, it was changed from: A timeline of 1,944 Black Americans killed by police.
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All Comments (21)
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It's getting to the point where being called an American is a straight up insult.
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Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it and this just proved it
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3:04 "all lives matter but you gotta think who's dying out here" well said right here
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“ What a sad era it is when it’s easier to smash an atom, than prejudice” - Albert Einstein
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A 12 years old got killed. Thought he was holding a real gun... How did they even pass the police exams?
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We just had our first police shooting in Years and everyone is shook up in Scotland. If this was the States it wouldn't even make it to the news.
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First tell Black men and women to stop committing crimes and then we'll do something about how to protect black people
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The ongoing wars in Yemen, Congo, Palestine, Oromo people, South Korea, etc... is not going unheard. We all have to pick our battles but I stand for everyone who is suffering and standing against the injustices in their country or in mine. Sending positive vibes and light
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America: The land of free* *Terms&Condition applied
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As a European, I start becoming tired of ‘this’ USA. It’s like bringing everyone behind, instead of progressing
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George Floyd wasn't they incident to suddenly start all of this out of nowhere, it was the straw to break the camel's back
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I still cannot wrap my mind around a 12 year old dying A TWELVE YEAR OLD because he was black and playing with a toy gun ... man that child should be here
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Now I need numbers on how many of those convictions were overturned.....
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The police get training on how to arrest civilians, not the other way around. No one should have to fear for their life when they're dealing with police. Ever. End of story.
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i am from germany, and this is unbelievable to say the least. the world stands with you in solidarity!
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If this is the reality, I dont think that America should be called a first world country.
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Some of these aren't even just killings anymore. These seem like targeted and deliberate strikes. "Killed in his grandparent's backyard..." "Killed in his own apartment..."
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Remember that Philando Castile got shot for no reason and the cop walked away free
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When Americans shout we are number one, it's there police brutality rate they're talking about.
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black people killed but doesn’t include that stat of how many were armed/fought back
