Today the head of New York State’s police unions slammed criticism of officers following George Floyd demonstrations, saying police were being treated like “animals.”
“I am not Derek Chauvin; they [officers present] are not him,” Mike O’Meara, president of the New York Association of Police Benevolent Associations, told reporters on Tuesday while gesturing to officers gathered behind him. “He killed someone. We didn’t.”
O’Meara referred to one of the officers who killed Floyd, an African American resident of Minneapolis. The killing sparked massive demonstrations in major American cities, which have devolved into rioting in many instances.
“The legislators, the press, everybody’s trying to shame us into being embarrassed about our profession,” O’Meara said. “Stop treating us like animals and thugs, and start treating us with some respect…. We’ve been left out of the conversation, we’ve been vilified — it’s disgusting.”
The lowest estimate for the number of interactions by people with police each year is 375,000,000. Those are just the ones that are recorded in police reports. There are many more that are not counted because they do not warrant the filing of a police report.
The number of officer-involved shootings in the last year were ten. Eight of them were justified and two were not. The two that were not were fired, arrested, charged, and prosecuted.
The number of deaths in police custody average 437 annually; according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics
Here is a breakdown of confirmed data points including those from the BJS and DOJ death in custody.
US Population 328,000,000
Black American Population 37,144,530
Current US Documented Life Expectancy for white males 78.54 years
Current US Documented Life Expectancy for black males 75.4 years
According to U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics… from the 2015 – 2019 the percent of arrest-related deaths – white deaths represented 45.7% of all arrests related deaths, and blacks were 32.9%. Again – the average number of deaths per years is 437. These deaths range anywhere from the point of police encounter, all the way to the point of long-term imprisonment after being convicted of a crime.
With 32.9% of deaths of 437 annually are blacks in custody. That is an average of 144 per year.
That is 144 deaths per year of black Americans while in custody. Including justifiable or non-justifiable law enforcement homicides (63%), followed by suicides (18%), accidents (12%), and deaths due to natural causes (1%). If we use the 63% number that represents both justifiable and non-justifiable law enforcement homicides, that comes to an average of 91 deaths per year.
This makes the chances of a black person dying from homicide while in police custody a 0.18 in 1,000 chance during a black person’s lifetime.
So… let’s do some more math:
Police / Public interactions per year 375,000,000
Number of black homicides annually (justified & unjustified) 91
Number of black homicides as a percentage (%) of police interactions 2 millionths of 1%
(Note) – It has so many zeros that it has to be converted – 2.426666666666667e-7 = 0.00000002426%
Number police officers nationwide 687,000
Number of black homicides annually (justified & unjustified) 91
Number of black homicides annually as a percentage of the
number of police officers in the nation. 1 one-hundred thousandth of 1%
(Note) – It has so many zeros that it has to be converted – 1.324599708879185e-4 = 0.00001324%
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (A division of the Federal Department of Justice) tracks the number of complaints filed by citizens 16 years of age or older. Their data is here:
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/pbtss11.pdf
They latest data indicates the following:
Police / Public interactions per year 375,000,000
Number of complaints filed by people annually 6,290,000
Number of complaints as a percentage of police interactions 0.016%
That is 1 one-hundreds of 1%.
None of these records and government data indicate that we have either a systemic problem of racism or excessive use of force within nearly all police departments. To the contrary, they indicate that more than 99% of all citizen encounters with police officers are safe and lead to no problems.
In the course of my 54 years of life I have known more than 100 police officers that were either friends, family, members of my church or colleagues. I attended college with many members of law enforcement. I have a degree in Substantive Law (Administration of Justice) with a focus on ‘Principles of Investigations’. I never pursued a career in law enforcement or investigative work after changing my major to business when I was 20 years old.
The use of force by officer Derek Chauvin who murdered George Floyd is unacceptable and he will face justice for his crime. The officers who stood by and watched it happen, have also been charged with accessory.
We can and should have outside authorities conduct a thorough review and investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department to make sure that other officers are not also using such tactics. But police officers and police departments across this nation should not be vilified and lied about by an irresponsible mob of activists and their lying sycophants in the media and politics.
The liberal/progressive phonies can virtue signal 24/7 but that will ultimately solve nothing. It is honest problem solving that will lessen racial tensions and improve community policing and relations. That requires conversation, not screaming, yelling, rioting, and getting our 5 minutes of fame in front of the cameras. Accusing the more than 685,000 police officers in the nation of being racists will certainly not start the conversation that needs to occur if we are going to reform anything.
Problem solving does not involve tearing the country apart and dividing us while invoking a nebulous cliché like “social justice.”
For some, especially the immature on college campuses, social justice means agreeing with whatever politically correct view is being peddled that week. And if you have any area of disagreement, they will call you names, and attempt to shame you. Some are so cruel and nasty, that they will contact your employer and try to get you fired, or they will doxx you.
True social justice is fairness. The use of government power to ensure that everyone is treated equally in the public arena. That means creating all access opportunities. It does not mean overlooking destructive behavior of a bad police officer or anyone else. Social justice does not guarantee a life of success. You have to work for that. All that should be protected is equal opportunity. The rest is up to you and me as individuals to make success for ourselves.
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Sources and Links:
https://www.nationalreview.com/2014/12/dojs-policing-statistics-dont-lie-ian-tuttle/
https://www.theiacp.org/resources/critical-issues-use-of-force
https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=84
https://www.justice.gov/archive/crs/pubs/pdexcess.htm
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/pbtss11.pdf
2016