
How police stops are life-and-death experiences for people of color - jseliger
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2016/07/justice_sonia_sotomayor_s_dissent_in_utah_v_strieff_and_the_killings_of.html
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cpncrunch
More dangerous rabble-rousing. The fact is that the police shoot more white
people than black:

[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/21/police-
kill-...](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/21/police-kill-more-
whites-than-blacks-but-minority-d/)

The problem seems to be more to do with gun ownership and trigger happy police
(perhaps understandable if the person in front of you might be reaching for a
gun), rather than racism.

~~~
DanBC
> Based on that data, Mr. Moskos reported that roughly 49 percent of those
> killed by officers from May 2013 to April 2015 were white, while 30 percent
> were black. He also found that 19 percent were Hispanic and 2 percent were
> Asian and other races.

30% of deaths but only 12% of US population suggests something's up.

~~~
throwaway91001
The police are definitely racist. However, there is a reason beyond racism
that police react differently. 40% of officer killings are by black suspects.

[https://www.fbi.gov/about-
us/cjis/ucr/leoka/2014/tables/tabl...](https://www.fbi.gov/about-
us/cjis/ucr/leoka/2014/tables/table_47_leos_fk_race_and_sex_of_known_offender_2005-2014.xls)

~~~
cpncrunch
>The police are definitely racist.

And you have evidence about that from....?

>However, there is a reason beyond racism that police react differently. 40%
of officer killings are by black suspects

Unlikely, considering that police are less to kill black suspects than white
ones (read that Washington Times article I linked). So it appears that white
police are racist against white people. Let's start a "white lives matter"
organization!

~~~
throwaway91001
Just ask black people you know, observe what happens on the street in a black
neighborhood. It's different. The amount of leeway and benefit of the doubt
you get as a white person is different than as a black person.

Some of this is probably due to preexisting racism. Some of it is due to the
experience of the officer causing him to form what a bayesian would call a
prior, and an activist would call a prejudice. I can tell you that policing an
inner city neighborhood exposes you to the worst society has to offer on a
daily basis, and it can lead to police forming some ugly opinions. Everyone is
entitled to equal treatment by the police, and police should be held to this
standard. However police are human beings, and will make judgments based on
available data even if they're told not to, especially when they perceive that
their life is in danger.

BTW, you linked to a Washington Times article. That's a very different
newspaper from the Washington Post.

~~~
cpncrunch
>Just ask black people you know, observe what happens on the street in a black
neighborhood

Have you asked any white people who live in deprived neighbourhoods, or
latinos? I can tell from first-hand experience that a lot of white people hate
the police. No racism was involved though. It has more to do with gangs not
wanting the police to interrupt their crimes, high crime in general in those
areas, real danger to the police putting them on edge, etc.

> I can tell you that policing an inner city neighborhood exposes you to the
> worst society has to offer on a daily basis, and it can lead to police
> forming some ugly opinions

I think this is the key problem. Not racism. Blaming it on racism just causes
further problems. I'm sure there is some racism, but it doesn't appear to be
the main problem.

>BTW, you linked to a Washington Times article. That's a very different
newspaper from the Washington Post.

Fixed, thanks.

