The Left has been pushing a dangerous lie on the American people for many years now- the lie that we live in a country plagued by racism, where white cops kill black men for sport. Every day, we see this narrative being reinforced. But the reality is very different.
- In 2018, 452 whites were shot by police compared to 229 blacks.
- In 2017, 459 whites were shot by police compared to 223 blacks.
- In 2016, 465 whites were shot by police compared to 234 blacks.
- In 2015, 497 whites were shot by police compared to 258 blacks.
These numbers were compiled by the Washington Post using news reports, Internet databases, and public records.
The numbers are incredibly stable and can be explained in a number of ways. For one, whites make up about 70% of the population and blacks make up roughly 13% of the population.
Now, if we were to believe the Left, we would assume that whites and blacks should be shot by police at a rate commensurate with the size of their populations. But this is not the case as the numbers show.
When you take a look at the ways in which these numbers are borne out, the picture becomes clearer.
Nearly twice as many whites are killed than blacks.
According to the Washington Post, the victims “were armed or otherwise threatening the officer with potentially lethal force.”
The Daily Wire writes, “Some argue that these statistics are evidence of racist treatment toward blacks since whites consist of 62% of the population and blacks make up 13% of the population. But as MacDonald writes in The Wall Street Journal, 2009 statistics from the Bureau of Justice Statistics reveal that blacks were charged with 62% of robberies, 57% of murders and 45% of assaults in the 75 biggest counties in the country, despite only comprising roughly 15 percent of the population in these counties.”
MacDonald explains that the higher concentrations of crime in inner-city black communities mean police will confront blacks at a higher rate proportionally.
Case studies show police shoot based on the intensity of the violence directed against them not based on race.
According to statistics compiled in 2015, the ratio of black to white shootings is about seven to one. But the numbers fail to reveal the circumstances of these attacks. Looking at police reports MacDonald found that:
“The “unarmed” label is literally accurate, but it fails to convey highly-charged policing situations. In a number of cases, if the victim ended up being unarmed, it was not for lack of trying. At least five black victims had reportedly tried to grab the officer’s gun, or had been beating the cop with his own equipment. Some were shot from an accidental discharge triggered by their own assault on the officer.”
Police officers of color are more likely to shoot blacks
In 2015 the DOJ reported that minority cops shoot and kill people of color proportionally more often than white cops do. White officers are more likely to shoot at white suspects. Criminologist Greg Ridgeway believes this is because whites are afraid of being punished if they are perceived as being motivated by racism.
Blacks kill cops more often than cops kill blacks
Data compiled by the FBI shows that 40% of people who killed police officers are black. It also shows that police are 18% more likely to be killed by a black suspect than a black suspect is to be killed by police.
This has not always been the case
Black poverty was at an all-time low in the early 1900s, and black crime was down as well. Before 1940, whites committed more crime than blacks.
Since then, father absenteeism has been heavily promoted by the welfare state. And the fear of whites has been promoted ruthlessly. In other words, this situation has nothing to do with any biological racial divide. It is the direct result of social engineering intentionally promoted and enacted by left-wing politicians in order to secure the black vote.
