Police Under Scrutiny

Police officers fatally shoot an average of nearly 1,000 people annually in the United States, and Blacks, Hispanics, the mentally ill and the poor are more likely to be stopped by police than whites. Increasingly, violent encounters with minorities are being captured on camera and igniting racial justice protests across the country. Many police unions and defense lawyers caution those viral images distort reality and say that the vast majority of officers behave ethically. Lawmakers, criminal justice experts and civil rights leaders disagree on whether laws should restrict police use of force, or if some law enforcement funding should be diverted to other community resources that could better handle citizens' disagreements or emergencies. Many Americans want police officers to be held more accountable — particularly in court — when they injure or kill a suspect. But officers and legal experts say officers must assess threats quickly in order to protect themselves and others, and courts should give them the benefit of the doubt.