I have not been one to decry "murder" and "killer cops". Then I found this on Gawker of all places.
It gives one pause, and I have paused.
Hmmmm.
What I've Learned from Two Years Collecting Data on Police Killings
Nowhere could I find out how many people died during interactions with police in the United States. Try as I might, I just couldn't wrap my head around that idea. How was it that, in the 21st century, this data wasn't being tracked, compiled, and made available to the public?
The biggest thing I've taken away from this project is something I'll never be able to prove, but I'm convinced to my core: The lack of such a database is intentional. No government—not the federal government, and not the thousands of municipalities that give their police forces license to use deadly force—wants you to know how many people it kills and why.
This is shocking. The author has spent 2+years attempting to compile this database. The initial conclusions are not encouraging.
I am appalled and have changed my perspective on all of this.