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Of course we still need non lethal methods to stop unarmed citizens, and body cameras. We also need to weed out bad law enforcement. There does need to be respect to decent police requests too.
Story by Amy Brittain
About this story: To identify trends among fatal shootings by police, The Post studied whether the individuals killed were unarmed or armed with weapons and reviewed the actions they took in the immediate moments before police shot them. The Post has compiled a database of all fatal shootings nationwide by officers in the line of duty in 2015.
Above: Law enforcement from throughout Wisconsin take part in a flag ceremony as the casket of Trooper Trevor Casper is transported to Kiel High School for visitation, followed by the funeral. Casper was a graduate of the high school in Kiel, Wis., four years ago.
But Snyder soon realized he was being followed. Outside the Pick ’n Save grocery store, he abruptly turned his car around. He raised his semiautomatic pistol and opened fire, striking Casper in the neck.
Snyder and Casper jumped out of their cars while they were still rolling. The 21-year-old trooper, armed with a .40-caliber Glock, and the 38-year-old bank robber circled the cruiser, guns blazing. Casper fired 12 rounds; Snyder got off nine armor-piercing bullets, one of which penetrated Casper’s ballistic vest. And when it was over, Snyder lay dying of a gunshot wound to his back.
“Bad guy is down,” a dispatcher reported.
Casper collapsed and then dropped his gun. March 24 was his first solo day on the job — and his last. Shot three times, he became the youngest law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in Wisconsin history. Casper is among 31 officers this year who have been shot to death by perpetrators, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. He was hailed as a hero for stopping Snyder, who had magazines of ammunition tucked in his socks and left a manifesto promising “to go down fighting hard.”
Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper Trevor Casper was killed in the line of duty on March 24 in Fond du Lac, Wis. He was the youngest law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in Wisconsin history. (Courtesy of the Casper Family)
Snyder’s killing, as documented in interviews and police reports, is among the 800 fatal shootings by police so far this year. As the tally continues to grow, so does public debate and criticism over police use of deadly force.
But only a small number of the shootings — roughly 5 percent — occurred under the kind of circumstances that raise doubt and draw public outcry, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. The vast majority of individuals shot and killed by police officers were, like Snyder, armed with guns and killed after attacking police officers or civilians or making other direct threats.
Jim Pasco, executive director of the national Fraternal Order of Police, said The Post’s findings confirm what police officers already know.
“We know that anecdotally, because typically that’s why police officers choose to use deadly force,” said Pasco, whose organization includes 335,000 officers nationwide. “These are circumstances where their lives or the lives of citizens around them are in imminent danger.”
In 74 percent of all fatal police shootings, the individuals had already fired shots, brandished a gun or attacked a person with a weapon or their bare hands, according to an analysis of actions immediately preceding the shootings, which draws on reports from law enforcement agencies and local media coverage. These 595 cases include fatal shootings that followed a wide range of violent crimes, including shootouts, stabbings, hostage situations, carjackings and assaults.
Another 16 percent of the shootings came after incidents that did not involve firearms or active attacks but featured other potentially dangerous threats. These shootings were most commonly of individuals who brandished knives and refused to drop them.
The 5 percent of cases that are often second-guessed include individuals who police said failed to follow their orders, made sudden movements or were accidentally shot. In another 4 percent of cases, The Post was unable to determine the circumstances of the shootings because of limited information or ongoing investigations.
Much of the public outcry about police use of deadly force began in August 2014 when a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, after a struggle in Ferguson, Mo. A grand jury declined to indict the officer. Of the 800 people killed by police this year, almost half have been white, a quarter have been black and one-sixth have been Hispanic.
Most fatal police shootings prompted by an attack
In three-fourths of fatal shootings by police this year, officers were defending themselves or others from attack or threat of gun violence. Here's what happened immediately before the fatal shots by police.
Attacked by other means
16%
Brandished a gun
30%
Other threat
16%
Gun threats included pointing, brandishing or holding a gun. Other attacks include those with weapons besides guns or with or physical force. By law, deadly force is justified if the officer reasonably believed at the moment that someone was in imminent danger.
Source: Washington Post data
THE WASHINGTON POST
The Post is tracking all fatal shootings by police while on duty in 2015. Recently, the FBI and the U.S. attorney general acknowledged weaknesses in their own counting of fatal shootings by police and announced plans to more thoroughly collect data.
To identify trends among the shootings, The Post studied whether the individuals were unarmed or armed with weapons and reviewed the actions they took in the immediate moments before police shot and killed them.
Of the 595 cases in which a person fired a gun, brandished a gun or attacked an officer or individual with a weapon or bare hands:
DEADLY SHOOTINGS BY POLICE, 2015
224 OF THOSE KILLED SHOT A GUN AT SOMEONE
129 OF THOSE KILLED ATTACKED SOMEONE WITH SOMETHING OTHER THAN A GUN
242 OF THOSE KILLED BRANDISHED OR POINTED A GUN AT SOMEONE
205 OF THOSE KILLED WERE INVOLVED IN OTHER OR UNDETERMINED CIRCUMSTANCES
See the details of each case
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/inv...ty-under-fire/
Story by Amy Brittain
FOND DU LAC, Wis.
Stopped in his patrol cruiser, Trooper Trevor Casper searched for a gray Toyota Corolla on a busy stretch of Highway 41. Behind the wheel was Steven Timothy Snyder, a bank robber and killer on the run. When Casper spotted Snyder about 5:30 p.m., he eased his cruiser into southbound traffic, following the Corolla at a distance, keeping his lights and siren off.About this story: To identify trends among fatal shootings by police, The Post studied whether the individuals killed were unarmed or armed with weapons and reviewed the actions they took in the immediate moments before police shot them. The Post has compiled a database of all fatal shootings nationwide by officers in the line of duty in 2015.
Above: Law enforcement from throughout Wisconsin take part in a flag ceremony as the casket of Trooper Trevor Casper is transported to Kiel High School for visitation, followed by the funeral. Casper was a graduate of the high school in Kiel, Wis., four years ago.
But Snyder soon realized he was being followed. Outside the Pick ’n Save grocery store, he abruptly turned his car around. He raised his semiautomatic pistol and opened fire, striking Casper in the neck.
Snyder and Casper jumped out of their cars while they were still rolling. The 21-year-old trooper, armed with a .40-caliber Glock, and the 38-year-old bank robber circled the cruiser, guns blazing. Casper fired 12 rounds; Snyder got off nine armor-piercing bullets, one of which penetrated Casper’s ballistic vest. And when it was over, Snyder lay dying of a gunshot wound to his back.
“Bad guy is down,” a dispatcher reported.
Casper collapsed and then dropped his gun. March 24 was his first solo day on the job — and his last. Shot three times, he became the youngest law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in Wisconsin history. Casper is among 31 officers this year who have been shot to death by perpetrators, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. He was hailed as a hero for stopping Snyder, who had magazines of ammunition tucked in his socks and left a manifesto promising “to go down fighting hard.”
Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper Trevor Casper was killed in the line of duty on March 24 in Fond du Lac, Wis. He was the youngest law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in Wisconsin history. (Courtesy of the Casper Family)
Snyder’s killing, as documented in interviews and police reports, is among the 800 fatal shootings by police so far this year. As the tally continues to grow, so does public debate and criticism over police use of deadly force.
But only a small number of the shootings — roughly 5 percent — occurred under the kind of circumstances that raise doubt and draw public outcry, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. The vast majority of individuals shot and killed by police officers were, like Snyder, armed with guns and killed after attacking police officers or civilians or making other direct threats.
Jim Pasco, executive director of the national Fraternal Order of Police, said The Post’s findings confirm what police officers already know.
“We know that anecdotally, because typically that’s why police officers choose to use deadly force,” said Pasco, whose organization includes 335,000 officers nationwide. “These are circumstances where their lives or the lives of citizens around them are in imminent danger.”
In 74 percent of all fatal police shootings, the individuals had already fired shots, brandished a gun or attacked a person with a weapon or their bare hands, according to an analysis of actions immediately preceding the shootings, which draws on reports from law enforcement agencies and local media coverage. These 595 cases include fatal shootings that followed a wide range of violent crimes, including shootouts, stabbings, hostage situations, carjackings and assaults.
Another 16 percent of the shootings came after incidents that did not involve firearms or active attacks but featured other potentially dangerous threats. These shootings were most commonly of individuals who brandished knives and refused to drop them.
The 5 percent of cases that are often second-guessed include individuals who police said failed to follow their orders, made sudden movements or were accidentally shot. In another 4 percent of cases, The Post was unable to determine the circumstances of the shootings because of limited information or ongoing investigations.
Much of the public outcry about police use of deadly force began in August 2014 when a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, after a struggle in Ferguson, Mo. A grand jury declined to indict the officer. Of the 800 people killed by police this year, almost half have been white, a quarter have been black and one-sixth have been Hispanic.
Most fatal police shootings prompted by an attack
In three-fourths of fatal shootings by police this year, officers were defending themselves or others from attack or threat of gun violence. Here's what happened immediately before the fatal shots by police.
Fired a gun
28%
28%
Attacked by other means
16%
Brandished a gun
30%
Other threat
16%
Undetermined, others
10%
10%
Gun threats included pointing, brandishing or holding a gun. Other attacks include those with weapons besides guns or with or physical force. By law, deadly force is justified if the officer reasonably believed at the moment that someone was in imminent danger.
Source: Washington Post data
THE WASHINGTON POST
The Post is tracking all fatal shootings by police while on duty in 2015. Recently, the FBI and the U.S. attorney general acknowledged weaknesses in their own counting of fatal shootings by police and announced plans to more thoroughly collect data.
To identify trends among the shootings, The Post studied whether the individuals were unarmed or armed with weapons and reviewed the actions they took in the immediate moments before police shot and killed them.
Of the 595 cases in which a person fired a gun, brandished a gun or attacked an officer or individual with a weapon or bare hands:
- The most common type of encounter — 242 fatal shootings by police officers — occurred when individuals pointed or brandished a gun but had not yet fired the weapon at a person.
- The next-largest group — 224 shootings — included situations similar to the one that led to Casper’s death: an individual firing a gun at a police officer or a bystander. The Post found that in 87 percent of these cases, the gunfire was directed at police officers.
- In 129 of the fatal shootings, individuals attacked police officers or civilians but had no gun. They were armed with weapons such as knives, hatchets, chemical agents and vehicles. Of these, 70 percent of the attacks were directed at police.
DEADLY SHOOTINGS BY POLICE, 2015
224 OF THOSE KILLED SHOT A GUN AT SOMEONE
129 OF THOSE KILLED ATTACKED SOMEONE WITH SOMETHING OTHER THAN A GUN
242 OF THOSE KILLED BRANDISHED OR POINTED A GUN AT SOMEONE
205 OF THOSE KILLED WERE INVOLVED IN OTHER OR UNDETERMINED CIRCUMSTANCES
See the details of each case
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/inv...ty-under-fire/