The police are meant to be a body you can call on to protect you. To protect you when someone else threatens to harm you, has harmed you, stolen your possessions and so much more. While police officers certainly do this, sometimes they are the ones who harm others. Sometimes, officers act in ways that make people question if they are there to serve us as they say.
Most police officers are decent people. Unfortunately, the powers they have mean that one who is not can do a lot of harm before someone stops them. Each year, officers injure or kill numerous citizens. But how common is it?
About one in 50 police interactions involve police using or threatening to use force
Conservative estimates reckon that police officers cause non-fatal injuries to around 250,000 people a year. 85,000 of these result in the need for hospital treatment. Another 600 to 1,000 die each year at the hands of police officers.
Your race can mean you are more likely to suffer police brutality
Just under 25% of people that police officers kill are Black. This is despite Black people only making up 6% of the total U.S. population.
There may be the occasional accidental injuries or deaths at the hands of the police that are explainable as an unfortunate accident. Yet, too often, despite the efforts of police officers accused of brutality to explain away their actions, their actions are inexcusable.
If you or someone close to you has suffered from police brutality, it’s important to know there may be legal resources available.