Black Americans 3 times more likely to be killed by police

A new study revealed deep rooted institutionalised  racism in American police

The study conducted at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has revealed that black Americans were, on average, more than three times as likely as white people to be killed during a police encounter. The researchers analysed four years data of police killing from 2013 to 2017. The researchers examined 5,494 police-related deaths in the United States between 2013 and 2017 and found disparities across the two racial groups in all metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) that provided race/ethnicity data.

Among all MSAs, the analysis found, black people were 3.23 times more likely to be killed by police than white people. Among MSAs, researchers said the figures "varied greatly." At the low end, black deaths in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. were 1.81 times greater than white deaths. That figure rose to 6.51 in the MSA with the highest level of disparity -- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.

MSAs that showed "more extreme" disparities between the numbers of black and white people killed in police encounters tended to have lower rates of police-related fatalities in general, according to the analysis.

Overall, the researchers said rates of deadly police violence were higher in the West and South than they were in the Midwest and Northeast. "People's risk of fatal police violence varies hugely from one metro area to another; some metros have death rates nine times those of other cities, which points to how preventable these deaths are and why so many people are protesting police violence across the country," said study authors Jaquelyn Jahn and Gabriel Schwartz.

"People's risk of fatal police violence varies hugely from one metro area to another; some metros have death rates nine times those of other cities, which points to how preventable these deaths are and why so many people are protesting police violence across the country," said study authors Jaquelyn Jahn and Gabriel Schwartz.

"Nationally, black people are at much higher risk of being killed by the police, but in some places the difference is truly enormous: Black Chicagoans are more than 650 percent more likely to be killed than white Chicagoans."

The researchers used data from Fatal Encounters, an independently validated database that is endorsed by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics. Of the deaths they examined, they discounted those reported as suicides, accidents or vehicle collisions. Those that lacked race or ethnicity data -- 547 -- were excluded from race-related statistics.

The study has been published at a time when nationwide protests are taking place in America against police violence.  The killing of black American George Floyd in police study in Minneapolis in May 25 sparked the protests.  The activists are calling for sweeping reforms in the police departments across the country to end the institutional racism and police brutality.

                                                           Khalid Bhatti