Prosecutions of Police Shootings Hit Decade High

In the context of many deaths at the hands of police officers, there has been increased pressure to prosecute officers who are involved in civilian shootings. We’re now seeing the effects of that pressure, as prosecutions of officers who were involved in the shooting of a civilian have reached their highest number in a decade.

So far in 2015, 12 officers have been charged with either murder or manslaughter resulting from police shootings. That’s significantly higher than the average from 2005-2014, which was five prosecutions a year. It also doesn’t include the six police officers who are being prosecuted for the death of Freddie Gray, because that death did not stem from a shooting, or any other deaths not resulting from police shootings.

While this kind of data isn’t compiled nationwide, a professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Philip Stinson, curated it as part of a project he worked on with the Department of Justice. The project is called “Police Integrity Lost.” This project is one example of the ways in which the DOJ is trying to improve its knowledge of police-related killings, and the prosecutions that follow–or the lack thereof.

The prosecutions related to deaths this year also still make up only a tiny fraction of police-related killings. According to the Washington Post, there have been 796 fatal police shootings this year in the United States. Killed by Police, a watchdog organization reports 979 civilians have been killed to date at police hands–those stats aren’t just limited to shootings like the Washington Post ones are.

Moreover, just because more officers are being prosecuted doesn’t mean they’ll be convicted. Stinson’s numbers show that out of 47 officers charged in fatal shootings over the last 10 years, only 11 have been convicted.

Despite the fact that it seems like more police officers will be held accountable for actions that are deemed inappropriate this year, Stinson cautions against reading too much into this year’s numbers, pointing out they might be indicative of a trend sparked by recent public outcry over police brutality, but they might also just be an anomaly. Regardless, ensuring more accountability and understanding of the circumstances surrounding police shootings is a good thing.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.