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Rapublicans and police unions continue to spout the lie that there's a war on police. So, it seems like a good time to re-up some facts. Attacks on police have always been very low and have been decreasing for years.
1/12 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/16/us-police-deaths-decline-2015-fbi-data
1/12 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/16/us-police-deaths-decline-2015-fbi-data
Then they'll tell you policing is a dangerous job. No, it isn't.
Here are the ten most dangerous jobs - you'll find truck drivers, pilots, farmers, and landscapers. You won't find police because their job is safer than collecting recyclables.
2/12 https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/27/the-10-most-dangerous-jobs-in-america-according-to-bls-data.html
Here are the ten most dangerous jobs - you'll find truck drivers, pilots, farmers, and landscapers. You won't find police because their job is safer than collecting recyclables.
2/12 https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/27/the-10-most-dangerous-jobs-in-america-according-to-bls-data.html
Of the police deaths that occurred last year, about half were accidents. Most states (31/50) did not record a single officer killed and only 5 officers out of 700,000 were targeted - a small fraction of the national average for citizens in America.
3/12 https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2019-statistics-on-law-enforcement-officers-killed-in-the-line-of-duty
3/12 https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2019-statistics-on-law-enforcement-officers-killed-in-the-line-of-duty
By comparison, the police killed 1,022 citizens over the last year. It is abundantly clear that these killings are one-sided. Being a cop is safe. Being a citizen in the presence of a cop, however, is anything but.
4/12 https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/
4/12 https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/
And the murders police commit? They face no consequences. Fucking none.
In a fifteen-year span, which covered roughly 14,000 acts of police murdering a citizen, exactly 5 cases resulted in convictions. Five. That is 0.04%. One in three thousand.
5/12 https://www.sfchronicle.com/nation/article/Why-it-s-so-hard-to-convict-a-cop-of-murder-15327778.php
In a fifteen-year span, which covered roughly 14,000 acts of police murdering a citizen, exactly 5 cases resulted in convictions. Five. That is 0.04%. One in three thousand.
5/12 https://www.sfchronicle.com/nation/article/Why-it-s-so-hard-to-convict-a-cop-of-murder-15327778.php
The police operate as lawless gangs, shielded by a 'blue line of silence' and protected by corrupt attorneys general. They kill with impunity. And it is not just killing they get away with.
6/12 https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/19/us/police-sexual-assaults-maryland-scope/index.html
6/12 https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/19/us/police-sexual-assaults-maryland-scope/index.html
Moreover, which will surprise no one, police violence is aimed disproportionately at people of color. Of course, it is.
Police, in opposition with American citizens as a whole, have made it abundantly clear that they don't believe #BlackLivesMatter
.
7/12 https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2020-06-03/data-show-deaths-from-police-violence-disproportionately-affect-people-of-color
Police, in opposition with American citizens as a whole, have made it abundantly clear that they don't believe #BlackLivesMatter
.7/12 https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2020-06-03/data-show-deaths-from-police-violence-disproportionately-affect-people-of-color
We know it doesn't have to be this way. In fact, many police officers have shown a better path. These killings, these rapes, this violence - it isn't all cops, to be fair. It is mostly just the white men. But you knew that.
8/12 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01846-z
8/12 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01846-z
Specifically, when a white cop enters a black neighborhood, the killings start. Black officers are able to resolve issues without death. White cops shoot first and fabricate a justification later.
9/12
9/12
And men, by far, kill more than women. While women make up 12% of the police force and are arguably less equipped to take down an offender without a weapon, they nonetheless commit less than 5% of the murders.
10/12
https://www.statista.com/statistics/585149/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-gender/
10/12
https://www.statista.com/statistics/585149/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-gender/
So what can we do? I don't know. But it starts with shutting down lies. When they say being a cop is dangerous, correct them - no, it isn't. When they say they're under attack, correct that too - they are not.
Don't let lies control the debate while people die.
11/12
Don't let lies control the debate while people die.
11/12
If you want a more pointed and complete answer to the question of what we can do, I highly recommend the following thread. There is much work to be done, but we know how it needs to begin. Change is possible, but we must lead with truth and fact.
12/12 https://twitter.com/greg_doucette/status/1266053291684827138?s=20
12/12 https://twitter.com/greg_doucette/status/1266053291684827138?s=20
