Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
LAPD has killed more people than any other agency in 2015, data show
Listen
• 0:43
A makeshift memorial for the homeless man who was shot and killed by police on Skid Row is shown on Monday, March 2, 2015.
(
Rina Palta/KPCC
)
The Los Angeles Police Department has killed more people than any other law enforcement agency in the United States this year, according to a database compiled by the Guardian newspaper.
LAPD officers have killed 10 people so far in 2015, according to the Guardian's accounting. That's twice the number killed by deputies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which was tied for second with two other agencies. Nationwide, more than 450 people have been killed by peace officers this year.
The Guardian's data tracks deaths "arising directly from encounters with law enforcement," and was put together through news reports and crowdsourcing. The data is an "imperfect work in progress," the paper writes, given that the federal government does not comprehensively track police killings.
LAPD Commander Andrew Smith said that it's inaccurate to count two of the deaths in the database. One involved a car accident and another involved an off-duty officer who allegedly murdered a man after a dispute outside a tequila bar in Pomona.
Support for LAist comes from
"It's obviously a concern for us when someone puts out misinformation," Smith said.
Smith added that 8 deaths at this point in the year is roughly in line with recent years for the LAPD.
The Guardian's data reveals that several police and Sheriff's departments across the Southland have killed multiple people this year:
Some of those deaths were high-profile, such as the shooting of an unarmed homeless man in Skid Row by LAPD this March. But many other police killings in Southern California haven't attracted the same level of attention.
Among police departments in the country's ten largest cities, Phoenix had the highest rate of police killings, with 2.7 per million residents. Los Angeles was just below that, with 2.6 police killings per million residents.
Rates were lower in New York and Chicago. In the first five months of the year, there were 0.5 police killings per million residents in New York and 0.4 per million in Chicago.
Support for LAist comes from
Looking at California more broadly, 74 people have been killed by police, the highest number of any state. The ranking drops to 14th, however, when factoring in the per capita rate; Oklahoma leads the country in per capita police killings.
The data also include some demographic information. They show, for example, that 69 of the 74 killed in California were men.
The deaths are also broken down by race: 27 of those killed were white, 25 were latino, 14 were black and 3 were Asian or Pacific Islanders (5 are listed as "unknown"). The figures show African-Americans were killed at a disproportionate rate compared to other ethnicities: the population of California is 39 percent white, 38 percent Latino and just 6 percent black.
Many of those killed were armed. Twenty-four had lethal firearms, 18 had knives and five were using vehicles as weapons. Nineteen of the 75 killed were unarmed.
This post has been updated.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The L.A. City Council approved the venue change Wednesday, which organizers say will save $12 million in infrastructure costs. -
Taxes on the sale of some newer apartment buildings would be lowered under a plan by Sacramento lawmakers to partially rein in city Measure ULA.
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
Best of LAist