Fatal police shootings on the rise

In the wake of the most recent officer-involved shooting deaths of two black men, the number of fatal shootings has increased compared to the first six months of last year.

In an article published by The Washington Post, the rise of fatal shootings being caught on camera has steadily increased since the shooting death of Michael Brown of August 2014. In the first six months of last year, shooting deaths totaled 465 opposed to the 491 deaths so far this year. There have also been more officers shot and killed in the line of duty.

“But there are notable differences: More of the shootings were captured on video, from 76 to 105 in the first half of each year. And the number of fatal shootings of black women, such as Nelson-Williams, has risen. Nearly the same number of black women have been killed so far this year as in all of 2015 — eight compared with 10.

Last year, The Post began to log every fatal police shooting in the nation and then analyzed more than a dozen details about each event. The project revealed that in 2015, nearly 1,000 people were fatally shot by police, more than twice the average annual number reported by the FBI in previous years.

The Post has expanded the effort in 2016, culling media reports and filing hundreds of public-records requests to obtain the names and work histories of officers involved in fatal shootings — information that is not tracked by any federal agency. More than 360 officers’ names have been added to the database, and more names will be included as The Post obtains additional information.”

Read more at The Washington Post.