" I could get Mother Teresa to shoot the Pope,"

If your wondering why there are so many Police Shootings of Unarmed Citizens you should see this Police Website trying to explain why they need the "Right to Shoot Unarmed Citizens"

Racial Bias in the Decision to Shoot?

Racial Bias in the Decision to Shoot?


In 2002, Correll and others published a paper titled, “The Police Officer’s Dilemma.”1 The paper was, in part, a reaction to the death of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by New York police, who thought he had a weapon. In the media and in the public at large, this tragic incident raised questions about whether race influences police use of force, particularly whether police are more likely to shoot a black suspect than a white suspect. These questions have long been of interest to criminologists and sociologists.2

First Denver Study

In the initial phase of this research (Denver study 1), three distinct groups of participants were studied: 124 police officers from the DPD, 127 members of the Denver community, and finally a group of 113 officers drawn from 14 states across the United States. This last group was labeled as the “national officers” to reflect the diversity of its origins.

Each participant performed a simple computer task involving the decision to shoot. The game presented a series of 100 male targets, which appeared on the screen one by one. Some of these targets were black, and some were white. In addition, some targets were armed and appeared on screen holding a pistol in a conspicuous position. Other targets were unarmed, instead holding an innocuous object, like a cellular telephone or a wallet. Across the entire game, participants saw 25 armed black targets, 25 armed white targets, 25 unarmed black targets, and 25 unarmed white targets. As in the initial Chicago experiment, participants were asked to press a button labeled “Shoot” if the target was armed; if they believed the target was unarmed, participants were instructed to press a button labeled “Don’t shoot.” They were given 850 milliseconds to make this decision. Incorrect responses (such as shooting an unarmed target) or responses that were too slow prompted negative feedback, including an aversive auditory tone and a loss of points. Correct responses prompted positive feedback and a gain of points.





Figure 1. The amount of time participants in each sample took to
respond to the four target types is depicted. All three samples
showed significant bias, shooting armed black targets more
quickly than armed whites and choosing not to shoot unarmed
whites more quickly than unarmed blacks





Figure 2. The criterion to shoot white and black targets is depicted. Community
members showed significant bias: a lower, more lenient criterion
for black targets than for white targets. Police did not show significant bias:
they used statistically equivalent criteria for both whites and blacks.


http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1798&issue_id=52009

Police shooting witness: 'His hands were up like this'

Ohio woman accidentally shot in head, killed during Chillicothe drug raid

Ohio woman accidentally shot in head, killed during Chillicothe drug raid

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - Authorities say a woman was killed in an accidental shooting by a law-enforcement officer during a drug raid in rural central Ohio.

A prosecutor in Ross County, south of Columbus, said 35-year-old Krystal Barrows, was accidentally shot in the head Wednesday night after officers entered a home to conduct the raid.

Prosecutor Matt Schmidt tells the Chillicothe Gazette that it wasn't clear whether the gunfire was the result of a weapon malfunction or user error. The county sheriff's office wouldn't answer questions about the shooting.

A sheriff's office news release said six people were charged during the raid and "large amounts" of heroin were found, along with cash and guns.



http://www.newsnet5.com/news/state/ohio-woman-accidentally-shot-in-head-killed-during-chillicothe-drug-raid

Police Shooting of Unarmed Man Unjustified: Lawyer

Police: NC teen fatally shot self in head while handcuffed

Can't make up stuff this bad

Durham police surround Huerta protesters; gas used to disperse group

Source: Andrew Kenney

DURHAM — A month after Jesús “Chuy” Huerta died in police custody, dozens of armored police officers assembled as an alliance of about 150 friends, families and protesters marched for a second time on the Durham Police Department Thursday evening.

Police, some dressed in riot gear and equipped with rifles and shotguns, assembled in rows around the building, waiting, as the marchers streamed toward police property around 7:30 p.m., demanding answers for a family's pain.

Protest organizers and police alike had in prior days urged marchers to remain peaceful, hoping to avoid the window-breaking and small number of arrests that marked the first protest for Huerta.

Thursday’s march, however, ended with several more arrests. Firecrackers and at least one bottle was thrown by protesters. Then several canisters of gas discharged by police before the crowd finally dispersed around 9 p.m.



Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/12/19/3473638/police-turn-out-in-force-to-monitor.html

You can't make shit up this funny

Man wounded in latest Dallas police shooting had his hands in the air

Here is Todays Police shooting of an Unarmed Citizen

Two arrested as Lopez protest halts meetings

Source: THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A preliminary internal review by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office has found that a veteran deputy who shot and killed a 13-year-old Santa Rosa boy did not violate department procedures, sheriff's officials said Tuesday, as angry demonstrators marched through Santa Rosa and temporarily halted public meetings by city and county officials.

Two people were arrested during the demonstrations, which were largely fueled by Deputy Erick Gelhaus' return to work Monday, nearly seven weeks after he fatally shot Andy Lopez. The 24-year deputy and firearms instructor reportedly mistook the airsoft BB gun the boy was holding — one made to look like an AK-47 — for a real assault rifle.

Gelhaus' return to duty amid ongoing investigations escalated tensions between local law enforcement officials and demonstrators seeking quick justice for Lopez's killing to their highest level since the Oct. 22 shooting.

Critics of law enforcement have branded the incident a blatant use of excessive force while frequent protests have spotlighted a shattered relationship with local government, a rift widened by racial and economic divides, protesters say.

Read more: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131210/articles/131219956