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of
987 people were fatally shot by police in 2017
There were in 2018 than in 2017.
Fatal police shootings by year
Where the 2018 shootings took place
Each marks the location of a deadly shooting.
Shootings per million people
0
There are shootings with unverified locations that are not shown on the map.
The Post's reporting on fatal police shootings
Fatal police shootings of unarmed people have significantly declined, experts say May 3, 2018 Nationwide, police shot and killed nearly 1,000 people in 2017 Jan. 6, 2018 Number of fatal shootings by police is nearly identical to last year July 1, 2017 Fatal shootings by police remain relatively unchanged after two years Dec. 30, 2016 In two years, police killed 86 people brandishing guns that look real — but aren’tDec. 18, 2016 In fatal shootings by police, 1 in 5 officers’ names go undisclosed April 1, 2016
About this story
The Washington database contains records of every fatal shooting in the United States by a police officer in the line of duty since Jan. 1, 2015.
In 2015, The Post began tracking more than a dozen details about each killing — including the race of the deceased, the circumstances of the shooting, whether the person was armed and whether the person was experiencing a mental-health crisis — by culling local news reports, law enforcement websites and social media, and by monitoring independent databases such as Killed by Police and Fatal Encounters. The Post conducted additional reporting in many cases.
The Post is documenting only those shootings in which a police officer, in the line of duty, shoots and kills a civilian — the circumstances that most closely parallel the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., which began the protest movement culminating in Black Lives Matter and an increased focus on police accountability nationwide. The Post is not tracking deaths of people in police custody, fatal shootings by off-duty officers or non-shooting deaths.
The FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention log fatal shootings by police, but officials acknowledge that their data is incomplete. Since 2015, The Post has documented more than twice as many fatal shootings by police as recorded on average annually.
The Post’s database is updated regularly as fatal shootings are reported and as facts emerge about individual cases. The Post seeks to make the database as comprehensive as possible. To provide information about fatal police shootings since Jan. 1, 2015, send us an email at policeshootingsfeedback@washpost.com.
Credits
Research and Reporting: Julie Tate, Jennifer Jenkins and Steven Rich
Design and development by John Muyskens
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