The Washington Post is compiling a database of every fatal shooting in the United States by a police officer in the line of duty in 2015.
The Post is tracking more than a dozen details about each killing — including the race of the deceased, the circumstances of the shooting, and whether the person was armed — by culling local news reports and monitoring independent databases such as Killed by Police and Fatal Encounters. In some cases, The Post conducted additional reporting.
The Post is documenting only shootings in which a police officer, while on duty, shot and killed a civilian — circumstances that most closely parallel the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. The Post is not tracking deaths of people in custody, fatal shootings by off-duty officers or deaths in which police gunfire did not kill the individual.
The FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention log fatal shootings by police, but officials acknowledge that their data is incomplete.
The Post’s database will be updated regularly as new fatal shootings are reported and as new facts emerge about individual cases. The Post is seeking assistance in making the database as comprehensive as possible. To provide information about fatal police shootings in 2015, send us an e-mail at policeshootingsfeedback@washpost.com. The Post is also interested in obtaining photos of the deceased and original videos of fatal encounters with police.
The data is available for download on GitHub.
Credits:
Research and Reporting: Julie Tate, Jennifer Jenkins, Kimberly Kindy, Wesley Lowery, Keith L. Alexander and Steven Rich
Production and Presentation: Ted Mellnik, John Muyskens, Kennedy Elliott and Laris Karklis
Photo: Linda Epstein and Wendy Galietta Video: Whitney Leaming and Divya Verma
Read more coverage:
Fatal police shootings in 2015 approaching 400 nationwide
Police officers experience fewer deaths these days — but increased tension
Thousands dead, few prosecuted: An analysis of fatal shootings by on-duty police officers
