(Joshua Lott / for The Washington Post)
In fatal shootings by police, 1 in 5 officers’ names go undisclosed
Families of those killed encounter policies ranging from a wall of silence to quick disclosure.
Protocol for reducing police shootings draws backlash from unions, chiefs group
A call for “de-escalation” could imperil officers and sow confusion over the use of force, some say.
A struggle for a gun ended with a familiar outcome in Georgia
A man who tried to defuse a situation involving his son was fatally shot by a deputy, eliciting the family’s calls for accountability.
A year of reckoning: Police fatally shoot nearly 1,000
The Post sought to compile a record of every fatal police shooting in the nation in 2015, something no government agency had done.
For 55 officers involved in fatal shootings this year, it wasn’t their first time
An analysis exposes another gap in the federal government’s oversight of fatal police shootings nationwide.
A disproportionate number of black victims in fatal traffic stops
Police shot and killed 107 people after pulling over vehicles this year. One in three of the dead was black.
(Karen Ducey for The Washington Post)
Creating guardians, calming warriors
Academy in Washington state puts focus on teaching recruits how to better de-escalate conflict situations.
On policing, the national mood turns toward reform
Protesters against police brutality are seeking — and winning — the ouster of top officials, as well as indictments.
Forced reforms, mixed results
Measured by incidents of use of force, one of Justice’s primary metrics, the outcomes are mixed.
FBI to sharply expand system for tracking fatal police shootings
The new system, to take effect in 2017, will also track deaths by other means and incidents of serious injury.
(William Widmer for The Washington Post)
Uneven justice
Two bad shootings, two guilty cops, two lawsuits. Society is loath to convict cops who kill, so civil court is often the best place for victims' families to get results. But there, some get millions, and some get nothing.
On duty, under fire
Wisconsin trooper Trevor Casper faced down a gunman who planned to go out fighting. The vast majority of individuals shot and killed by police officers were armed with guns and killed after attacking police officers or civilians or making other direct threats.
How law enforcement officers can kill someone and avoid prosecution
In Texas, a manslaughter charge was dismissed against a police officer who was part of a federal task force.
Police withhold videos despite vows of transparency
But officers investigated in fatal shootings are routinely given access to body camera footage
Thousands dead, few prosecuted
Among the thousands of fatal shootings at the hands of police since 2005, only 54 officers have been charged, a Post analysis found. Most were cleared or acquitted in the cases that have been resolved.
Distraught people, deadly results
Officers often lack the training to approach the mentally unstable, experts say
Police officers experience fewer deaths these days — but increased tension
Suspects have killed 14 officers on duty this year, but protests in cities have left police feeling under siege.
Fatal police shootings in 2015 approaching 400 nationwide
A Post analysis reveals about 2.6 fatal police shootings a day in 2015, nearly twice the rate reported by the FBI in the past decade — a statistic based on incomplete data from police agencies.
(Lettering by Peter Strain for The Washington Post)
Black and unarmed
A year after Michael Brown’s fatal shooting, unarmed black men are seven times more likely than whites to die by police gunfire.
