(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.
Minneapolis police officers will not face charges for fatally shooting Jamar Clark
The prosecutor said the two police officers reasonably believed that 24-year-old Jamar Clark was reaching for an officer's gun.
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.
Justice Department, Miami police reach agreement on police shootings
The agreement resolves a Justice Department probe of officer-involved shootings that found Miami officers engaged in a "pattern or practice of excessive use of force" in firing weapons at suspects.
Justice Dept. sues the city of Ferguson to force policing reform
56-page civil lawsuit says civil rights violations continue 18 months after death of Michael Brown
Police chiefs consider dramatic reforms to officer tactics, training to prevent so many shootings
Top police officials gather in D.C. to discuss how to prevent so many police-involved shootings.
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.
DOJ will investigate July death of Darrius Stewart, an unarmed, black 19-year-old shot by police in Memphis
Stewart is one of 32 unarmed black Americans shot and killed by police this year.
Ga. deputies fatally shoot CNN security guard as he tried to help distressed son
Bobby Daniels was trying to keep son from getting a gun and hurting officers and others, when he was shot, his family says.
Pennsylvania jury acquits Lisa Mearkle, the first police officer tried for a 2015 on-duty shooting
Five officers have been charged in on-duty shootings this year. Mearkle is the first acquitted
(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.
‘Jeremy was a special gift from God’: Louisiana 6-year-old is year’s youngest police shooting victim
Autistic child killed after police open fire on his fleeing father.
At Jamar Clark’s funeral, family wrestles with greater purpose of his life and death
The death of the 24-year-old Clark, who was shot by a police officer in Minneapolis on Nov. 15, is under federal investigation.
(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.
After his car broke down, Florida church drummer shot and killed by plainclothes officer
Police say Jones was armed and confronted the officer, but details are scarce.
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.
Former University of Cincinnati police officer pleads not guilty, released on bond
A day after he was indicted, the former university police officer made his first appearance in court.
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.
