Study: White Police Officers Not More Likely to Shoot Minority Suspects (2019)

> Because racial disparities in FOIS do not vary based on officer race, hiring more diverse officers may not reduce racial disparities in FOIS. This is not to say that increasing officer diversity is without merit, as increasing officer diversity may broaden understanding of diverse communities and increase trust in law enforcement. However, these data suggest that increasing racial diversity would not meaningfully reduce racial disparity in fatal shootings

There was an NYT article quite a few years ago examining the topic of racial disparity in police departments(https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/03/us/the-race-g...) which contained a short blurb with a similar conclusion:

> “Even if police officers of whatever race enforce the law in relatively the same way, there is a huge image problem with a department that is so out of sync with the racial composition of the local population,”

Here's another article from the washington post on it(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/08/22/...):

> Some social scientists have taken a look at the racial disparities in the behavior of officers, but the topic is still being studied. And there is hardly any research at all on whether racial disparities exist between officers when they use force. ... > From the studies that have been done, however, there’s no conclusive evidence to show that white and black police officers treat suspects differently — if anything, some of the studies show that black officers can be can be harder on black criminal suspects.

Is this an obvious conclusion? I don't think so. It only took a quick google search to find a site campaigning for police reform(https://www.joincampaignzero.org/representation) which contains a study with a different conclusion:

> Moreover, research shows police departments with more black officers are less likely to kill black people.

To me it seems like the topic is still under active research, even if there are already existing tentative conclusions - especially since the conclusions are counter-intuitive, it makes sense that the authors would want to provide more data to the subject.

Cops have a hive mind. It's more important to be part of the blue fam, than it is to have any loyalty or respect for your own race. They're willing to hurt, maim, kill their own rather than be seen as week among their peers.

So, it doesn't matter what color the officer is (there's only one color of cop: Blue), it matters what color the perp is.....

Here's the video that goes w/ the atlanta cops: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXqHdO7iwo8

There are many potential factors for why black people have higher criminalization rates:

1) systemic racially targeted policies (even if not explicitly targeting). One example may be going after “black people drugs” more than “white people drugs”. Real world example was Nixon’s Drug war on black people and leftists.

2) Historic prejudice that reduces opportunities. If a certain group has reduced opportunities, they’re sort of forced to find other means. Plus if you think the system is rigged why would you work with the system?

3) compounding effects. If such effects like the ones above compound over generations, at some point some people start thinking it’s endemic to the race. This is a more direct racism, but honestly you’d have to willingly ignore the above two to truly believe this. Examples are right wingers citing black people being more likely to be incarcerated as a reason for why they are more likely to be criminals. A logical fallacy in itself.

3b) compounding effects also lead to in general more scrutiny on black people for crimes.

3c) if your parents had a tough time you’re more likely to have a tough time. If your parents were criminals or drug users, guess what’s gonna be normal for you. On the opposite end of the same stick: things like legacy college admits disadvantage those who never had anything close to such benefits. Seems like it’s not harming anyone but guess who that fancy wall street job is more likely to hire: name brand college grad or black guy from community college (or no college at all because parents couldn’t afford it). SAT tests? Sorry was making sure I wasn’t stabbed at my inner city school. Some these things apply just in general to poor people, but remember black people don’t exactly come from wealthy legacy of early Americans, and are systematically denied opportunities over generations.

There’s probably more causes and factors I’m missing because America is just so full of historically awful things done to black people that I, as a (naturalized) non-black immigrant, am quite confounded how it’s still generally acceptable that legacy power structures from people who benefited off these awful things still exist.

So trying to pin criminalization rate abnormalities on black people as an endemic racial thing would require willful ignorance that somehow over 400 years of institutionalized racism and prejudice, both from hateful people and prejudicial policies, would somehow have no effect on current day black people. One would have to be pretty willfully blind to not get why black people are more likely to be criminalized today.

I know you didn’t say it, but implying that it’s everyone’s problem subtly suggests that black criminalization rate isn't the core of the issue, and takes away from the inordinate targeted prejudice they are facing from such police brutality policies. That being said, have you ever heard of a white guy saying they felt less safe around cops?

EDIT: it seems you removed the “everyone’s problem bit”

> After watching that video I personally (as a white male) feel at least a bit more nervous about police.

I’m not black but I can tell you your nervousness probably means nothing real. It’s also kind of insulting to insinuate that your concern for police would be on any level equal to the concern a black person may have. They have honestly much more of a real reason to fear police. Plus your argument about getting beaten up by a crazy police officer makes no sense. You could just as likely get beat up by any crazy person. If your worry is getting shot by a crazy police officer same thing, you’re probably more likely as a white guy to be shot by a non police with a gun given how easy it is for anyone to obtain one.

A more casual explanation, by the primary author: https://www.cesariolab.com/race-bias-in-shooting

Inequality is a given, and require leadership.

I've mentioned that point of view in here before, that is that imho the black population in the US has been left behind by the majority "educated"/liberal white class after the first "successes" of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. The next step in that battle should have been to address the social and economic imbalances affecting the black population, but then the depressing 1970s came and then the flamboyant 1980s, and suddenly the majority white population had other worries and interests.

One could say that the No Kid Left Behind was a step in addressing that social imbalance issue, but as far as I understood it was disastrously implemented. Plus not that many people mention the fact that the War on Drugs has been mostly a war on US minorities (mostly the black population, with some Latinos also involved), which, again, as far as I know, has had bi-partisan support for at least the last 20 to 30 years.

Obviously not, and it's weird that you'd go there of all places.