A few paper reports doesn’t even begin to describe the real risks in Honduras. By comparison, US is a regional heaven.
There is a reason people are paying everything they own and more to get smuggled into the US.
I’ve been stopped plenty of times by cops in US and have never had to pay a spot fine in cash
I've actually traveled internationally and worked in tough areas. US police / customs etc are not corrupt (relative to developing countries I've traveled in). This really makes me lose confidence in Amnesty unfortunately.
The US is relatively violent compared to developed peers and has some insane pockets of violence (east st louis etc). No question about that. This is stark when traveling to Asia or Western Europe - even "bad" areas in places like Germany are ridiculously safe relative to "bad" areas in the US. And that includes interactions with police (often unarmed overseas vs jumping on your back with a gun in the US).
I would be interested in some of the examples of tourists and visitors being killed by police - I pay somewhat close attention to that. There are issues of violence that really shock visitors to the US, including killings, but I hadn't realized the police were playing such a big role. Could you give some examples of visitors being killed by police (ie, the issue Amnesty is warning people over?).
In the US , you are not exposed at all to petty corruption, and the judicial system is mostly fair and works at a decent pace for all. However you are more likely to end up dead and or without recourse when the police turn hostile for whatever reason. The police is a guild that suceeds in protecting its members.
Elsewhere, down south, everyone is exposed to petty corruption, and generally, justice is far from fair and slow. However, you can pretty much get things done quickly ...with cash.
On the positive side, police don't go crazy on the avg person. They do seem to have some kind of respect to life. This is not because people are nicer, but because incentives are aligned : arresting or abusing the wrong person very quickly lands you in hot water, fired, with no income (lack of jobs) or even worse. Police mostly can't tell if a person is the son/daughter of some person with connections, and that is a positive externality.
The police is a profit-driven bureaucracy to protects its riches. Cross a "contract", or fail to abide by the rules, you are cut loose.
Police as a profit-driven bureaucracy can turn very nasty however when certain illegal industries use their money to leverage their power (drugs, etc). That's when you end up in situation's like Mexico's.