What I asked the Washington Post Reporters about their Police Shooting report

By Michael P. Tremoglie

The following is an email I sent to the Washington Post reporters who compiled the paper’s police shootings survey. It was sent to them on July 8, 2016. I did so because their report is specious.

Regarding your reportage of police shootings (http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2015/12/26/a-year-of-reckoning-police-fatally-shoot-nearly-1000/), I noticed that you broke it down into unarmed blacks shot by police. I have several questions:

1- You wrote, “Although black men make up only 6 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 40 percent of the unarmed men shot to death by police this year” How did you determine they were unarmed and who audited your conclusions? 

2- How did you arrive at the figure of six percent of the U.S. population? What age cohort did you use and why? 

3- What in your opinion does this prove - if indeed it is true - that blacks are 40 percent of unarmed suspects killed by police but only six percent of the population?

4- Do you also break out the percentage of Asians killed by police? If not, why not? If so, what was that percentage in relation to the general population?

5- You wrote, “ But a hugely disproportionate number — 3 in 5 — of those killed after exhibiting less threatening behavior were black or Hispanic…” What did you mean by “less threatening" and how did you define this?

6- Do you also break out the percentage of women killed by police? If not, why not? If so, what was that percentage in relation to the general population?

7- Do you also break out the race of the officers doing the killings? If not, why not? If so, what are those percentages?

8- What percentage of killings were intraracial? If you do not know why do you not know?

I look forward to receiving your replies.  

Regards,

Michael P. Tremoglie