157 people killed by police in California in 2016
By MICHAEL BALSAMO
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- California's attorney general says 157 people died during encounters with police in the state last year.
A report released Thursday by Attorney General Xavier Becerra marks the first time California has publicly released statewide statistics on police use of force.
The report said there were 782 incidents in 2016 where a police officer used force that resulted in serious injury or death.
Forty-two percent of the civilians involved were Hispanic and nearly 20 percent were black.
More than half of the officers involved were white.
A state law requires California police departments to report the data to the state attorney general's office. Though some departments already tracked such data on their own, many did not.
“In California, we strive to improve public trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they are sworn to protect by opening lines of communication,” said Attorney General Becerra. “A necessary part of the discussion is knowing the facts and having the data to inform the creation of effective plans to advance sound criminal justice policies. At the California DOJ, we know access to information is important to building trust and promoting transparency. That is why the four reports published today, along with the data sets on OpenJustice, are critical elements in strengthening the bond between Californians and their law enforcement agencies.”
The full reports can be found here.