NCJ Number
75313
Journal
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Volume: 452 Dated: (November 1980) Pages: 98-110
Date Published
1980
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Basic data on the involvement of minorities in Los Angeles Police Department shooting incidents from 1974 to 1979 reveal that there were few differences between shooting incidents involving Hispanics and shootings involving white suspects.
Abstract
Data were gathered entirely from Los Angeles Police Department files of reports on all shooting incidents in which Los Angeles police officers discharged firearms from January 1, 1974, to December 31, 1979, excluding only the Symbionese Liberation Army shootout of May 1974. Two data files were constructed from the information made available by the department; the suspect file described the person or object shot at, and the officer file described the actions taken by officers and the outcomes of these actions. Of the 584 suspects shot at from 1974-1978 whose race or descent is known, 32 were black, 126 were Hispanic, 131 were white, and 6 were of other nonwhite origins. The race of 21 of the suspects shot was unascertainable. In 1979, 46 of the 102 suspects shot were black, 32 were Hispanic, and 23 were white; the race or descent of one of the suspects shot was unascertainable. A greater proportion of shootings at blacks than at Hispanics and whites followed suspects' disobeying officers' orders to halt and suspects' appearing to reach for weapons. A greater proportion of blacks than of Hispanics or whites shot at by police were ultimately determined to have been unarmed, and a somewhat higher percentage of blacks than Hispanics and whites were carrying guns when they were shot at. There was no significant difference in the number of shots fired at suspects by race when other circumstances surrounding the shootings were controlled. Departmental reviews of the shootings found that 82 percent involving whites were determined to be within departmental policy. The Los Angeles data leads to a conclusion that large numbers of other minorities than blacks have been involved in police shootings. This indicates a substantial need for reliable national data on police firearms discharges to determine if the pattern emerges in other major cities as well. Data tables and 14 footnotes are included. For related articles, see NCJ 75304.