So far in 2015, 965 people have been killed by U.S. police.
A disproportionate number of those people are black, Hispanic or Latino; almost all are male.
The causes of the deaths range from being shot by police to being hit by a police vehicle to dying — somehow — in police custody.
This tally of the dead was not provided, however, by the U.S. government or a public security agency. It was provided by The Guardian, a British newspaper that began a project, The Counted, in January to take stock of the people who are killed by police and what circumstances prompted the deaths.
No one in this country is keeping accurate track of when an officer kills a civilian. It’s as if, to the nation, these lives aren’t worthy of consideration or even record.
The FBI does ask police departments to provide reports on “justifiable homicides” by officers, but giving up the information is voluntary. From 2005 to 2012 only 1,100 of the nation’s 18,000 police agencies submitted such briefs to the FBI. And in 2013, the most recent data available, the FBI counted 461 justifiable homicides for the year. But a crowdsourced tally found an additional 300 deaths that year.
To sate protests against police violence and solve the mistrust between public safety and citizens, U.S. police need to be held to a higher level of public accountability. People need to see that justice is being served, or at the very least that it’s being pursued.
Until the U.S. takes on the responsibility to remember when someone is killed by a police officer, any attempt at reining in violence is lip service. Reporting to the FBI should be mandatory and thorough.
This doesn’t mean that any officer who shoots or otherwise kills someone while on duty is guilty of a crime. I would wager that’s rarely the case, though who can be sure without the data?
Massachusetts is fortunate in that there have been few deaths by police this year: 10, and only one of the people who died was unarmed. Massachusetts ranks 44 (the lower the number the better) among the 50 states and D.C. in the number of deaths by police per capita, according to The Counted. We are lucky in this state to have many good officers who understand how to practice restraint, even at the risk of making themselves vulnerable.
Taking a life — or having your life taken — is the solemn potential in any officer’s job, and sometimes the use of fatal force must be exercised to protect the public and the lives of the officers themselves. I don’t know how many of this year’s 965 deaths by police were justified — but it’s hard to believe that most of the 189 deaths of unarmed people due to police are “justifiable.” These, possibly more than any other death-by-police incident, need to be investigated while the public watches.
In an effort to keep the memory of the unarmed people who were killed by officers from being forgotten — because that seems to be the plan in the U.S. — here are the names of the fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, friends, lovers, and coworkers who have died due to police action and/or while in police custody so far in 2015:
Unknown, 30s, gunshot, California, Oct. 27
Omar Lopez, 24, Taser, Pennsylvania, Oct. 26
Ryan Rodriguez, 21, gunshot, California, Oct. 21
Mario Perdigone, 36, Taser, Texas, Oct. 21
KennethSchick, 47, Taser, Kansas, Oct. 20
Unkown, 30, gunshot, California, Oct. 17
Paterson Brown Jr., 18, gunshot, Virginia, Oct. 17
Johnny Rangel, 25, gunshot, California, Oct. 16
Jonathan Pena, 27, struck by vehicle, California, Oct. 15
Unknown, 45, gunshot, California, Oct. 3
Robert Christen, 37, gunshot, Minnesota, Sept. 30
Junior Prosper, 31, gunshot, Florida, Sept. 28
Kylie Lindsey, 17, struck by vehicle, Georgia, Sept. 26
Isabella Chinchilla, 16, struck by vehicle, Georgia, Sept. 26
William Lemon, 21, gunshot, Ohio, Sept. 25
Ronny Bowling, 53, struck by vehicle, Indiana, Sept. 24
Keith McLeod, 19, gunshot, Maryland, Sept. 23
Omar Ali, 27, gunshot, Ohio, Spet. 21
Dominic Fuller, 24, gunshot, Florida, Sept. 21
Kimberly Bedford, 48, struck by vehicle, Michigan, Sept. 20
Nicholas Jonhson, 32, gunshot, California, Sept. 18
Cecil Lacy Jr., 50, death in custody, Washington, Sept. 18
Anthony Camacho, 19, struck by vehicle, California, Sept. 13
Jordn Miller, 24, Taser, Ohio, Sept. 8
Wayne Wheeler, 41, other, Michigan, Sept. 7
Richard Cosentino, 63, death in custody, Rhode Island, Sept. 6
Ben CdeBaca, 45, death in custody, New Mexico, Sept. 6
Manueal Ornelas, 47, Taser, California, Sept. 5
India Kager, 28, gunshot, Virginia, Sept. 5
Lucas Markus, 33, Taser, Pennsylvania, Sept. 4
James Carney III, 48, Taser, Ohio, Aug. 31
Felix Kumi, 61, gunshot, New York, Aug. 28
Michael Tyree, 31, death in custody, California, Aug. 27
Marc Kaplan, age unkown, Taser, Arizona, Aug. 21
Charles Hall, 30, gunshot, Maryland, Aug. 21
Richard Jacquez, 40, gunshot, California, Aug. 17
Oscar Ruiz, 44, Taser, California, Aug. 15
John Unsworth, 43, gunshot, Indiana, Aug. 15
Asshams Manley, 30, gunshot, Maryland, Aug. 14
Matthew Russo, 26, Taser, Connecticut, Aug. 7
Christian Taylor, 19, gunshot, Texas, Aug. 7
Troy Robinson, 33, Taser, Georgia, Aug. 6
Joseph Hutcheson, 48, death in custody, Texas, Aug. 1
Filimoni Raiyawa, 57, death in custody, California,
July 30
Wilmer Delgado-Soba, 38, Taser, Massachusetts,
July 29
Allan White, 23, gunshot, Tennessee, July 28
Zachary Hammond, 19, gunshot, South Carolina,
July 26
Derek Wolfsteller, 31, gunshot, Minnesota, July 23
James Bush, 20, struck by vehicle, Michigan, July 22
Heriberto Godinez Jr., 24, death in custody, Illinois,
July 20
Sameul DuBose, 43, gunshot, Ohio, July 19
Troy Goode, 30, death in custody, Mississippi, July 18
Estevan Gomez, 26, gunshot, California, July 18
Darrius Stewart, 19, gunshot, Tennessee, July 17
Albert Davis, 23, gunshot, Florida, July 17
Nyal Brown, 77, struck by vehicle, Ohio, July 13
Bruce Stafford, 55, death in custody, North
Carolina, July 13
Salvado Ellswood, 36, gunshot, Florida, July 12
George Mann, 53, Taser, Georgia, July 11
Jonathan Sanders, 29, death in custody, Mississippi,
July 8
Shane Gromley, 30, Taser, Utah, July 6
Neil Van DePutte, 25, struck by vehicle, New
Jersey, July 5
Johnny Ray Anderson, 43, gunshot, California, July 5
John Deming Jr., 19, gunshot, California, July 5
Christian Siqueiros, 25, death in custody, California,
July 3
William Jeffries, 57, death in custody, West Virginia,
July 1
Kevin Judson, 24, gunshot, Oregon, July 1
William McIntire, 60, struck by vehicle, Florida, June 28
Spencer McCain, 41, gunshot, Maryland, June 25
Joshua Dyer, 34, gunshot, Indiana, June 23
Allen Jernandez, 23, death in custody, Idaho, June 21
Kevin Bajoie, 32, Taser, Louisiana, June 20
Tamara Seidle, 51, gunshot, New Jersey, June 16
Jermaine Benjamin, 42, death in custody, Florida,
June 16
Kris Jackson, 22, gunshot, California, June 15
James Payne Jr., 51, struck by vehicle, Ohio, June 13
Alan Williams, 47, struck by vehicle, South
Carolina, June 13
David Munday, 50, death in custody, West Virginia,
June 12
Ryan Bolinger, 28, gunshot, Iowa, June 9
Jeremy Linhart, 30, gunshot, Ohio, June 19
Ross Anthony, 25, Taser, Texas, June 8
Donald Pinkerton-DeVito, 23, struck by vehicle,
California, June 5
Richard Davis, 50, Taser, New York, May 31
Curtis Jordan, 45, death in custody, Alabama, May 31
Ebin Proctor, 18, gunshot, Arizona, May 30
Billy Collins, 56, Taser, Kentucky, May 29
Randall Torrence, 34, Taser, Kansas, May 27
Feras Morad, 20, gunshot, California, May 27
Thomas Ramey, 64, struck by vehicle, Virginia, May 25
Barbara Ramey, 64, struck by vehicle, Virginia, May 25
Denis Reyes, 40, death in custody, New York, May 15
Lorenzo Hayes, 37, death in custody, Washington,
May 13
Alan Dunnagan, 68, struck by vehicle, North
Carolina, May 13
Michael Gallagher, 55, Taser, North Carolina, May 10
Sam Holmes, 31, gunshot, Minnesota, May 8
John Kaafi, 33, Taser, Florida, May 8
Nuwnah Laroche, 34, struck by vehicle, New Jersey,
May 6
Jason Champion, 41, struck by vehicle, New Jersey,
May 6
Brendon Glenn, 29, gunshot, California, May 6
Shawn Watashe, 55, struck by vehicle, Oklahoma,
May 5
Fridoon Rawshannehad, 42, gunshot, California,
April 30
Bryan Overstreet, 30, struck by vehicle, Georgia,
April 28
Dean Genova, 45, gunshot, California, April 26
Billy Patrick, 29, gunshot, Oklahoma, April 26
David Felix, 24, gunshot, New York, April 25
Hector Morejon, 19, gunshot, California, April 23
William Chapman II, 18, gunshot, Virginia, April 22
Jose Jerrera, 27, gunshot, California, April 22
Steven Davenport, 43, Taser, Mississippi, April 21
Samuel Harrell, 30, death in custody, New York,
April 21
David Dehmann, 33, death in custody, Ohio, April 21
Danial Covarrubias, 37, gunshot, Washington,
April 21
Norman Cooper, 33, Taser, Texas, April 19
David Kapuscinski, 39, Taser, Michigan, April 16
Darrell Brown, 31, Taser, Maryland, April 16
Joseph Slater, 28, death in custody, California, April 15
Frank “Trey” Shephard III, 41, gunshot, Texas,
April 15
Freddie Gray, 25, death in custody, Maryland, April 12
Michael Lemon, 57, Taser, California, April 8
Keaton Farris, 25, death in custody, Washington,
April 8
Richard Hanna, 56, gunshot, California, April 6
Jared Forsyth, 33, gunshot, Florida, April 6
William Dick III, 28, Taser, Washington, April 4
Walter Scott, 50, gunshot, South Carolina, April 4
David Lynch, 33, Taser, Oklahoma, April 3
Eric Harris, 44, gunshot, Oklahoma, April 2
Donald “Dontay” Ivy, 39, Taser, New York, April 2
Phillip White, 32, death in custody, New Jersey,
March 31
Gregory Smith, 39, Taser, Indiana, March 30
Dominick Wise, 30, Taser, Virginia, March 30
Mychael Lynch, 32, death in custody, Washington,
March 23
Jeffrey Jackson, 47, death in custody, Kentucky,
March 22
James Moore, 43, struck by vehicle, Oklahoma,
March 22
Denzel Brown, 21, gunshot, New York, March 22
Brandon Jones, 18, gunshot, Ohio, March 19
Adam Jovicic, 29, gunshot, Ohio, March 19
Roberto Leon, 22, gunshot, California, March 17
David Watford, 47, struck by vehicle, Louisiana,
March 17
Askari Roberts, 35, Taser, Georgia, March 17
Sheldon Haleck, 38, Taser, Hawaii, March 16
David Werblow, 41, Taser, Connecticut, March 15
Salome Rodriguez Jr, 23, gunshot, California,
March 13
Jonathan Paul, 42, death in custody, Texas, March 12
Antonio Perez, 32, gunshot, California,
March 12
Terrance Moxley, 29, Taser, Ohio, March 10
Hue Dang, 64, struck by vehicle, New Jersey,
March 9
Anthony Hill, 27, gunshot, Georgia, March 9
Michael McKillop, 35, gunshot, Delaware,
March 8
Tony Ross, 34, Taser, Texas, March 6
Tony Robinson, 19, gunshot, Wisconsin, ‘
March 6
Naeschylus Vinzant, 37, gunshot, Colorado,
March 6
Bernard Moore, 62, struck by vehicle, Georgia,
March 6
Sergio Navas, 34, gunshot, California, March 5
Derek Cruice, 26, gunshot, Florida, March 4
Jennifer Lobato, 37, death in custody, Colorado,
March 2
Thomas Allen Jr. , 24, gunshot, Missouri, March 1
Jeffrey Surnow, 63, struck by vehicle, Hawaii, March 1
Darrell “Hubbard” Gatewood, 47, Taser, Oklahoma,
March 1
Charly “Africa” Keunang, 43, gunshot, California,
March 1
Deven Guilford, 17, gunshot, Michigan, Feb. 28
Russell Sharrer 54, death in custody, Washington,
Feb. 27
Ernesto Javier Canepa Diaz, 27, gunshot, California,
Feb. 27
Alexander Long, 31, gunshot, Indiana, Feb. 25
Daniel Elrod, 39, gunshot, Nebraska, Feb. 24
Calvon Reid, 39, Taser, Florida, Feb. 22
Terry Price, 41, Taser, Oklahoma, Feb. 21
Ruben Garcia Villalpando, 31, gunshot, Texas,
Feb. 20
Michael Ireland, 31, gunshot, Missouri, Feb. 17
Chance Thompson, 35, Taser, California, Feb. 15
Dean Bucheit, 64, struck by vehicle, California,
Feb. 9
Natasha McKenna, 37, Taser, Virginia, Feb. 8
Wilber Castillo-Gongora, 35, Taser, Texas, Feb. 5
Jeremy Lett, 28, gunshot, Florida, Feb. 5
Joaquin Hernandez, 28, gunshot, Arizona, Feb. 4
David Kassick, 59, gunshot, Pennsylvania, Feb. 2
Ralph Willis, 42, gunshot, Oklahoma, Jan. 29
Larry Kobuk, 33, death in custody, Alaska, Jan. 28
Joshua Garcia, 24, gunshot, Texas, Jan. 26
Jessica Hernandez, 17, gunshot, Colorado, Jan. 26
Alvin Haynes, 57, death in custody, California, Jan. 26
Howard Robbins, 69, struck by vehicle, Kentucky,
Jan. 16
Louis Becker, 87, struck by vehicle, New York, Jan. 14
Artago Howard, 36, gunshot, Arkansas, Jan. 8
Andre Murphy Sr., 42, death in custody, Nebraska,
Jan. 7
Biran Pickett, 26, Taser, California, Jan. 6
Autumn Steele, 34, gunshot, Iowa, Jan. 6
Michael Kocher Jr., 19, struck by vehicle, Jan. 3
John Quintero, 23, gunshot, Kansas, Jan. 3
Matthew Ajibade, 22, death in custody, Georgia,
Jan. 1•
Kristin Palpini can be contacted at editor@valleyadvocate.com.
SOURCE: The Counted by The Guardian, www.theguardian.com/thecounted
