Title: PolitiFact | Larry Elder mislabels statistics on fatal shootings by police
Headings: "Last year, there were nine unarmed black people killed (by law enforcement). Nineteen unarmed white people.”
"Last year, there were nine unarmed black people killed (by law enforcement). Nineteen unarmed white people.”
Larry Elder mislabels statistics on fatal shootings by police
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Content: How many unarmed blacks were killed by cops last year? 9. How many unarmed whites were killed by cops last year? 19. More officers are killed every year than are unarmed blacks. When do the #BlueLivesMatter protests begin? # GeorgeFloyd
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) June 3, 2020
We found that Elder was speaking broadly about police killings but pulling his numbers from the Washington Post’s more narrow tally of fatal shootings by police officers in the line of duty. The Washington Post’s tally doesn’t account for off-duty police or the use by on-duty officers of other force that can be lethal, such as tasers or physical restraint. That means the number of unarmed people killed in encounters with law enforcement in 2019 is higher for both races than Elder claimed. How much higher is not clear.